Exodus of Ukrainian refugees reaches 2 million; Shell will stop buying Russian oil

By YURAS KARMANAU, Associated Press
Posted:
Updated:

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Evacuations of people fleeing embattled Ukrainian cities along safe corridors began Tuesday, while U.N. officials said the exodus of refugees from Russia’s invasion reached 2 million.

The Russian onslaught has trapped people inside cities that are running low on food, water and medicine amid the biggest ground war in Europe since World War II.

Keep scrolling for a photo gallery of the mass exodus of Ukrainian refugees

Previous attempts to lead civilians to safety have crumbled with renewed attacks. But on Tuesday, video posted by Ukrainian officials showed buses with people moving along a snowy road from the eastern city of Sumy and yellow buses with a red cross on them heading toward the southern port of Mariupol.

It was not clear how long the efforts would last.

“The Ukrainian city of Sumy was given a green corridor, the first stage of evacuation began,” the Ukrainian state communications agency tweeted.

While some people fled to other cities in Ukraine, many have chosen to leave the country instead. Safa Msehli, a spokesperson for the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration, tweeted that 2 million have now left, including at least 100,000 people who are not Ukrainian.

With the invasion well into its second week, Russian troops have made significant advances in southern Ukraine but stalled in some other regions. Ukrainian soldiers and volunteers fortified the capital, Kyiv, with hundreds of checkpoints and barricades designed to thwart a takeover. A steady rain of shells and rockets fell on other population centers, including the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where the mayor reported heavy artillery fire.

“We can’t even gather up the bodies because the shelling from heavy weapons doesn’t stop day or night,” Mayor Anatol Fedoruk said. “Dogs are pulling apart the bodies on the city streets. It’s a nightmare.”

In other news from Ukraine, energy giant Shell said Tuesday that it will stop buying Russian oil and natural gas and shut down its service stations, aviation fuels and other operations in the country amid international pressure for companies to sever ties over the invasion of Ukraine. Full story here:

***

MORE COVERAGE

***

PHOTO GALLERY


<p>A Ukrainian police officer helps people as artillery echoes nearby while fleeing Irpin in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, March 7, 2022. Russia announced yet another cease-fire and a handful of humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to flee Ukraine. Previous such measures have fallen apart and Moscow’s armed forces continued to pummel some Ukrainian cities with rockets Monday. </p>

AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti

A Ukrainian police officer helps people as artillery echoes nearby while fleeing Irpin in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, March 7, 2022. Russia announced yet another cease-fire and a handful of humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to flee Ukraine. Previous such measures have fallen apart and Moscow’s armed forces continued to pummel some Ukrainian cities with rockets Monday. 

Categories: Test Category – JackieL