As Russia continues to bombard Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky made a landmark virtual address to the US Congress this week. US lawmakers gave him a standing ovation the moment he showed up on screen. Speaking almost three weeks after the Russian invasion first began, Zelensky showed a graphic video of victims of the war and referred to the September 2001 terror attacks in the US, saying Ukraine has been experiencing a 9/11 every day for three weeks.

With war raging in Ukraine, it's not easy to know how to speak about fashion – if at all. The best answer is to face the paradox. Thanks to the French Federation for Haute Couture and Fashion, Ukrainian designer Lilia Litovskaya is now safe in Paris. At Balenciaga, Demna Gvasalia, who fled a Kremlin-backed civil war in Georgia in 1993, offers up a hostile backdrop for his collection. Labels Marine Serrre, Atlein, Benmoyal and Germanier, meanwhile, are championing freedom of expression with their eco-friendly offerings.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated a plan to bolster defense spending while pledging to take on more refugees. "We are standing before a monumental challenge," he said.

French car giant Renault announced Wednesday it was immediately suspending operations at its Moscow factory after Kyiv called for a boycott of the company for remaining in Russia.

Speaking to CNN, actor Sean Penn said the Ukrainian president should be invited to speak about the war at the Academy Awards and it would be "obscene" if Hollywood did not oblige.

US President Joe Biden's speech in Warsaw had strong words for Vladimir Putin, but even stronger words in support of a free world. DW's Bartosz Dudek writes that Biden may just have made history.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared victory in Hungary's parliamentary election after partial results showed his ruling Fidesz party is comfortably ahead of their opposition rivals.

The images of civilians killed in Bucha have shocked the world. The Russian government and pro-Russian accounts claim they were staged and that some bodies were moving.

With three days to go until the first round of the presidential election, French voters are uninterested and undecided, leaving paper La Croix concerned about the country's future. Is alarm over a possible far-right victory a campaign strategy of Emmanuel Macron, or is far-right contender Marine Le Pen "more of a threat than ever before"? We also look at reactions in Burkina Faso to the trial over Thomas Sankara's 1987 assassination, as well as US sanctions on Vladimir Putin's daughters and French campaign goodies.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has prompted viral videos claiming military success on both sides. But can you trust the images of drone strikes, snipers and ambushes?

Did the Russian president harshly criticise Emmanuel Macron? In a video shared widely on social media since March 1, Vladimir Putin is subtitled in French saying not-so-flattering things about Macron, which is quite credible in the context of current geopolitical tensions. The video however dates back to 2019, at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum. A full transcript of the forum confirms that the subtitles are completely bogus. Elsewhere, we take a look at a Russian fact-checking website that is far from fully neutral on events in Ukraine.

President Macron's economic manifesto doesn't enthuse every French voter. But when it comes to the plans of his opponent Marine Le Pen, economists have said they could have severe financial consequences.