US President Joe Biden yesterday banned imports of Russian oil to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine as desperate civilians fled besieged cities and fresh fighting raged. 

Ukraine begins evacuating civilians from the northeastern city of Sumy under a deal with Moscow to set up humanitarian corridors out of cities besieged by Russian forces. Thousands attempt to board packed trains out of Odessa, Ukraine’s main port which is also bracing for attack.

First spotted on the side of Russian tanks and military vehicles amassing on the border with Ukraine, the letter “Z” has since become the main symbol of public support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.  Following the February 24 invasion, government supporters have used the letter, which does not exist in the Cyrillic alphabet used in Russia, to show solidarity with the armed forces fighting in the neighbouring country.

A boy has arrived safely in Slovakia after travelling some 1,200km (750 miles) from eastern Ukraine with no more than two small bags, a passport and his relatives’ phone number.

Desperate civilians fled besieged Ukrainian cities yesterday after Russia offered “humanitarian corridors”, as the number of refugees leaving the country since Moscow’s invasion passed two million.

Five Bangladeshis, reportedly detained at a camp in the Ukrainian city of Zhuravychi, said they were not being given enough food, their phones were seized and they were being tortured.

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson on Tuesday rejected opposition calls to consider joining NATO following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying an application now would destabilize security in Europe.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is no longer pressing for NATO membership for Ukraine, a delicate issue that was one of Russia's stated reasons for invading its pro-Western neighbor.

Thousands of tourists from Russia are currently stranded in Thailand, officials said on Tuesday, as unprecedented Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine put a squeeze on Russians struggling to find flights and finances.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will address British lawmakers via videolink in the House of Commons on Tuesday, the first time a president of another country has addressed the main Westminster chamber.

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.

President Joe Biden has decided to ban Russian oil imports, toughening the toll on Russia’s economy in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine, according to a person familiar with the matter.

An 11-year-old boy from Ukraine has crossed the border into Slovakia with just a plastic bag, a passport and a telephone number written on his hand, Slovak police said Sunday.

Seventeen citizens of Bangladesh, Nepal, Tunisia and Pakistan along with Indian students numbering around 570 have been evacuated by India from Sumy city, one of the worst-hit areas in northeastern Ukraine, Indian media reported today.

The number of refugees fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine has now increased to 2 million, the head of the UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Tuesday.

Recent data shows Russia has become the world’s most sanctioned country due to its war on Ukraine, The Star reports quoting Bernama.

The 28 crew members of the Bangladeshi ship “Banglar Samriddhi”, who were stranded in war-ravaged Ukraine, will leave for Bangladesh from Romania’s capital Bucharest via a special flight this (March 8) evening.

Five Bangladeshi citizens -- reportedly detained at a camp in the Ukrainian city Zhuravychi -- informed The Daily Star of their sufferings. As their phones were seized, they lost means of communication. They were not being given enough food either, they said.

Ukraine's military intelligence on Tuesday said its forces killed a Russian general near the besieged city of Kharkiv, the second Russian senior commander to die in the invasion.

At least nine people, including two children, have died in an air strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy, some 350 kilometres east of Kiev, the rescue services said Tuesday.