Russia-Ukraine updates: US to ban Russian carriers from its airspace

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Resnikov put out a statement Thursday evening, saying the country is repelling the Russian invasion but warning of new attacks to come.

"The Kremlin is planning a new wave of attacks, including using paratroopers, but our army is ready to meet them," he said.

Resnikov said that the situation remains "difficult" in the south and that heavy fighting is continuing in the Sumsky region to the north of Kyiv.

He hailed the international sanctions issued against Russia as well as the rallies in several Russian cities protesting Putin's invasion.

"Tomorrow, Russia will learn the price of the Putinist insanity. We are on our soil and we will resist. And we will definitely win," Resnikov said.

"Our whole people is gradually joining the resistance," he said. "The enemy did not expect such resistance."

-ABC News' Patrick Reevell

Ukrainian officials said they have reclaimed a key military airport on the edge of Kyiv that had been seized by Russian special forces.

The Ukrainian Parliament’s official Telegram account said the Antonov Airport in Hostomel was now "fully under the control" of Ukrainian troops.

Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko also said Ukrainian troops had managed to retake the airport, calling it “the first big victory!”

The move comes as the county prepares to bolster its forces.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered a general mobilization that calls up men of fighting age and reservists.

The order also allows the government to commandeer transport.

-ABC News' Patrick Reevell

President Joe Biden briefed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on the evolving situation in Ukraine during a phone call Thursday afternoon.

McConnell declined to provide more details about the conversation but told reporters that he urged the president, both publicly and privately, to "ratchet up the sanctions."

Representatives from Schumer and Pelosi's offices acknowledged the call but didn't provide more details.

-ABC News' Allie Pecorin, Mariam Khan and Ben Gittleson

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, an intergovernmental organization monitoring the situation in Ukraine, announced Thursday that it is evacuating its staff from the country "as early as possible and feasible dependent on the relevant factors on the ground."

The organization has had a team in place since 2014, reporting on all developments in the country. It included citizens from more than 40 different countries.

OSCE Secretary-General Helga Schmid said in a statement that the relocation was meant to be temporary.

"The safety of the dedicated women and men who serve as impartial eyes and ears of the international community on the ground throughout the country is imperative," she said in a statement.

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan