Russia-Ukraine war latest updates: Key things to know

Russian troops on Sunday stepped up bombardment of the besieged port city of Mariupol, with Ukrainian officials saying a strike flattened an art school used as a shelter by hundreds of civilians.

Mariupol continues to bear some of the war's greatest suffering. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier on Sunday accused Russia of war crimes over its siege, describing the attack on the city as a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come.

Zelenskyy, addressing the nation, said Ukraine was interested in peace and that ongoing talks with Russia were not simple or pleasant, but they are necessary.

He has requested to directly meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, to no avail.

Here are some key things to know about the conflict:

What's Happening in Mariupol?

The strategic port on the Azov Sea has been encircled by Russian troops, cut off from energy, food and water supplies, and has faced a relentless bombardment.

It has been cut off since the early days of Putin's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, with civilian life relegated to bomb shelters since then.

According to the aid groups, the port city faces a humanitarian crisis. Russian forces have also cut off its access to the sea of Azov.

An adviser to Ukraine's president said there was no immediate military help for Mariupol, adding that the nearest forces able to assist were already struggling against Russian forces at least 100 kilometers away.

Mariupol police officer Michail Vershnin, in a video post from a rubble-strewn street, pleaded to Western leaders for help.

“Children, elderly people are dying. The city is destroyed and it has been wiped off the face of the earth,” he said.

A statement from the Mariupol city council said Russian soldiers had forced several thousand residents “mostly women and children” to leave and relocate to Russia. However, it did not say as to where in Russia.

The city council said on Sunday that nearly 40,000 people had used their own vehicles to flee the city via a humanitarian corridor over the past week nearly 10 per cent of its 430,000 population.

Also Read: Russia-Ukraine war in pics: Mariupol residents ‘forced’ to evacuate, Zelenskyy says ‘terror will be remembered’

What of the Art School?

Details remain few in the immediate aftermath, but Ukrainian authorities said the Russian military bombed an art school in Mariupol where about 400 people had taken refuge. The Associated Press could not independently verify the claim.

Local authorities said the school building was destroyed and people remained under the rubble. There was no immediate word on casualties.

The strike followed a pattern of attacks on civilian refuges as Russian forces on Wednesday also bombed a theatre in Mariupol where civilians took shelter. The authorities said 130 people were rescued but many more could remain under the debris.

What is happening in Other Cities in Ukraine?

Authorities in the eastern city of Kharkiv said at least five civilians were killed in the latest Russian shelling, with the victims including a nine-year-old boy.

Kharkiv has been under siege since the start of the Russian invasion and faces relentless Russian artillery.

Some 70 baby orphans were evacuated from Sumy, another Ukrainian city under siege, in the northeast.

In Mykolaiv, rescuers on Saturday searched the rubble of a marine barracks that was destroyed in an apparent missile attack a day earlier. It isn't clear how many marines were inside at the time.

Around Kyiv, the northwestern suburbs of Bucha, Hostomel, Irpin and Moshchun were under fire on Saturday, according to the Kyiv regional administration.

More than 6,000 people were able to evacuate along eight of 10 humanitarian corridors on Saturday, said Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.

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Are There New Military Developments?

The Russian military on Sunday reported that it had carried out a new series of strikes on Ukrainian military facilities with long-range hypersonic and cruise missiles, a day after announcing it had used its latest hypersonic missile for the first time in combat.

Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said the Kinzhal hypersonic missile hit a Ukrainian fuel depot in Kostiantynivka near the Black Sea port of Mykolaiv.

The strike marked the second day in a row that Russia used the Kinzhal, a weapon capable of striking targets 2,000 kilometers away at a speed 10 times the speed of sound.

Meanwhile, the British defence ministry said the Ukrainian Air Force and air defence forces continued to "effectively defend Ukrainian airspace" and Russia had failed to get control of the air, which was one of the Kremlin's key objectives.

Are Russia and Ukraine Talking?

The two countries have held several rounds of negotiations, but remain divided over key issues. Moscow wants Ukraine's demilitarisation and Kyiv is demanding security guarantees.

How Are Ukrainian Refugees Faring?

Thousands of refugees from Ukraine waited in long lines in the Polish capital of Warsaw to receive local identification papers that will allow them to move on with their lives.

Refugees started lining up by Warsaw's National Stadium overnight to get the coveted PESEL identity cards that will allow them to work, go to school and get medical care or social benefits for the next 18 months.

By mid-morning Saturday, many were told to come back another day because the demand was so high.

Poland has taken in more than two million refugees from Ukraine the bulk of more than 3.3 million people that the UN says have fled since the Russian invasion.