Russian troops 'open fire on Ukrainian protesters': One hurt after gunfire and stun grenade explosions ring out at Kherson demonstration - while Putin steps up his war of attrition by ordering navy to bombard port of Odesa
Russian soldiers have opened fire on civilian protesters in the captured Ukrainian city of Kherson and wounded at least one person, local media has reported, as Vladimir Putin's troops stepped up their war of attrition against civilians by shelling the city of Odessa.
Footage taken in Kherson and shared by media with links to the Ukrainian military, showed one man bleeding heavily from the leg after being shot during a demonstration. Russian forces used firearms as well as stun grenades to try and disperse the protesters, the Interfax news agency reported.It came as Vladimir Putin's warships opened fire on civilian areas in the Black Sea port city of Odesa today, marking the first time residents have been targeted. Officials said several houses were destroyed and a fire sparked, but there was no immediate word on casualties.
Missiles also rained down on the 'Retroville' shopping centre in northern Kyiv on Monday - killing eight people amid fears dozens more were buried in the rubble with emergency workers searching for them. CCTV footage from the city of Kharkiv also emerged showing a strike on a supermarket queue last week.
And in the heavily besieged city of Mariupol, more than 300 miles to the east of Odesa, officials rejected a Russian demand that fighters protecting the city surrender in return for letting an estimated 300,000 trapped civilians evacuate. Pyotr Andryushenko - an adviser to the city's mayor - said Russian promises could not be trusted and that troops defending the city were determined to fight 'down to the last man'.
Kherson has been the scene of near-daily protests since it became the first major city to fall to Russian forces early during the war. On Sunday, demonstrators managed to turn back a military convoy after blocking a road. Putin's men have been accused of firing 'warning shots' before, but until now had not opened fire directly on activists.
Ukraine says thousands of civilians have been killed by Russian forces since Vladimir Putin gave the order to attack on February 24, with his men stepping up indiscriminate shelling of cities after an initial offensive stalled. Officials in Mariupol say up to 20,000 people may have died in that city alone, but there is no accurate country-wide figure.
The UN says it has confirmed 902 civilians killed and 1,459 injured, but caveats the figure by saying it is almost certainly lower than the actual total.
Those in Odesa fear that the punishment inflicted on Mariupol may now be headed their way, as capturing the Black Sea city - Ukraine's main port - is known to be a key Russian objective. General Sir Richard Barrons, a former commander of UK Joint Forces Command, told the BBC that Odesa will be the next target if or when Mariupol falls.
At least one person has been injured after protesters came under fire by Russian troops in the occupied city of Kherson, according to local reports, with images from the scene showing a man bleeding heavily from his leg (above)
Russian troops opened fire on protesters with guns and stun grenades, according to local media, after crowds gathered to demonstrate against the occupation of their cityDiscussing Russian tactics in Mariupol, he said: 'They couldn't walk in, they couldn't drive in with their tanks, so they've pounded it to rubble. And that's what we should expect to see anywhere else that really matters to them.
He continued: 'I think they'll maintain pressure on Kyiv because it's the political centre of gravity, but they know that it's too big an objective, it's too well defended to force the way into anything like the whole of the city.
'What we'll probably see is some bombardment of it, maybe attempt to force down some narrow routes – but so far the Ukrainians have very effectively pushed that away.
'And I think the next big strategic prize could be Odessa because that would isolate Ukraine's economy from the Black Sea.'
Russia's war in Ukraine, now in its 26th day, shows no signs of abating. The invasion has wreaked devastation and destruction, exacting a heavy toll on civilians. The U.N. says more than 3.38 million people have fled Ukraine.
The key port city has seen some of the heaviest fighting since the Russian invasion. Russian and Ukrainian soldiers are fighting block-by-block for control of the city where at least 2,300 people have died, some buried in mass graves.
Ukrainian officials rejected a Russian offer that its troops be granted safe passage out of the encircled city, which would hand Mariupol to Russia, allowing Russian forces in southern and eastern Ukraine to unite.
'There can be no talk of any surrender, laying down of arms,' Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk told the news outlet Ukrainian Pravda.
