Live: Russia again promises safe passage for Ukrainians fleeing battered cities
Kyiv residents awoke Wednesday to an air raid alert urging them to get to bomb shelters as quickly as possible over fears of incoming Russian missiles, while the strategic port city of Mariupol remained encircled as a humanitarian crisis grew. Moscow said it was ready to provide humanitarian corridors on Wednesday for people fleeing the capital and four other Ukrainian cities. Mikhail Mizintsev, head of Russia's National Defence Control Centre, said that Russian forces would "observe a regime of silence" from 10 am Moscow time to ensure safe passage for civilians wishing to leave Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol. Follow our live blog for the day’s latest developments. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky US President Joe Biden announced a ban on US imports of oil from Russia in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The UK also said they would phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year. The UN said the number of refugees fle...