Exodus hits 1.5 million as attack drags on

The number of refugees fleeing Ukraine was expected to reach 1.5 million on Sunday as Russia's attack continued for an 11th day and Ukraine pressed for further Western help, including more sanctions and weapons.

Moscow and Kiev traded blame over a failed ceasefire on Saturday that would have let civilians flee Mariupol and Volnovakha, two southern cities besieged by Russian forces. Ukrainians who could escape spilled into neighboring Poland, Romania, Slovakia and elsewhere.

Ukrainian negotiators said a third round of talks with Russia on a ceasefire would go ahead on Monday, although Moscow was less definitive.

In a televised address on Saturday night, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on people in areas occupied by Russian troops to fight.

"We must go outside and drive this evil out of our cities," he said, vowing to rebuild his nation.

British military intelligence said on Sunday that Russian forces were targeting populated areas but that the strength of resistance was slowing their advance.

"The scale and strength of Ukrainian resistance continue to surprise Russia," it said.

Russia has repeatedly denied it is targeting civilian areas.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched the "special military operation" on February 24, reiterated that he wanted a neutral Ukraine that had been "demilitarized" and "denazified," and likened Western sanctions "to a declaration of war," adding: "Thank God it has not come to that."

Ukraine and Western countries imposed sweeping sanctions aimed at isolating Moscow and crippling its economy.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, after meeting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ukraine-Poland border, said he expected new sanctions and weapons in coming days.

The United States has said it would give Ukraine more weapons and has repeatedly warned it could escalate sanctions, with President Joe Biden seeking US$10 billion in emergency funding to respond to the crisis. Washington is working with Poland as Warsaw considers whether to provide fighter jets to Ukraine, a White House spokesperson said.

Zelenskiy asked for help securing aircraft from European allies in a video call with US lawmakers. He also called again for more lethal aid, a ban on Russian oil, a no-fly zone and an end to Visa and Mastercard privileges in Russia, US media reported.

Visa and Mastercard later said they would suspend credit card operations in Russia, the latest in a dramatic series of corporate pullbacks.

NATO, which Ukraine wants to join, has resisted Zelenskiy's appeals to impose a no-fly zone, saying it would escalate the conflict outside Ukraine.

Seeking to mediate, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met Putin at the Kremlin on Saturday and later spoke to Zelenskiy.

"We continue dialogue," Zelenskiy tweeted after the call.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was expected to talk to Putin on Sunday.

Turkey, a NATO member, shares a maritime border with Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea.

Russia warned the EU and NATO again to stop the "pumping of state-of-the-art weapons systems" into Kiev, foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

Russian media cited an unidentified source on Sunday saying Ukraine was close to building a plutonium-based "dirty bomb" nuclear weapon, although the source cited no evidence.

Putin said in a grievance-filled speech that Ukraine was using Soviet know-how to create its own nuclear weapons, and that this was tantamount to preparation for an attack on Russia.

Ukraine has said it had no plans to rejoin the nuclear club, having given up its nuclear arms in 1994 following the break-up of the Soviet Union.

Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces were carrying out a wide-ranging offensive in Ukraine and had taken several towns and villages.

The Ukrainian military said on Sunday it was conducting a number of defensive operations, including in the eastern part of the Donetsk district, in Slobozhansky, and the city of Chernihiv. A series of blasts were heard overnight in Kharkiv, the second-largest city.

Ukraine's military said it had shot down 88 Russian aircraft and helicopters so far and captured some pilots.

The International Monetary Fund warned the conflict would have a "severe impact" on the global economy, driving up energy and grain prices. It said it would weigh Kiev's request for US$1.4 billion in emergency financing as early as this week.

In Mariupol, which has been encircled and shelled for days, the situation was grim.

"We can't collect all the bodies on the street," said Deputy Mayor Sergei Orlov, adding it was impossible to count civilian deaths.