It was not clear how many casualties there were in the Russian bombing of the art school, Zelenskyy said in a video address early Monday. 'They are under the rubble, and we don't know how many of them have survived,' he said.
The strike was the second time in less than a week that officials reported an attack on a public building where Mariupol residents had taken shelter. Last Wednesday, a bomb hit a theater where more than 1,000 people were believed to be sheltering. It was unclear how many people were killed in that attack.
Russian shelling Sunday near the city center of the capital, Kyiv, killed eight people, according to emergency officials. The attack devastated a shopping center and damaged a nearby high-rise building. Russian troops are now trying to surround the Ukrainian capital, which had nearly 3 million people before the war.
Russian airstrikes destroyed the 'Retroville' shopping mall in the north of Kyiv on Monday, killing at least eight people and leaving others buried in the rubble
A burned-out car sits in what used to be the parking lot outside a Ukrainian shopping mall in the northern suburbs of Kyiv
A man picks his way through the wreckage of cars and a gym in the northern Kyiv suburb of Podilskyi after it was destroyed in a Russian air strike
A shopping mall in Kyiv is seen destroyed in the early hours of Monday after it was hit by a Russian airstrike overnight, as Putin's forces keep up their bombardment of the capital
The ruins of Sport Life gym complex outside the Retroville shopping centre is seen near Kyiv after being blown up by Russia
People gather amid the destruction caused after shelling of a shopping center, in Kyiv, Ukraine
Ukrainian firefighters help to extinguish a blaze at Retroville mall, after it was destroyed by a Russian airstrike
Ukrainian self defence troops pick their way through the ruins of a destroyed shopping mall in northern Kyiv on Monday
A man picks his way through the wreckage of cars and a gym in the northern Kyiv suburb of Podilskyi after it was destroyed in a Russian air strike
A shopping mall in Kyiv is seen destroyed in the early hours of Monday after it was hit by a Russian airstrike overnight, as Putin's forces keep up their bombardment of the capital
The ruins of Sport Life gym complex outside the Retroville shopping centre is seen near Kyiv after being blown up by Russia
People gather amid the destruction caused after shelling of a shopping center, in Kyiv, Ukraine
Ukrainian firefighters help to extinguish a blaze at Retroville mall, after it was destroyed by a Russian airstrike
Ukrainian self defence troops pick their way through the ruins of a destroyed shopping mall in northern Kyiv on Monday
Rescuers work at the site of the shopping mall damaged by an airstrike, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv this morning
Firefighters search through the wreckage of a shopping mall in the northern Podilskyi district of Kyiv after it was hit by Russian missiles in the early hours
Burned-out vehicles and destroyed buildings are seen at the Retroville shopping mall in Kyiv after it was blown up by Russia
An overhead view shows the extent of the devastation at the Retroville shopping mall to the north of Kyiv on Monday
Emergency workers search through the rubble of a destroyed shopping mall in northern Kyiv after it was bombed by Russia
Ukrainian servicemen search through rubble inside the Retroville shopping mall after a Russian attack in northwest of Kyiv
A shopping mall in northern Kyiv was struck in the early hours of Monday, killing at least eight people. But successful Ukrainian counter-attacks were underway to the west of the city, as Makariv was re-captured
A member of the Ukrainian armed forces picks their way through the rubble of a shopping centre in the north of Kyiv
Ukrainian military units move through the inside of a shopping centre after it was shelled by Russia late Sunday
A Ukrainian soldier stands guard with inside a shopping centre after it was shelled by Russian forces on Monday
Ukraine's prosecutor general said a Russian shell struck a chemical plant outside the city of Sumy a little after 3 a.m. Monday, causing a leak in a 50-ton tank of ammonia that took hours to contain.
Russian military spokesman Igor Konashenkov claimed the leak was a 'planned provocation' by Ukrainian forces to falsely accuse Russia of a chemical attack.
Konashenkov also said an overnight cruise missile strike hit a Ukrainian military training center in the Rivne region. He said 80 foreign and Ukrainian troops were killed. A Ukrainian official confirmed a strike, without disclosing casualty figures.
