Another cease-fire announced for evacuations amid heavy shelling

A Ukrainian man rides his bicycle near a factory and a store that are burning after being bombarded in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv on Sunday. Pics/AP

Russia announced yet another cease-fire and a handful of humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to flee Ukraine starting Monday, but previous such measures have fallen apart and Moscow's armed forces continued to pummel some Ukrainian cities with rockets even after the announcement. A day earlier, hundreds of thousands of civilians attempting to flee to safety were forced to shelter from what Ukrainian officials said was Russian shelling in cities in the center, north and south.

Ahead of a third round of talks planned for Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said a cease-fire would start in the morning, and safe passages would open for civilians from the capital of Kyiv, the southern port city of Mariupol, and the cities of Kharkiv and Sumy. Some of the evacuation routes, however, would funnel civilians toward Russia or its ally Belarus - unlikely destinations for many Ukrainians who would prefer to head toward countries on the western and southern borders.

Refugees wait for transportation after fleeing the Ukraine and arriving at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland on Monday

A senior Ukrainian official rejected those proposals. "This is an unacceptable option for opening humanitarian corridors," Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk said at a briefing.

According to the Russian proposal, the only options for civilians fleeing Kyiv and its suburbs would be to go to Gomel in neighbouring Belarus. Civilians in Kharkiv and Sumy in eastern Ukraine would have to flee to the Russian city of Belgorod.

Belarus is a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and served as a launching ground for the invasion.

A man and a woman cross an improvised path while fleeing Irpin on Sunday

11,000 Russian forces killed

Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs shared the details of the losses that Russia has incurred since the invasion of Ukraine started noting that a total of 11,000 Russian forces were killed till Monday.

Refugee numbers go up

The United Nations' refugee agency says the number of people who have fled the war in Ukraine has increased to more than 1.7 million. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees on Monday put the number of people who have arrived in other countries since the Russian invasion started on Feb. 24 at some 1.735 million. That's up from more than 1.53 million on Sunday. Nearly three-fifths of the total - nearly 1.03 million - arrived in Poland, according to the agency. Over 1,80,000 went to Hungary and 1,28,000 to Slovakia.

US assures NATO protection

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday assured Lithuania of NATO protection and American support as he began a lightning visit to the three Baltic states that are increasingly on edge as Russia presses ahead with its invasion of Ukraine. The former Soviet republics of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are NATO members and Blinken is aiming to reassure them of their security in the event Russia chooses to expand its military operations.

"We are bolstering our shared defense so that we and our allies are prepared," Blinken said, stressing US commitment to NATO's mutual defense pact is "sacrosanct."

"We will defend every inch of NATO territory if it comes under attack," he said. "No one should doubt our readiness, no one should doubt our resolve."

Putin stripped of judo titles

The International Judo Federation has removed the titles and jobs Vladimir Putin and a long-time Kremlin-supporting oligarch held at the organisation. "The International Judo Federation announces that Mr. Vladimir Putin and Mr. Arkady Rotenberg have been removed from all positions held in the International Judo Federation," the Budapest-based governing body said in a statement late Sunday.

Netflix, TikTok block services in Russia

Netflix and TikTok suspended most of their services in Russia on Sunday as the government cracks down on what people and media outlets can say about Russia's war in Ukraine. Pulling the plug on online entertainment - and information - is likely to further isolate the country and its people after a growing number of multinational businesses have cut off Russia from vital financial services, technology and a variety of consumer products in response to Western economic sanctions and global outrage over the invasion of Ukraine.

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