Russia accused of shelling Mariupol evacuation route as civilians flee Sumy

Buses and cars have evacuated large numbers of civilians from the besieged eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy but authorities in Kyiv accused Moscow of shelling a similar refugee corridor meant to allow residents to escape the devastated port of Mariupol.

As the number of people fleeing Ukraine passed 2 million and the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the country was running out of vital medical supplies, the government in Kyiv said Russia had broken an agreed ceasefire.

Boychenko said Russian forces were bombarding the area of Mariupol where some of the 200,000 people gathering to try and flee the southern city, whose capture could allow Moscow to create a land corridor to Crimea. Some roads had been mined, he said.

Efforts over the past three days to evacuate civilians from besieged Ukrainian cities were repeatedly abandoned after Russian forces continued to bombard densely populated residential areas, with civilians trying to take the routes to safety themselves coming under fire.

Dozens of buses carrying Ukrainians and foreign nationals left Sumy in the direction of Lokhvytsia, to the southwest. India said it had evacuated hundreds of its students and Nigeria said 360 of its nationals - thought to be the second largest group of international students in the city after about 700 Indians and students of other nationalities including Ireland, Tanzania and Ghana - were leaving.

Ukrainian regional police official Serhiy Bolvinov said on Tuesday that at least 27 civilians have been killed in attacks by Russian forces on the eastern Ukrainian city of in the past 24 hours, with 170 dead across the Kharkiv region since the Russian invasion began.

The UN human rights office said on Tuesday it had verified 1,335 civilian casualties in Ukraine, including 474 killed and 861 injured, but added that the civilian toll was incomplete and the real figure was likely to be much higher.

Further ceasefire talks between the two sides were expected in the coming days but after a third round failed on Monday, negotiators warned not to expect subsequent efforts to bring any rapid breakthroughs. The Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers were expected to meet in Turkey on Thursday.

The UN high commissioner for refugees, Filippo Grandi, said on Tuesday that the number of people who had fled Ukraine since the invasion began on 24 February had reached 2 million. Poland said on Tuesday it had welcomed about 1.2 million people, including 141,500 on Monday alone.

The WHO on Tuesday said attacks on hospitals, ambulances and other healthcare facilities in Ukraine had surged, with at least at least nine people dying in 16 attacks on healthcare facilities since the start of the invasion.

Russia has made significant advances in southern Ukraine as it seeks to block access to the Sea of Azov and establish a land corridor to Crimea. Elsewhere, however, progress has become stalled, including a long military convoy that has been almost motionless for days north of Kyiv.

Ukraine said on Tuesday its forces had killed more than 12,000 Russian troops since the start of the conflict as well as destroying 48 aircraft, 80 helicopters, 303 tanks, 1,036 armed vehicles, 120 artillery pieces and 27 anti-aircraft warfare systems. Moscow has so far confirmed about 500 of its soldiers dead.