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.