– Fury at children’s hospital attack –
Ukraine accuses Russia of a “war crime” over a devastating attack on a children’s hospital in besieged Mariupol, with Washington branding the bombing “barbaric”.
At least 17 staff are injured with footage showing the wounded streaming from the destroyed building past burning cars and a giant crater.
– 1,207 dead in Mariupol siege –
Some 1,207 civilians have been killed in the 10-day Russian siege of the port, its mayor says. The Red Cross calls the situation there “apocalyptic” after more than a week without water, power or heat. Safe routes out have repeatedly come under attack.
– 35,000 evacuated –
Some 35,000 civilians are evacuated from other Ukrainian cities during a 12-hour ceasefire, with President Volodymyr Zelensky hoping three more corridors will open Thursday for Mariupol, Volnovakha and Izium.
– Russians near Kyiv –
Fears are mounting Kyiv will also soon be encircled, with Russian tanks in places just a few kilometres (miles) from the city limits.
– Women and child killed –
Two women and a 13-year-old boy are killed overnight in the bombing of Velyka Pysarivka village near the badly hit northern city of Sumy close to the Russian border.
– More US aid –
US lawmakers pass a $14-billion aid package for Ukraine with Canada pledging more military equipment.
The International Monetary Fund meanwhile approves $1.4 billion in emergency financing for Ukraine.
– Patriot missiles –
The United States deploys two new Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries in Poland to protect its frontline NATO ally.
– But no fighter jets –
Fearing a wider conflict, the Pentagon definitively rejects a Polish offer to give its Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine.
– Turkey talks –
Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers are in Turkey to hold face-to-face talks, the first high-level contact since the invasion. But neither side has great hopes of progress.
– Britain urges G7 oil ban –
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss calls on the G7 to ban Russian oil imports, after the US and Britain said they were “cutting the artery” of the Russian economy.
But fellow G7 members France, Germany, Italy and Japan are wary of such a move.
– Nuclear plants ‘not reporting’ –
The UN’s atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, says it is not receiving updates from either Chernobyl or Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants, both of which are now in Russian hands.
But it says there is “no critical impact on safety” at Chernobyl, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986, from a loss of power there.
– US warns on biological weapons –
Washington rejects Russian claims it is involved in bioweapons research in Ukraine, and warns Russia could be preparing to use chemical or biological weapons in the war.
– 2.2 million flee –
The UN says at least 2.2 million people have fled Ukraine, with more than half now in Poland.
It has called the exodus Europe’s fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II.
– Oil falls, stocks surge –
Oil prices tumble while US and European and Asian stocks surge after days of market turmoil over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
