- Carey takes Australia to 270 in 2nd ODI against England after collapse
- Two Hezbollah leaders killed in Israel's Beirut strike
- Hungary Danube waters reach decade high after Storm Boris
- Bagnaia cuts Martin's MotoGP lead with Emilia-Romagna sprint win
- Jackson double fires Chelsea to victory at woeful West Ham
- Fiji beat Japan to lift Pacific Nations Cup
- Kasatkina to face Haddad Maia in Korea Open final
- S.Africa snowfall closes roads, strands motorists overnight
- Lawyers of women alleging Al-Fayed sex abuse receive over 150 new enquiries
- President Museveni's son backs Ugandan strongman for 7th term
- Norris quickest as Verstappen bounces back in Singapore practice
- Wallabies lament All Blacks' fast start
- Germany's Oktoberfest opens under tight security after attacks
- Environmental protesters block French cruise liner port
- Hezbollah in disarray after Israeli strike kills top commanders
- No place like home: Biden hosts 'Quad' leaders
- One dead, 7 missing as heavy rains trigger floods in central Japan
- Zelensky says no UK, US go-ahead to use long-range missiles
- New Zealand edge Australia 31-28 in Bledisloe Cup thriller
- Japan orders evacuations as heavy rains trigger floods in quake-hit area
- New Zealand pilot freed in Indonesia after 19 months in rebel captivity
- Hezbollah in disarray after Israeli air strike kills top commanders
- Leading climate activist released from Vietnam jail
- Ethiopians struggle with bitter pill of currency reform
- Sri Lanka votes in first poll since economic collapse
- Feminist author warns of abortion disaster if Trump wins US election
- US city of Flint still reeling from water crisis, 10 years on
- Arsenal's mean defence faces acid test to shut out Man City again
- Late surge lifts Thailand's Jeeno to LPGA Queen City lead
- DeChambeau says PGA's Ryder Cup decision 'just the start'
- Alcaraz defeated on Laver Cup debut
- Postecoglou embraces 'struggle' to make Spurs a success
- Nice hand 'ashamed' Saint-Etienne 8-0 Ligue 1 mauling
- Boeing CEO says ending strike 'a top priority'
- Stock markets mostly fall after Fed-fueled rally
- Harris slams Trump for hypocrisy on abortion as US starts voting
- Academy to host first overseas ceremony to honor young filmmakers
- No doctor necessary: US okays nasal spray flu vaccine for self-use
- Gurbaz, birthday boy Rashid lead Afghanistan to 177-run rout of South Africa
- Former delivery man Baldwin leads star names at PGA Championship
- Trump shooting: Secret Service admits complacency
- Can an ambitious Milei make Argentina an AI giant?
- Haiti, its suffering growing, in 'race against time': UN expert
- Ibrahim Aqil, the Hezbollah elite unit commander wanted by the US
- Chinese forward Cui signs NBA contract with Brooklyn Nets
- US Fed dissenter calls for 'measured' pace of rate cuts
- Guardiola tells players to lead change over workload as Kompany demands cap on games
- Norway limits wild salmon fishing as stocks hit new lows
- Top Hezbollah commander killed in Israeli strike on Beirut
- Rotterdam fatal knife attacker suspected of 'terrorist motive'
Russia hits Ukraine from air, land and sea as civilians try to flee
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.
International sanctions intended to punish Moscow have so far done little to slow the invasion, and Washington said it was now discussing a ban on Russian oil imports with Europe.
The comments sent the price of Brent crude soaring to near a 14-year high, with markets in Tokyo and Hong Kong slumping.
On the ground, intense aerial bombardment continued overnight in the city of Kharkiv, which has endured almost non-stop fire in recent days.
Ukrainian authorities said cities across the country were under attack.
"The enemy continues the offensive operation against Ukraine, focusing on the encirclement of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Mykolayiv," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a statement.
Russian forces "began to accumulate resources for the storming of Kyiv", the statement added.
In the south of the country, regional military officials said Russia had shelled the village of Tuzly in the Odessa region from the sea, targeting "crucial infrastructure sites" but causing no injuries.
In Kharkiv, Russian fire hit a university and apartment block in the northeastern city, blowing out all the windows and leaving the facade completed blackened and charred.
In the tangle of splintered wood and mangled metal strewn across the ground in front of the building lay several dead bodies next to a car.
The legs of one person, dressed in brown trousers and black boots could be seen next to a blue surgical mask alongside the back of the car, its roof caved in under the weight of rubble.
