RUSSIA STEPS UP SHELLING OF RESIDENTIAL AREAS AS WAR ENTERS DAY 12

The Russian forces tightened their grip over Ukraine as the invasion entered day 12 on Monday.

Russian forces intensified shelling of cities in Ukraine's center, north and south, a Ukrainian official said, as a second attempt to evacuate besieged civilians collapsed. With the Ukrainian leader urging his people to take to the streets to fight, Russian President Vladimir Putin shifted blame for the invasion, saying Moscow's attacks could be halted “only if Kyiv ceases hostilities.”

The outskirts of Kyiv, Chernihiv in the north, Mykolaiv in the south, and Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city, faced stepped-up shelling late Sunday, presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich said. Heavy artillery hit residential areas in Kharkiv and shelling damaged a television tower, according to local officials.

The attacks dashed hopes that more people could escape the fighting in Ukraine, where Russia's plan to quickly overrun the country has been stymied by fierce resistance. Russia has made significant advances in southern Ukraine and along the coast, but many of its efforts have become stalled, including an immense military convoy that has been almost motionless for days north of Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rallied his people to remain defiant, especially those in cities occupied by Russians.

“You should take to the streets! You should fight!” he said Saturday on Ukrainian television. “It is necessary to go out and drive this evil out of our cities, from our land.”

Zelenskyy also asked the United States and NATO countries to send more warplanes to Ukraine, though that idea is complicated by logistical questions about how to provide aircraft to Ukrainian pilots.

MARIUPOL EVACUATION FAILS FOR SECOND DAY

An attempt to evacuate residents from the besieged southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol collapsed for a second day on Sunday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said, blaming an insufficiently clear agreement between the two sides.

“Amid devastating scenes of human suffering in Mariupol, a second attempt today to start evacuating an estimated 200,000 people out of the city came to a halt,” the ICRC said in a statement.

Mariupol city council said a convoy of evacuees was not able to depart on Sunday because Russian forces continued shelling despite a ceasefire agreement that was meant to last into the evening. A similar evacuation plan was thwarted by shelling on Saturday.

“It is extremely dangerous to take people out under such conditions,” the city council said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian authorities said about 400 people fleeing the nearby town of Volnovakha under a similar evacuation plan came under Russian fire on Sunday. They did not say if there were any casualties.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in a telephone call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron blamed Kyiv for failed civilian evacuations. He also spoke with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who appealed for a ceasefire in the conflict that the United Nations says has created the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since Second World War.

In Kyiv, Ukrainian soldiers bolstered defences by digging trenches, blocking roads and liaising with civil defence units as Russian forces bombarded areas nearby. “Positions are prepared, we’ve fitted them out and we are simply waiting to meet them here,” said a soldier. “Victory will be ours.”

CIVILIANS KILLED AS THEY FLEE DESTROYED TOWN NEAR KYIV

The civilian death toll is rising in Ukraine after a blast struck an evacuation crossing point in a Kyiv suburb as more people try to flee the Russian invasion.

Two mortar or artillery shells hit the checkpoint in the suburb of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, Ukrainian authorities said. Irpin Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn said eight civilians have been killed across the district, and social media video showed extensive destruction.

International media filming at the checkpoint reported that a shell landed as a stream of civilians was coming through.

"A family died," Markushyn said in a statement. "In front of my eyes, two small children and two adults died."

Photographs from the Associated Press showed bodies on the ground covered by sheets, with suitcases standing upright nearby.

The Kyiv Regional Military Administration appealed to international organizations for help in resolving a growing humanitarian crisis.

NATO HESITANT TO CALL FOR A NO-FLY ZONE IN UKRAINE

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and others have called for NATO to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine to counter the threat from Russian military aircraft. For now, NATO leaders have said they aren’t willing, fearful such a move could drag them into a broader war with Russia.

A no-fly zone is an order to ban aircraft in a specified area. Such zones are sometimes imposed over government buildings or public places for security reasons, or over sacred sites for religious and cultural reasons. Their most contentious use is when they are used during conflicts to prevent military aircraft from engaging in hostile actions.

No-fly zones can allow countries to take action without committing large numbers of ground troops, relying instead on a comparatively small number of aircraft and supporting infrastructure. But enforcing such restrictions can also involve a significant use of force, including destroying anti-air defenses or shooting down aircraft.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia has warned that any nation that tried to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine would in effect be “participating in the armed conflict,” raising the threat of Russian retaliation. NATO’s secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, said Friday that its members had rejected a no-fly zone out of fears it could lead to “a full-fledged war in Europe.”

Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s leader, has said that NATO’s refusal to take such a step has given Russia a “green light” to continue the war.

RUSSIA WARNS COUNTRIES AGAINST HOSTING UKRAINE MILITARY AIRCRAFT

Russia on Sunday warned Ukraine's neighbours including NATO member Romania against hosting Kyiv's military aircraft, saying they could end up being involved in an armed conflict.

"We know for sure that Ukrainian combat aircraft have flown to Romania and other neighbouring countries," defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a video briefing.

"The use of the airfield network of these countries for basing Ukrainian military aviation with the subsequent use of force against Russia's army can be regarded as the involvement of these states in an armed conflict," he added.

"It's pure rhetoric designed to divert attention from what is really happening on the ground -- civilians killed, the rules of armed conflict flouted," Romania's Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said during a television interview.

