A mosque in the southeastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, where 80 civilians were taking shelter, has been shelled by Russian forces, Ukraine's foreign ministry said today. This comes after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said the mayor of Melitopol was kidnapped by Russian soldiers occupying the city.
The war, continuing for over two weeks now, saw the Western allies stepping up sanctions against Russia as the US imposed a ban on Russian seafood, vodka and diamonds, and along with the European Union, banned exports of luxury goods to Russia.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden yet again ruled out any direct intervention in the Ukraine-Russia crisis and warned that such conflict pitting the NATO alliance against the Kremlin "is World War III".
Russia and Ukraine failed to make a breakthrough Thursday in their first top-level talks since Moscow's invasion two weeks ago, as Russian advances sparked fears the Ukrainian capital Kyiv could soon be encircled.