- 'Murder, deliberate murder' -
Ukraine's President Volodymr Zelensky raged against the growing destruction and death toll, accusing Russian troops of "murder, deliberate murder" in an address.
"We will not forgive, we will not forget, we will punish everyone who committed atrocities in this war on our land," he said. "There will be no quiet place on this Earth except the grave."
He also denounced what he branded the "silence" of Western governments failing to speak out on the invasion, now in its twelfth day.
Hundreds of civilians have been killed and thousands wounded, with unending streams of people -- mostly women and children -- pouring into neighbouring countries such as Poland, Romania or Moldova for refuge.
In all, more than 1.5 million people have left the country, in what the UN has called Europe's fastest growing refugee crisis since World War II.
But some have found themselves trapped, including in the southern city of Mariupol, where a second attempt to allow civilians to flee some of the worst violence of the conflict collapsed on Sunday.
Both sides accused each other of breaching a ceasefire agreement, with the International Committee of the Red Cross warning of "devastating scenes of human suffering" in the strategic city on the Azov Sea.
The organisation said efforts to get an estimated 200,000 people out of the city would be impossible without a "detailed and functioning agreement" between the two sides.
One family who did manage to leave the city described dire conditions after they arrived in central Ukraine's Dnipro.
"We stayed in the basement for seven days with no heating, electricity or internet and ran out of food and water," said one person, who declined to be identified.
"On the road, we saw there were bodies everywhere, Russians and Ukrainians... We saw that people had been buried in their basements."
- Putin vows 'neutralisation' -
Meanwhile, the mayor of Irpin, a small town outside the capital Kyiv, described seeing two adults and two children killed "in front of my eyes" when a shell hit them.
"It is impudence, they are monsters. Irpin is at war, Irpin has not surrendered," Oleksandr Markushyn said on Telegram, adding that part of the city was in Russian hands.
AFP journalists saw civilians clambering over a bombed out bridge as artillery fire sounded around them. The body of a civilian killed while fleeing lay on the road, partially covered with a blanket, next to a grey suitcase.
Western allies have imposed unprecedented sanctions against businesses, banks and billionaires in a bid to choke the Russian economy and pressure Moscow to halt its assault.
Further punitive action, including a possible ban on Russian oil imports, could be imposed if Putin fails to change course, world leaders warned.
But the Russian leader Vladimir Putin has equated global sanctions with a declaration of war and warned that Kyiv is "putting in question the future of Ukrainian statehood".
Sanctions have forced Moscow to restrict sales of essential goods to limit black-market speculation, while on Sunday payment giant American Express halted operations there, a day after Visa and Mastercard announced similar steps.
Despite harsh punishments for those voicing dissent, protests in Russia against the Ukraine invasion have continued, with more than 10,000 people arrested since the operation began.
Putin has vowed that Russia will succeed in the "neutralisation" of Ukraine "either through negotiation or through war", and expectations remain low for a third round of Russian-Ukrainian talks set for Monday.
- Kyiv preparing for assault -
NATO allies have so far rebuffed Ukraine's calls for a no-fly zone, with one senior US senator, Marco Rubio, saying Sunday that it could lead to "World War III" against nuclear-armed Russia.
Putin has threatened "colossal and catastrophic consequences not only for Europe but also the whole world" if a no-fly zone is imposed.
In the Ukrainian capital, troops have been preparing for the expected Russian assault on Kyiv, including planting explosives on what they say is the last intact bridge standing in the way of advancing forces.
If they try to cross, the Ukrainians will blow up the bridge and "sink as many enemy tanks as we can while we do it", said a fighter who gave his name as Casper.
Kyiv has urged the West to boost its military assistance, with Zelensky pleading for Russian-made planes that his pilots are trained to fly.
A barrage of Russian missiles destroyed an airport in central Ukraine's Vinnytsia, said Zelensky, underscoring his appeal for help.
Moscow has also warned Ukraine's neighbours against hosting Kyiv's military aircraft, saying they could end up involved in armed conflict.
Weapons, ammunition and funds have poured into Ukraine from Western allies as they seek to bolster Kyiv.
Blinken said Washington was "working actively" on a deal with Poland to supply it with American jets.
There are also ongoing concerns about the safety of Ukraine's nuclear sites after the Russian attack on Friday on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant -- Europe's largest.
burs-sah/je
O.Bulka--BTB