Talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials on the conflict in Ukraine have started on the Belarus-Poland border, Belarusian news agency Belta said Monday.
Belta posted a photo of the Russian and Ukrainian representatives on Telegram, saying "humanitarian corridors to evacuate" the civilian population in Ukraine were on the agenda for the talks.
The Red Cross clarified Monday that its staff, and civilians, had been unable to leave Ukraine's besieged Mariupol because hostilities had resumed and there was no agreement on safe exit routes.
An ICRC spokesman at their Geneva headquarters said later Monday: "The ICRC would like to clarify that ICRC staff, their families as well as other civilians, could not leave Mariupol because there was no agreement on safe routes out of the city and because hostilities resumed."
At least 13 people were killed on Monday when shelling hit an industrial bakery in Makariv, around 50 kilometres west of Ukraine's capital Kyiv, the country's rescue services said.
Rescuers posted a message on Telegram saying around 30 people were within the area of the bakery at the moment of the shelling. The message was deleted shortly afterwards with no further details provided.
Evacuation attempts from the besieged southern port city of Mariupol largely failed when ceasefires broke down on both Saturday and Sunday.
The city has been encircled by Russian forces for days, with communication lines down, no power, and food rapidly running out.
But BBC reported that a small number of people have managed to escape from the city.
The leaders of Germany, Britain and the Netherlands cautioned Monday against abruptly banning Russian energy imports as part of sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, saying there were no immediate alternative supplies.
The pushback came after the United States on Sunday said it was in "active discussions" with European nations about shutting down Russian oil imports as further economic penalty over Moscow's aggression.
Nearly 1,00,000 children live in institutions and boarding schools in Ukraine and parental consent should be sought before evacuating them abroad during the Russian invasion, the United Nations said Monday.
The heads of the UN agencies for refugees and for children made a joint plea for vulnerable youngsters caught up in the crisis to escape the conflict.
Unaccompanied and separated children fleeing the escalating conflict in Ukraine must be protected, UNICEF chief Catherine Russell and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said.
But in the cases of those with living relatives or legal guardians, families should "under no circumstances" be separated as a result of relocation, they said.
Europe could see the entry of five million Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion of their country if the assault continues, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday.
"If the indiscriminate bombardments of cities continues, we can expect five million exiles," Borrell said after an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in the Mediterranean city of Montpellier.
Ukraine, with a population of nearly 44 million, has seen over 1.7 million people flee since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, according to the latest data from the United Nations on Monday.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been speaking at a press conference alongside Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau and Dutch premier Mark Rutte,
He says the United Kingdom will give £175m of aid to Ukraine, saying it takes the UK's total commitment to nearly £400 million.
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday announced new sanctions against 10 people he said were "complicit" in the "unjustified" invasion of Ukraine.
"This includes former and current senior government officials, oligarchs and supporters of the Russian leadership," he told a joint press conference with his UK counterpart Boris Johnson and Mark Rutte of the Netherlands.
Russia's chief negotiator in talks between Moscow and Kyiv accused Ukraine of blocking humanitarian corridors for civilians escaping advancing Russian forces, calling it a "war crime".
"The nationalists who have seized positions in cities continue to hold civilians there," Russia's chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky told state television, reports AFP.
He accused Kyiv of using the civilians as "a human shield" and said that "this is undoubtedly a war crime."
Just after 1300 GMT, Russian agencies reported that Ukraine's delegation arrived on the Poland-Belarus border for a third round of talks with Russia that will focus on corridors.
The UN nuclear watchdog's head said Monday he hoped Moscow and Kyiv would agree within hours to his offer to discuss nuclear safety after Russia seized Europe's largest power plant in Ukraine.
The battle had caused "unprecedented danger of a nuclear accident" and should not be repeated under any circumstances, said International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director-general Rafael Grossi.
Grossi offered on Friday to travel to Chernobyl to negotiate with both sides to ensure the security of Ukraine's nuclear sites.
Russian tanks were firing on Monday at the main airport in Ukraine's southern Mykolayiv region which Ukrainian forces had earlier taken back from Russian forces, Governor Vitaliy Kim said in an online post.
A Ukrainian delegation on Monday arrived in Belarus for talks with representatives from Russia for a third round of talks on the conflict in Ukraine.
"The Ukrainian delegation arrived at the Belovezhskaya Pushcha (a national park on the Poland-Belarus border) in two helicopters for talks with Russia," TASS state news agency reported.
Russia has told Ukraine it is ready to halt military operations "in a moment" if Kyiv meets a list of conditions, the Kremlin spokesman said on Monday.
Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was demanding that Ukraine cease military action, change its constitution to enshrine neutrality, acknowledge Crimea as Russian territory, and recognise the separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent states.
