Ukraine-Russia war: 364 civilian deaths confirmed so far in Ukraine, UN says

The United States and European partners are exploring banning Russian oil imports, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday, but stressed the importance of steady oil supplies globally.

French President Emmanuel Macron urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to end Russia's military operations in Ukraine and to ensure the protection and security of Ukraine's nuclear sites, said an official from Macron's office.

Russia's finance ministry said on Sunday that sovereign bond payments to non-residents would depend on the sanctions imposed by the West.

The United States has seen "very credible reports" of deliberate attacks on civilians, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday, adding that Washington was documenting these reports to support appropriate organizations in their potential war crimes investigation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in a telephone call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron blamed Kyiv for failed civilian evacuations from the key Ukrainian port city of Mariupol which is surrounded by Russian troops, the Kremlin said Sunday.

The head of the UK armed forces Admiral Tony Radakin said on Sunday that it was "unlawful and unhelpful" for Britons to go and fight against Russia in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday accused Ukrainian radicals for an incident on March 3 at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, the Kremlin said.

French President Emmanuel Macron asked Putin by telephone about a fire at Europe's biggest nuclear power plant. "Vladimir Putin informed about the provocation by Ukrainian radicals in the area of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant," the Kremlin said. "The radiation levels are normal."

The U.N. human rights office says it has confirmed the deaths of 364 civilians in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24.

Pope Francis on Sunday deplored the "rivers of blood and tears" flowing in Ukraine following the Russian invasion and demanded the creation of humanitarian corridors for refugees.

Vladimir Putin told his Turkish counterpart that Kyiv must to agree to his demands if fighting is to end, lowering hopes for progress at a third round of Ukraine-Russia talks that could happen as soon as Monday but isn’t yet confirmed.

Russian authorities on Sunday continued to block independent news outlets and to arrest protesters in an effort to tighten control over what information the domestic audience sees about the invasion of Ukraine.

A Ukrainian official says a second attempt to evacuate civilians from a southern city under siege for a week has failed due to continued Russian shelling.

Police detained more than 2,034 people at anti-war protests in cities across Russia on Sunday, the OVD-Info protest monitor said.

The Ukrainian central bank on Sunday said it would allow foreign currency to be purchased on the local interbank market to pay for imports of strategically important goods, easing a restriction imposed at the start of Russia's invasion.

An 11-year-old boy from Ukraine has crossed the border into Slovakia with just a plastic bag, a passport and a telephone number written on his hand, Slovak police said Sunday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding talks with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Russian state television reported on Sunday.

Vinnytsia airport in central Ukraine destroyed by Russian strike, Zelensky says

President Vladimir Putin warned Ukraine on Sunday that Russia's military operation would only be halted if Kyiv stopped resisting and fulfilled all of the Kremlin's demands.

Over 1,100 people in cities across Russia have been detained at protests on Sunday against Moscow's military operation in Ukraine, a monitor said, more than a week after the assault began.

Poland’s border guard agency says that over 922,000 refugees have crossed the border from Ukraine since Feb. 24, when Russia launched its invasion.

Ukrainian authorities prepared Sunday for a second attempt to evacuate civilians from a southern city pounded by a week-long Russian attack as economic pressure on Moscow intensified and diplomats shuttled around Europe to try to end the war.

Russia is mustering forces to encircle the Ukrainian city of Dnipro and is turning its main attention to cutting Ukraine off from the Black Sea, Ukraine's top security official Oleksiy Danilov wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday.

Israel's premier said Sunday his country had a "moral obligation" to help stem fighting in Ukraine even if chances of success were "not great", after shuttle diplomacy that saw him visit the Kremlin.

Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelenskyy is pushing his call for foreign countries to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

Russian banks said Sunday they planned to issue cards using China's UnionPay system after Visa and Mastercard moved to suspend operations in Russia over Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine.

The number of people fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine has topped 1.5 million, making it Europe's fastest growing refugee crisis since World War II, the United Nations said on Sunday.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Sunday that Russian forces are preparing to shell Odessa, a historic port city on the Black Sea coast.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that the United States was "working actively" on a deal with Poland to supply Ukraine with jets.

