Russian troops have failed to capture any major Ukrainian city more than four weeks into their invasion, and increasingly are resorting to massive destruction of residential areas with air strikes, long-range missiles and artillery.
FIGHTING
* The focal point is Mariupol, a strategically important southern port. There, horror and bewilderment stalk the devastated, Russian-besieged city, where some bury neighbours in roadside graves.
* Russian artillery continues to blast the eastern cities of Kharkhiv, Sumy and Chernihiv.
REFUGEES
* Nearly 6.5 million people have been uprooted from homes, the United Nations says. Just over 8,000 people were evacuated on Monday.
* About half a million refugees who have fled to Poland need support for mental health disorders, and 30,000 have severe mental health problems, the World Health Organisation said.
SANCTIONS
* The European Union cannot agree on whether or how to impose sanctions on Russia's lucrative energy sector. Germany and the Netherlands say the bloc is currently too dependent on Russian oil and gas to impose an embargo now. Other potential sanctions are being discussed including cutting off more Russian banks' access to the SWIFT global messaging system.
* Russian energy giant Gazprom said on Tuesday it was continuing to supply gas to Europe via Ukraine in line with requests from European consumers.
DIPLOMACY
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it would not be possible to negotiate an end to the war without meeting Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin said it wants talks to more "active and substantial".
* US-Russia bilateral ties were on the brink of collapse, Russia's foreign ministry said, summoning the US ambassador after Biden called Putin a "war criminal."
COMING UP
* The UN General Assembly is expected to vote again this week on a motion criticising Russia for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
QUOTES
* "Please think about how many things he has come through," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, referring to Boris Romanchenko, a 96-year-old Holocaust survivor killed last week when shelling hit his flat in Kharkiv.
* "Everything is destroyed. Where can we go?" asked librarian Irina Chernenko in a dark cellar in Mariupol packed with families for 11 days.
Australian Associated Press
