The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine has deepened as Russian forces intensified their shelling in a move Kyiv condemned as a medieval-style siege by Moscow.
A third round of talks between the two sides ended with a top Ukrainian official saying there had been minor, unspecified progress towards establishing safe corridors that would allow civilians to escape the fighting.
Russia’s top negotiator said he expects those corridors to start functioning on Tuesday, but that little other progress had been made.
The Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers are also scheduled to meet in Turkey on Thursday, according to Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
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This map shows the humanitarian corridors suggested by Russia
Ukraine invasion: Live updates
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces continued to pummel cities with rockets, and fierce fighting.
In one of the most desperate cities, the encircled southern port of Mariupol, an estimated 200,000 people were hoping to flee, and Red Cross officials waited to hear when a corridor would be established.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the US does not believe Russian forces have made major progress in the north and northeast of Ukraine in the last few days.
The city is short on water, food and power, and mobile phone networks are down. Stores have been looted as residents search for essential goods.
Police moved through the city, advising people to remain in shelters until they heard official messages broadcast over loudspeakers to evacuate.
Hospitals in Mariupol are facing desperate shortages of antibiotics and painkillers, and doctors performed some emergency procedures without them.
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The latest Russian troop movements around Kyiv
Russian soldiers seizing houses and cars
In the capital Kyiv, soldiers and volunteers have built hundreds of checkpoints, often using sandbags, stacked tyres and spiked cables.
“Every house, every street, every checkpoint, we will fight to the death if necessary,” said Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, heavy shelling slammed into apartment buildings.
In the Irpin area – which has been cut off from electricity, water and heat for three days – witnesses saw at least three tanks and said Russian soldiers were seizing houses and cars.
Russian forces also continued their offensive in Mykolaiv, opening fire on the city some 300 miles south of Kyiv, according to Ukraine’s military.
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Rescuers said they were putting out fires caused by rocket attacks in residential areas.
Governor Vitaliy Kim said eight soldiers had been killed and 19 wounded after a Russian rocket struck their barracks while they were sleeping.
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Russia ‘pounding the civilian population with heavy ordnance’
At The Hague in the Netherlands, Ukraine pleaded with the International Court of Justice to order a halt to Russia’s invasion, saying Moscow is committing widespread war crimes.
Russia “is resorting to tactics reminiscent of medieval siege warfare, encircling cities, cutting off escape routes and pounding the civilian population with heavy ordnance”, said Jonathan Gimblett, a member of Ukraine’s legal team.
Russia snubbed the court proceedings, leaving its seats in the Great Hall of Justice empty.
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Bombed housing estate in Kyiv
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Efforts to set up safe passage for civilians over the weekend fell apart amid continued Russian shelling.
Before Monday’s talks began, Russia announced a new plan, saying civilians would be allowed to leave Kyiv, Mariupol, Kharkiv, and Sumy.
But that offer was quickly dismissed by Ukraine and others as an empty and cynical gesture, since most of the evacuation routes headed towards Russia or its ally Belarus, which has served as a launching pad for the invasion.
Ukraine instead proposed eight routes allowing civilians to travel to western regions of the country where there is no shelling.
The United Nations Human Rights Office said 406 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, including 27 children, in the 12 days since the invasion and 801 have been injured.
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A map of where Ukrainian refugees have fled
But it warned the number is a vast undercount.
The invasion has also sent 1.7 million people fleeing Ukraine.
Europe could see as many as five million Ukrainian refugees if Russia’s bombardment of Ukraine continues, the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said.
And the US ambassador to the UN, Linda-Thomas Greenfield, said the United States is “outraged” by increased reports of Moscow’s attacks harming Ukrainian civilians.
She called for a pause in hostilities to allow the safe passage of civilians who wish to leave areas of conflict.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for more punitive measures, including a global boycott of Russia’s oil exports, which are key to its economy.
“If (Russia) doesn’t want to abide by civilized rules, then they shouldn’t receive goods and services from civilization,” he said in a address.
President Zelenskyy said he had spoken to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Poland’s president, the head of the Italian government, and the president of France.
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He said: “Our negotiations and talks with our partners are fair. If the situation gets worse, then new sanctions need to be introduced to bring peace.”
Mr Zelenskyy is set to address MPs at 5pm on Tuesday via link.
Formal business will be suspended while parliamentarians are able to listen to the president – the first time they have done so in the Chamber.
