Ukraine, Russia agree on 12-hour ceasefire in six cities to allow for evacuations

Ukraine and Russia have agreed to a 12-hour ceasefire in six cities in Ukraine, in order to allow for the evacuation of civilians.

BBC however reported that not all planned evacuations were taking place, with Russian shelling holding up border crossings and humanitarian aid in Izyum and Mariupol.

In Sumy, north-eastern Ukraine, the mayor said people had been able to leave the city in private cars and on buses. The mayor of Enerhodar, said convoys of mainly women and children have been able to leave.

In the meantime, the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia have agreed to meet for talks in Turkey on Thursday, in a first since the invasion began. The meeting was proposed by Turkey's foreign minister, who had proposed holding it in a trilateral format with him, and the Ukranian and Russian counterparts.

UNHCR High Commissioner Filippo Grandi said the priority was to help refugees at the borders rather than discussing how they would be divided between countries. Grandi added that the number of refugees who have left since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began has probably reached between 2.1 and 2.2 million.

On Tuesday US President Joe Biden announced a complete US ban on Russian oil, gas and coal imports. McDonald's, Starbucks and Coca-Cola became the latest Western companies to temporarily suspend their operations in Russia. According to a leading credit ratings agency, Russia will soon be unable to pay its debts.

EU leaders will be meeting on Thursday and Friday at a special summit to discuss further sanctions against Russia and how to wean the continent off Russian gas.