Evacuations of people fleeing embattled Ukrainian cities along safe corridors began Tuesday, while U.N. officials said the exodus of refugees from Russia’s invasion reached 2 million.
LVIV, Ukraine — Buses carried civilians out of an embattled Ukrainian city Tuesday along a safe corridor agreed to by the two warring sides, while a parallel effort to relieve the besieged port of Mariupol was thrown into jeopardy by reports of renewed Russian shelling.
Hours before the convoy reached Sumy, overnight strikes killed 21 people there, including two children, Ukrainian authorities said. “So we cannot establish sustainable cease-fire and safety route at the moment,″ Serhiy Orlov said. “So we still have ... a city in blockade.’’ Nearly two weeks into the fighting, Russian forces have captured a swath of southern and coastal Ukraine but have seen their advances stopped in many areas — including around Kyiv, the capital — by nimble Ukrainian fighters targeting Moscow’s armored columns.
In a further effort to punish Russia, U.S. President Joe Biden decided to ban Russian oil imports, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter before an announcement. Also, Shell announced will stop buying oil and gas from Russia.