Live: Odessa residents escalate defenses as fears of a Russian attack grow

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Sunday that Russian forces were preparing to bomb the historic port city of Odessa on the Black Sea coast. Russia and Ukraine accused each other of failing to establish a humanitarian corridor outside the other major port city of Mariupol, Sunday, in a second failed attempt to evacuate civilians. Follow our live updates for the latest.

More than a million refugees have crossed the border from Ukraine into Poland since the invasion of Russian forces on February 24, Polish border guards said on Sunday. The United Nations said earlier on Sunday that more than 1.5 million people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries since the Russian invasion. A civilian catastrophe is growing in Ukraine as attempts to evacuate residents of the besieged port city of Mariupol fail for a second day in a row. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Sunday to declare a ceasefire in Ukraine, open humanitarian corridors and sign a peace deal, his office said. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the United States is considering sending planes to Poland if Warsaw decides to send fighter planes to Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that he spoke by phone with his US counterpart Joe Bidento to discuss financial support and sanctions against Russia. A delegation from Kyiv and Moscow is scheduled to hold the third round of negotiations on Monday. The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the humanitarian crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and discuss a possible draft resolution. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Sunday that Washington had seen “very credible reports” that Russia committed war crimes during its invasion of Ukraine, particularly in attacking civilians. Follow our live updates below. If updates do not appear, please refresh the page.

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(France 24, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, The Associated Press)