It was the most explicit Russian statement so far of the terms it wants to impose on Ukraine to halt what it calls its "special military operation", now in its 12th day.
The third round of talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine will take place at 1400 GMT on Monday in Belarus, a Ukrainian negotiator said in a tweet.
"Third round. Start at 1600 Kyiv time. Delegation unchanged," Mikhailo Podolyak wrote. There was no confirmation yet from Russia.
Russian forces have killed the mayor of Gostomel, a town near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv that is home to a strategic airport, city authorities said on Monday.
The head of Gostomel, Yuri Illich Prylypko, died while distributing bread to the hungry and medicine to the sick, the city said on its Facebook page.
Prylypko was shot dead along with two others, it said, without specifying when.
Ukraine on Monday rejected Moscow's offer of humanitarian corridors to Russia and Belarus, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
"This is not an acceptable option," she said, after Russia proposed safe passage for civilians from Kharkiv, Kyiv, Mariupol and Sumy.
The Russian army said earlier on Monday it was opening humanitarian corridors from the four Ukrainian cities. But the fact the corridors led into Russia or its ally Belarus raised questions over the safety of those who might use them.
Two recent attempts to allow thousands of civilians to leave the besieged city of Mariupol have ended in disaster, with civilians under fire and both sides accusing each other of violations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Monday for new international sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, proposing a boycott of Russian oil and other Russian exports and a halt of exports to Russia.
Western sanctions imposed over Russia's military assault have already isolated Russia to a degree never before experienced by such a large economy.
Zelenskiy said the economic pressure needed to be increased, calling in effect for an international trade embargo on Russia.
"If the invasion continues and Russia has not abandoned its plans against Ukraine, then a new sanctions package is needed ... for the sake of peace," he said in a video address, mentioning a boycott of Russian oil and oil products in particular.
"Boycott imports to Russia - if they do not adhere to civilised rules, then they should not receive goods and services from civilisation - let the war feed them," he said.
Russia announced Monday it will open humanitarian corridors to allow the evacuation of civilians from several Ukrainian cities experiencing heavy fighting, including the capital Kyiv and besieged port city Mariupol.
"Russian forces, for humanitarian purposes, are declaring a 'regime of silence' from 10:00 am on 7 March and the opening of humanitarian corridors," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Russian forces pummelled Ukrainian cities from the air, land and sea on Monday, with warnings they were preparing for an assault on the capital Kyiv, as terrified civilians failed for a second day to escape besieged Mariupol.
The relentless fire has pushed more than 1.5 million people across Ukraine's borders as refugees, though many others are displaced internally or trapped in cities being reduced to rubble by Russian bombardment.
After nearly two weeks of war, Ukraine and Russia are expected to meet for third round of negotiations, which both sides said could take place on Monday. The location and exact time of the talks were initially unclear.
Fighting stopped about 200,000 people from evacuating the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol for a second day in a row on Sunday, as Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to press ahead with his invasion unless Kyiv surrendered.
Most people trapped in the port city are sleeping underground to escape more than six days of near-constant shelling by encircling Russian forces that has cut off food, water, power and heating supplies, according to the Ukrainian authorities.
In a phone call with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Putin said he was ready for dialogue to end the fighting but that any attempt to draw out talks would fail, according to the Kremlin.
The suspension of what Moscow describes as a special operation, "is only possible if Kyiv stops military operations and carries out well-known Russian demands," the Kremlin said in a readout of the Putin-Erdogan call. Read the full story
Gold has risen to more than $2,000 in Asian trade as investors flee to safe-haven commodity over fears about the impact of the Ukraine war on the global economy.
The precious metal hit a peak of $2,000.86 an ounce, its highest level since September 2020.
Traders have been sent running to safety as Russia continues with its invasion of Ukraine, which has battered equity markets and sent oil prices to a near 14-year high, adding further upward pressure to already high inflation.
Netflix Inc has suspended its service in Russia, a company spokesperson said on Sunday.
Earlier this week, Netflix temporarily stopped all future projects and acquisitions in Russia as it assessed the impact of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
"Given the circumstances on the ground, we have decided to suspend our service in Russia," the Netflix spokesperson said.
Netflix had earlier said it had no plans to add state-run channels to its Russian service, despite a regulation that would require it to distribute state-backed channels.
The United States and European allies are exploring banning imports of Russian oil, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday, and the White House coordinated with key Congressional committees moving forward with their own ban.
Europe relies on Russia for crude oil and natural gas but has become more open to the idea of banning Russian products in the past 24 hours, a source familiar with the discussions told Reuters on Sunday.
Meanwhile, US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi also said in a Sunday letter that the chamber is "exploring" legislation to ban the import of Russian oil and that Congress intends to enact this week $10 billion in aid for Ukraine in response to Moscow's military invasion of its neighbour.
