Russia’s bloody and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine entered its 12th day following what Ukrainian authorities described as increased shelling of encircled cities and another failed attempt to start evacuating hundreds of thousands of civilians from the besieged areas, including the southern port of Mariupol.
Out of the carnage, powerful — and graphic — photos of Ukrainian civilians enduring untold suffering have emerged (shared below).
Russia announced yet another cease-fire and humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to flee Ukraine starting Monday. Two previous cease-fire attempts have failed. Moscow’s armed forces continued to pummel some Ukrainian cities with rockets even after the announcement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for a global boycott of all Russian products –- including oil — ahead of a third round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian leaders planned for Monday.
More than 1.7 million Ukrainians had been forced from the country. Zelenskyy urged his people to keep resisting, and Ukraine’s foreign minister said more than 20,000 people from 52 countries had volunteered to fight in Ukraine’s newly created international legion.
Russian President Vladimir Putin likened the West’s sanctions on Russia to “declaring war.”
Here’s a look at key things to know about the war:
VIOLENCE STOPS PLANNED CIVILIAN EVACUATIONS AGAIN
Russia announced a cease-fire starting Monday morning and the opening of humanitarian corridors in several areas to allow hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian civilians to flee the fighting, even as its forces continued to pummel Ukrainian cities.
Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko has blamed Russian artillery fire for halting efforts to evacuate an estimated 200,000 civilians from Mariupol, where food, water, and medicine are scarce. Putin accused Ukraine of sabotaging the effort.
Russia has sought to cut off Ukraine’s access to the Sea of Azov in the south. Capturing Mariupol could allow Russia to establish a land corridor to Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING ON THE GROUND?
Russian forces launched hundreds of missiles and artillery attacks, dropping powerful bombs on residential areas of Chernihiv, a city north of the capital of Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said. But a miles-long Russian armored column threatening the capital remained stalled outside Kyiv.
On Sunday evening, Mykolaiv in the south and Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city, were also shelled.
A senior American defense official said Sunday the U.S. believes about 95% of the Russian forces that had been arrayed around Ukraine are now inside the country. Ukrainian air and missile defenses remain effective and in use, and the Ukrainian military continues to fly aircraft and employ air defense assets, the official said.
Ukrainian forces were also defending Odesa, Ukraine’s largest port city, from Russian ships, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich said.
The Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday announced plans to strike Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, and alleged Ukrainian forces were plotting to blow up an experimental nuclear reactor in Kharkiv and to blame it on Russia. The ministry offered no evidence to back its claims, which could not be independently verified.
COULD RUSSIA ACTUALLY LOSE?
The stalled Russian army’s advance in much of Ukraine and their inability to capture key urban centers has some experts openly wondering about what seemed impossible just two weeks ago: That Russia could lose the war.
United Kingdom’s Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said on Sunday that Russian forces have been “decimated” by Ukrainian defenses and the invasion is “is not going well” for Putin.
Former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair also told the BBC on Sunday, “I think we’ve seen a Russian invasion that is not going well.”
“I think we’re also seeing remarkable resistance by Ukraine, both its armed forces and its people and we’re seeing the unity of the whole globe coming together, applying pressure to Russia.
“Russia is suffering, Russia is an isolated power. It is less powerful than it was ten days ago. Some of the lead elements of Russian forces have been decimated by the Ukrainian response.
“You’ve also seen basic failures in terms of maintenance and their kit failing. Russia hasn’t operated at this scale since the Second World War and it is incredibly complex and difficult.”
A whistleblower for the Russian intelligence office reportedly expressed dismay at his country’s chance for victory over the much smaller — but highly motivated — Ukrainians and predicted the war will be a “total failure” for Russia.
ZELENSKYY PUSHES CALL FOR NO-FLY ZONE
Zelenskyy pushed his call for foreign countries to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Establishing a no-fly zone would risk escalating the conflict by involving foreign militaries directly. Although the United States and many Western countries have backed Ukraine with weapons shipments, they have sent no troops.
Zelenskyy said in a video address on Sunday that “the world is strong enough to close our skies” and over the weekend he urged U.S. officials to help his country obtain warplanes to fight the invasion and retain control of its airspace.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Sunday that some Ukrainian combat planes had redeployed to Romania and other Ukraine neighbors he didn’t identify. He warned an attack from planes operating out of those nations could be deemed an engagement by them in the conflict.
DIRECTLY WITNESSED OR CONFIRMED BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Onlookers in Chernihiv cheered as a Russian military plane fell from the sky and crashed, according to video released by the Ukrainian government. In Kherson, hundreds of protesters waved blue and yellow Ukrainian flags and shouted, “Go home.”
In Mariupol, Associated Press journalists saw doctors make futile attempts to save wounded children. Pharmacies ran bare and hundreds of thousands of people faced food and water shortages in freezing weather.
In Irpin, near Kyiv, a sea of people on foot and even in wheelbarrows trudged over the remains of a destroyed bridge to cross a river and leave the city. Assisted by Ukrainian soldiers, they lugged pets, infants, purses, and flimsy bags stuffed with minimal possessions. Some of the weak and elderly were carried along the path in blankets and carts.
Kyiv’s central train station remained crowded with people desperate to leave, and frequent shelling could be heard from the center of the capital city.
WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Vilnius, Lithuania, for a lightning trip to three Baltic states increasingly on edge as they watch Russia press ahead with its invasion of Ukraine. He pledged NATO protection and American support.
Blinken said Sunday that the United States and its allies are having a “very active discussion” about banning the import of Russian oil and natural gas, while the New Zealand government plans to rush legislation that will allow it to impose economic sanctions against Russia.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine will meet near the Turkish Mediterranean coastal city of Antalya this week.
China’s foreign minister called Russia Beijing’s “most important strategic partner” and has continued to refuse to condemn the invasion of Ukraine.
While most of the world is shunning Putin, one of the few leaders keeping an open line of communication is French President Emmanuel Macron.
Meanwhile, Russian lawyers snubbed a hearing at the United Nations’ top court into an effort by Kyiv to halt Moscow’s devastating invasion of Ukraine.
Putin continued to blame the war on the Ukrainian leadership, saying, “They are calling into question the future of Ukrainian statehood.” In a call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday, Putin said the invasion could be halted only “only if Kyiv ceases hostilities,” according to a Kremlin account.
THE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION
The death toll of the conflict has been difficult to measure. The U.N. human rights office said at least 364 civilians have been confirmed killed since the Feb. 24 invasion, but the true number is probably much higher.
The World Health Organization said it verified at least six attacks that have killed six health care workers and injured 11 others.
Ukrainian refugees continue to pour into neighboring countries, including Poland, Romania, and Moldova. The number of people who have left since fighting began has now reached 1.7 million, according to the U.N. refugee agency. Among the multitudes is a Ukrainian youth orchestra.
Ukraine has rejected a Russian proposal for refugee evacuation routes to Russia and Belarus as “unacceptable.”
BUSINESS AND SANCTIONS IN RUSSIA
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 war.
Two of the so-called Big Four accounting firms — KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers — said Sunday they were pulling out of Russia, ending relationships with member firms based in the country.
TikTok said users won’t be able to post new videos in Russia in response to the government’s crackdown on what people can say on social media about the invasion, and American Express announced it was suspending all operations in Russia and Belarus.
Netflix also announced it was suspending its service in Russia.
SHOCKING PHOTOS EMERGE
Take a look for yourself at some of the scenes from inside the war-torn country.
Warning: Many of these images are graphic —
The Associated Press contributed to this article