More than 559 people were detained at protests on Sunday in 21 cities across Russia against President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, according to an independent Russian-based protest monitor.

Albania will rename a street in its capital Tirana where the Russian and Ukrainian embassies are located as Free Ukraine to honour Ukraine's resistance to war, the mayor said on Sunday.

Russian forces will observe a temporary cease-fire Sunday in two Ukrainian cities, an official in one of the country's two pro-Russia separatist regions said after an agreement to allow civilians to evacuate collapsed a day earlier amid continued shelling.

The number of people fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine has topped 1.5 million, making it Europe's "fastest growing refugee crisis" since World War II, the United Nations said.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Sunday and discussed the war in Ukraine, the RIA news agency reported.

British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab described talk of the threat of Russia using nuclear weapons in its invasion of Ukraine as brinkmanship and rejected President Putin's statement that likened Western sanctions to a declaration of war.

"I think its rhetoric and brinkmanship," Raab told Sky News when asked about a possible nuclear escalation by the Kremlin.

South Korea said Sunday it will implement export controls against close Moscow ally Belarus for "effectively supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine".

Russian state gas company Gazprom was shipping natural gas to Europe via Ukraine in the same volume of 109.5 million cubic metres per day as on Saturday, the Interfax news agency cited Gazprom as saying on Sunday.

Retailers in Russia will limit sales of essential foodstuffs to limit black market speculation and ensure affordability, the government said Sunday, as sanctions imposed over Moscow's military incursion into Ukraine began to bite.

The Ukraine port city of Mariupol, which is surrounded by Russian troops, said Sunday it will begin efforts to evacuate its civilian population, after earlier efforts were scuppered by ceasefire violations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened the existence of Ukrainian statehood as his army's invasion of the neighbour faces stiff resistance Sunday and his economy is increasingly asphyxiated by sanctions.

Austrian energy company OMV says it has decided not to pursue any future investments in Russia and is starting a “strategic review” of its stake in the Yuzhno Rosskoye gas and oil field, which could result in its exit.

Russia struck and disabled Ukraine's Starokostiantyniv military air base with long-range high-precision weapons, Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday.

The conflict in Ukraine is set to last months, if not years, Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday, adding international allies would need to show "strategic stamina" to ensure Russian President Vladimir Putin fails.

Washington’s top diplomat Antony Blinken on Sunday praised Moldova’s leaders for taking in refugees from Ukraine as he visited the country on a tour through eastern Europe in the wake of Russia’s invasion.

British military officials on Sunday compared Russia’s tactics in Ukraine to those used in Chechnya and Syria, where cities were bombarded and heavily damaged after Russian forces faced unexpected resistance from their defenders.

Ukraine's military says it is fighting "fierce battles" with Russian forces on the edge of the southern city of Mykolaiv -- which controls the road to the key Black Sea city of Odessa in the west.

Dozens of civilians are being killed in the battle for Chernihiv in the north, with those who remain living in craters or among the ruins, with AFP witnessing scenes of devastation.

Even as President Volodymyr Zelensky remains bunkered down in Kyiv amid heavy bombardment and the fear of assassination, his government has forced an all-out assault on social media to win supporters for their cause.

Zelensky's daily video addresses, usually published with English subtitles, have become viral sensations, while the defence and foreign ministries tout the military resistance of Ukraine in snazzy graphics.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that China opposes any moves that “add fuel to the flames” in Ukraine.

Blinken says the world is watching to see which nations stand up for the principles of freedom and sovereignty.

The two spoke by phone on Saturday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

Military equipment including missiles and ammunition has arrived into Ukraine from Australia, Defense Minister Peter Dutton said Sunday.

“We want the Ukranians to have the best opportunity to defend their homeland, and to protect women and children,” Dutton told Australian Broadcasting Corp. TV’s “Insiders” program. “There’s more assistance that we want to provide.” Dutton declined to specify where the supplies had arrived in Ukraine, and said the delivery had been carried out with help from the U.S. and U.K.