Ukrainian refugees soar to 1.5million, Zelenskiy demands more weapons

The number of refugees fleeing Ukraine was expected to reach 1.5 million on Sunday as Russia’s attack continued for an 11th day and Ukraine pressed for more sanctions and weapons.

Moscow and Kyiv traded blame over a failed ceasefire on Saturday that would have let civilians flee Mariupol and Volnovakha, two southern cities besieged by Russian forces.

Ukrainians who could escape spilled into neighbouring Poland, Romania, Slovakia and elsewhere.

Ukrainian negotiators said a third round of talks with Russia on a ceasefire would go ahead on Monday, although Moscow was less definitive.

In a televised address on Saturday night, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on people in areas occupied by Russian troops to fight.

“We must go outside and drive this evil out of our cities,” he said, vowing to rebuild his nation.

British military intelligence said on Sunday that Russian forces were targeting populated areas in Ukraine but that the strength of resistance was slowing their advance.

“The scale and strength of Ukrainian resistance continue to surprise Russia,” British military intelligence said in an update.

Russia has repeatedly denied that it is targeting civilian areas.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched what he calls a “special military operation” on Feb. 24, reiterated that he wanted a neutral Ukraine that had been “demilitarised” and “denazified,” and likened Western sanctions “to a declaration of war,” adding: “Thank God it has not come to that.”

Ukraine and Western countries have decried Putin’s reasons as a baseless pretext for the invasion and have imposed sweeping sanctions aimed at isolating Moscow and crippling its economy.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ukraine-Poland border, said he expected new sanctions and weapons for Ukraine in coming days.

The United States has said it would give Ukraine more weapons and has repeatedly warned it could escalate sanctions, with President Joe Biden seeking $10 billion in emergency funding to respond to the crisis.

Washington is working with Poland as Warsaw considers whether to provide fighter jets to Ukraine, a White House spokesperson said.