AP journalists on the scene of Russian shelling in Kyiv witnessed the flattened ruin of the shopping center, which was still smoldering Monday morning. The force of the explosion shattered every window in the high-rise next door and twisted its metal frames.
In the distance, the sound of artillery rang out as firefighters picked their way through the destruction in the densely populated Podil district.
AP video journalist Mstyslav Chernov has recounted his harrowing experience as the only international journalist, along with AP photographer Evgeniy Maloletka, in besieged Mariupol before fleeing this week.
'We were the last journalists in Mariupol. Now there are none,' he said in his account.
Experts say bogged-down Russian forces are launching long-range missiles at cities and military bases as Ukrainian forces carry out hit-and-run attacks and seek to sever Russian supply lines.
Denied an easy and early victory, Russia's military is reverting to the scorched earth tactics of its past offensives in Syria and Chechnya, and pounding population centers with airstrikes and artillery barrages that leave civilians like those in Mariupol unable to safely venture out for food or water, bury the dead or to flee.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Ukrainian resistance means Russian President Vladimir Putin's 'forces on the ground are essentially stalled.'
Bodies of civilians killed during the Russian bombardment of Mariupol are laid out in a park as they await burial by soldiers defending the city, on Sunday
City workers dig graves on public land so they can bury civilians and soldiers killed in the Russian bombardment on the city of Mariupol, in the south of Ukraine, on Sunday
Local residents take cover as they hear blasts during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol
Civilians trapped in Mariupol city under Russian attacks are evacuated by Russian-backed separatists, as officials say people are being forcibly deported into Russia
Mariupol has been surrounded by Russian forces for two weeks, which are now trying to push into the city. If it falls, it would be the biggest city captured by Russian troops so far, and would open up a 'land corridor' from rebel-held areas of Donbass to Crimea for reinforcements to pass along
A large Russian missile landed in someone's kitchen sink in Ukraine today (pictured), fortunately it did not cause too much damage
'It's had the effect of him moving his forces into a woodchipper,' Austin told CBS on Sunday.
Western military analysts say that even if Mariupol is taken, the troops battling for control there may be too depleted to help secure Russian breakthroughs on other fronts.
Britain's defense ministry said Monday that Ukrainian resistance had kept the bulk of Russian forces more than 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the city center, but that Kyiv 'remains Russia's primary military objective.'
Russian and Ukrainian officials have held a series of talks, but no substantive solution to the conflict has emerged from that dialogue.
Speaking to Israeli legislators via video link on Sunday, Zelenskyy thanked Israel for its efforts to broker talks with Russia. He praised Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for trying to help 'find a negotiation track with Russia . so that we sooner or later start talking with Russia, possibly in Jerusalem.'
President Joe Biden meanwhile travels to Europe this week, where he will attend a summit with NATO leaders that will look for ways to strengthen the bloc's own deterrence and defense, immediately and in the long term, to deal with the now openly confrontational Putin.
On Monday ahead of his trip, Biden will discuss the war with European leaders. President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Mario Draghi of Italy and Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom are expected to take part, the White House said Sunday.
Biden has added a stop to Poland during his trip, travelling to visit a crucial ally of Ukraine which has taken in more than 2 million Ukrainian refugees.
Biden will travel to Warsaw on Friday, for a bilateral meeting with Poland's President Andrzej Duda, where he plans to discuss how the U.S. - along with its allies and partners - are responding to 'the humanitarian and human rights crisis that Russia's unjustified and unprovoked war on Ukraine has created,' said press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Sunday night.
Biden and NATO have said repeatedly that while they will provide weapons and other defensive support to non-NATO member Ukraine, they are determined to avoid any escalation on behalf of Kyiv that risks a broader war with Russia. 
Video taken from the inside of a Ukrainian infantry fighting vehicle in Mariupol shows the crew opening fire on Russian armour as they attempt to roll into the city and capture it
A Russian tank is shot by a Ukrainian fighting vehicle inside the city of Mariupol, in footage released by Ukraine
A Russian tank is targeted by the crew of an infantry fighting vehicle in the city of Mariupol, as Putin's men try to seize it
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