Ukrainian forces have retaken a strategically important suburb of Kyiv, as Russian forces squeezed other areas near the capital and their attack on the southern port of Mariupol raged on.
Explosions and bursts of gunfire shook Kyiv, and black smoke rose from a spot in the north.
Intensified artillery fire could be heard from the north-west, where Russia has sought to encircle and capture several suburban areas of the capital, a crucial target.
Residents sheltered at home or underground under a 35-hour curfew imposed by authorities in the capital that runs to Wednesday morning.
Russian forces also pressed their siege of Mariupol after the southern port city’s defenders refused demands to surrender, with fleeing civilians describing relentless bombardments and corpses lying in the streets.
But the Kremlin’s ground offensive in other parts of the country advanced slowly or not at all, repulsed by lethal hit-and-run attacks by the Ukrainians.
Early on Tuesday, Ukrainian troops forced Russian forces out of the Kyiv suburb of Makariv after a fierce battle, Ukraine’s defence ministry said.
The regained territory allowed Ukrainian forces to retake control of a key highway and block Russian troops from surrounding Kyiv from the north-west.
Still, the Ukrainian defence ministry said Russian forces battling toward Kyiv were able to partially take other the north-western suburbs Bucha, Hostomel and Irpin, some of which had been under attack since Russia’s military invaded almost a month ago.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces are increasingly concentrating their air power and artillery on Ukraine’s cities and the civilians living there.
The invasion has driven more than 10 million people from their homes, a number similar to the population of Portugal and almost a quarter of Ukraine’s pre-war population, according to the United Nations.
The UN has confirmed more than 900 civilian deaths while saying the real toll is probably much higher.
Thousands of civilians are believed to have died, though the total remains unclear. Estimates of Russian military casualties vary widely, but even conservative figures by Western officials are in the low thousands.
On Monday, Russia’s pro-Kremlin Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, citing the defence ministry, reported that almost 10,000 Russian soldiers had been killed. The report was quickly removed, and the newspaper blamed hackers. The Kremlin refused to comment.
Beyond the terrible human toll, the war has shaken the post-Cold War global security consensus, imperilled the world supply of key crops, and raised worries it could set off a nuclear accident.
Wildfires broke out near the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, but Ukraine’s natural resources minister said they had been extinguished and radiation was within normal levels. Chernobyl was the scene of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986.
US and British officials say Kyiv remains Russia’s primary objective. The bulk of Moscow’s forces remain miles from the centre, but missiles and artillery have destroyed apartment buildings and a large shopping mall, which was left a smoking ruin after being hit late on Sunday by strikes that killed eight people, according to emergency officials.
A senior US defence official said Russia had increased air sorties over the past two days, carrying out as many as 300 over a 24-hour period, and has fired more than 1,100 missiles into Ukraine since the invasion began.
US President Joe Biden, who is heading to Europe later in the week to meet with allies, suggested on Monday evening that worse may still be to come.
Talked to @Pontifex. Told His Holiness about the difficult humanitarian situation and the blocking of rescue corridors by Russian troops. The mediating role of the Holy See in ending human suffering would be appreciated. Thanked for the prayers for Ukraine and peace. pic.twitter.com/wj4hmrTRGd
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 22, 2022
“Putin’s back is against the wall,” Mr Biden said.
“He wasn’t anticipating the extent or the strength of our unity. And the more his back is against the wall, the greater the severity of the tactics he may employ.”
Mr Biden reiterated accusations that Mr Putin is considering resorting to using chemical weapons.
As Russian forces try to squeeze Kyiv, talks to end the fighting have continued by video but failed to bridge the chasm between the two sides.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Ukrainian television late on Monday that he would be prepared to consider waiving any bid by Ukraine to join Nato – a key Russian demand – in exchange for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and a guarantee of Ukraine’s security.
Mr Zelensky also suggested Kyiv would be open to future discussions on the status of Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014, and areas of the eastern Donbas region held by Russian-backed separatists.
But he said that was a topic for another time.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he saw progress in the talks.
“From my outreach with various actors, elements of diplomatic progress are coming into view on several key issues,” and the gains are enough to end hostilities now, he said.
One Western official, though, said that there were no signs Moscow was ready to compromise.
As part of a series of addresses to foreign legislatures to drum up support for Ukraine, Mr Zelensky spoke to Italian legislators on Tuesday, telling them that the besieged port of Mariupol had been utterly destroyed in the Russian onslaught.
He also spoke to Pope Francis.
“Imagine a Genoa completely burned down,” he said, citing an Italian port city of a similar size. He said 117 children had been killed in the war so far.
Some people managed to flee Mariupol, where weeks of Russian bombardment has cut off electricity, water and food supplies and severed communication with the outside world.
Let us think of these women and children who in time, without work, separated from their husbands, will be sought out by the ‘vultures’ of society. Please, let us protect them. #Ukraine #Peace #PrayTogether
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 20, 2022
The city council said on Tuesday that more than 1,100 people who had escaped the besieged city were on their way in a convoy of buses to another city to Mariupol’s north-west.
But the Red Cross said a humanitarian aid convoy trying to reach the embattled city with desperately needed supplies still had not been able to enter.
Perched on the Sea of Azov, Mariupol is a crucial port for Ukraine and lies along a stretch of territory between Russia and Crimea.
As such, it is a key target that has been besieged for more than three weeks and has seen some of the worst suffering of the war.
It is not clear how close its capture might be. Ukraine’s defence ministry said on Tuesday that their forces were still defending the city and had destroyed a Russian patrol boat and electronic warfare complex, and the UK Ministry of Defence said its intelligence showed that “Ukrainian forces continue to repulse Russian attempts to occupy” the city.
Mariupol officials said on March 15 that at least 2,300 people had died in the siege, with some buried in mass graves. There has been no official estimate since then, but the number is feared to be far higher.
Those who have made it out of Mariupol told of a devastated city.
“There are no buildings there anymore,” said 77-year-old Maria Fiodorova, who crossed the border to Poland on Monday after five days of travel.
Overall, more than 3.5 million people have fled Ukraine, while another 6.5 million have been displaced inside the country.
Matthew Saltmarsh, a spokesperson for the UN refugee agency, called the speed and scale of people fleeing danger in Ukraine “unprecedented in recent memory”.