Moscow could try all they want to scare Romania, he added, but "we have no reason to feel threatened".

U.S. ‘WORKING ON’ DEAL TO SUPPLY POLISH JETS TO KYIV

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that Washington was “working actively” on a deal with Poland to supply Ukraine with fighter jets.

The deal, according to reports, could involve Poland handing over its MIG-29s, a Soviet/Russian-made jet Ukrainian pilots are familiar with, and the U.S. would then provide its F-16 fighters to Poland as replacements.

U.S. officials, including Mr. Blinken, had downplayed the possibility of any NATO country supplying besieged Ukraine since the beginning of this week.

But speaking in Moldova Sunday, Mr. Blinken confirmed it was under active discussion.

“We are looking actively now at the question of airplanes that Poland may provide to Ukraine and looking at how we might be able to backfill should Poland decide to supply those planes.”

SPACEX SENDS ADDITIONAL STARLINK TERMINALS TO UKRAINE

Ukraine will receive another batch of SpaceX's Starlink satellite systems next week, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed in a tweet early Sunday morning local time after speaking with Elon Musk.

An initial set of Starlink satellites was activated above Ukraine, with additional terminals delivered, after Ukrainian officials requested Musk's help in bringing internet access to parts of the country in the wake of Russia's unprovoked invasion.

Zelensky tweeted that he had spoken to Musk and that he is "grateful to him for supporting Ukraine with words and deeds."

"Next week we will receive another batch of Starlink systems for destroyed cities," he added.

Zelensky noted that the two had discussed possible space projects for Ukraine, though he said he would "talk about this after the war."

Several large Ukrainian cities remained without internet or phone connection after being shelled by Russian troops.

Meanwhile, Netflix, TikTok became the latest companies to pull out from Russia.

RUSSIA ARRESTS ANTI-WAR PROTESTERS

Police detained more than 4,300 people on Sunday at Russia-wide protests against President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, according to an independent protest monitoring group, OVD-Info.

Thousands of protesters chanted “No to war!” and “Shame on you!”, according to videos posted on social media by opposition activists and bloggers.

ZELENSKYY SAYS RUSSIA SANCTIONS NOT SUFFICIENT

As Russian forces increased their shelling of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to the West to strengthen sanctions.

In a video statement on Sunday evening, Zelenskyy heaped criticism on Western leaders for not responding to the Russian Defense Ministry's announcement that it would strike Ukraine's military-industrial complex, while telling employees of these defence plants not to go to work.

“I didn't hear even a single world leader react to this,” Zelenskyy said. “The audacity of the aggressor is a clear signal to the West that the sanctions imposed on Russia are not sufficient.”

Zelenskyy called for organising a “tribunal” to bring to justice those who order and carry out such crimes.

“Think about the sense of impunity of the occupiers that they can announce such planned atrocities,” he said.

The Russian Defence Ministry announced on Sunday that its forces intended to strike Ukraine's military-industrial complex with what it said were precision weapons.

“We urge all personnel of Ukrainian defence industry plants...to leave the territory of their enterprises,” ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement carried by the state news agency Tass.

RUSSIA REPORTEDLY RECRUITING SYRIAN MERCENARIES

Russia is recruiting Syrians skilled in urban combat to fight in Ukraine as Moscow prepares for intense street-to-street fighting in its push to seize major Ukrainian cities, US officials have told the Wall Street Journal.

Intelligence officials declined to tell the publication how many fighters have agreed to join the war, but said some have already travelled to Russia and are preparing to be deployed into Ukraine.

According to a publication in Deir Ezzor, Syria, Russia has offered volunteers from the country salaries of between $200 and $300 "to go to Ukraine and operate as guards" for six months at a time.

Officials in Moscow are said to believe the deployment of fighters hardened by over a decade of urban warfare in the Syrian Civil War could add muscle to their fight to seize key Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv.

Israeli military veterans have been reportedly showing up to fight for Ukraine.

SYDNEY FACES MORE RAIN AS DEATH TOLL FROM AUSTRALIAN FLOODS RISES

Sydney, Australia’s most populous city, braced for more rain on Sunday after being drenched by heavy downpours over the past week, as the death toll from flooding across the eastern part of the country reached 17.

A wild weather system that dumped more than a year’s worth of rainfall over a week in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales (NSW) brought widespread destruction, leaving thousands of people in the states displaced and sweeping away property, livestock and roads.

Seventeen people have been killed since the deluge began, including a Queensland woman, whose body was found on Saturday, according to police.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) of NSW said a new weather system could bring another round of heavy rains, raising the risks of flooding.

”The focus of the heaviest rainfall, and rivers at greatest risk, are those extending from greater Sydney to the Hunter and Manning Rivers, where moderate to major flooding is possible,” the BoM’s flood watch said in a statement.

In Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, and surrounding areas the clean-up continued over the weekend after days of torrential rains that flooded several thousand properties.

QUEEN PICKS WINDSOR CASTLE AS HER PERMANENT HOME

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is unlikely to live at Buckingham Palace in London again, choosing her Windsor Castle residence in Berkshire as her base, according to a media report on Sunday.

The 95-year-old monarch has been based at the Castle, traditionally only a weekend retreat, since she moved there for isolation during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020. She now prefers it as her permanent home and main official residence as opposed to the palace in central London.