Russia said on Tuesday it had put US President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top officials on a "stop list" that bars them from entering the country.
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Their names, together with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, CIA chief William Burns, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and others, were included on a list of 13 individuals banned from Russia in response to sanctions imposed by Washington on Russian officials. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was also named.
But the Foreign Ministry said it was maintaining official relations with Washington and if necessary would make sure that high-level contacts with the people on the list could take place. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the country realizes that it can't join NATO.
Russia stepped up its bombardment of Kyiv on Tuesday, devastating an apartment house and other buildings, while civilians in 2,000 cars fled Mariupol along a humanitarian corridor in what was believed to be the biggest evacuation yet from the desperately besieged seaport.
On the diplomatic front, another round of talks began between Russia and Ukraine via video, and the leaders of three European Union countries – including Poland, a NATO member on Ukraine's doorstep – planned a visit to the embattled capital in a bold show of support.
With the number of people driven from the country by war eclipsing 3 million, large explosions thundered across Kyiv before dawn from what Ukrainian authorities said were artillery strikes, as Russia's assault on the capital appeared to become more systematic and edged closer to the city center.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said barrages hit four multi-story buildings in the city and killed dozens of people. The shelling ignited a huge fire in a 15-story apartment building and spurred a frantic rescue effort.
The strikes, carried out on the 20th day of Russia's invasion, targeted a western district of Kyiv, disrupting a relative calm that returned after an initial advance by Moscow's forces was stopped in the early days of the war.
The leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia set out for Kyiv by train despite the security risks, in a visit EU officials said was not sanctioned by other members of the 27-nation bloc.
"The aim of the visit is to express the European Union's unequivocal support for Ukraine and its freedom and independence," Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in a tweet. He was joined by fellow Prime Ministers Janez Jansa of Slovenia and Mateusz Morawiecki of Poland, as well as Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Poland's de facto leader.
The UN said at least 636 civilians have been killed and 1,125 wounded in the conflict, with the true figure probably much higher.
Speaking Tuesday to representatives of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), Zelenskyy said that "we heard for years about the allegedly open doors" of NATO, but "we have already heard that we won't be able to join." He added that "it's the truth we must recognize, and I'm glad that our people are starting to realize that and count on themselves and our partners who are helping us."
The JEF may consist of Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway. Zelenskyy again urged Western allies to provide Ukraine with warplanes.
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