What you should know about the situation in Ukraine today

As conditions deteriorated in a number of major cities in Ukraine, the United Nations said more than 1.5 million people have fled the country so far, the Express reports.

These are the latest developments:

Bombed Capital: There were heavy fighting early Monday in a wide area from north to west of Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials and social media content. Russian forces seem to have gone to offensive in some areas to push toward the Ukrainian capital. Some images showed Russian tanks taking positions in a densely populated area west of Kyiv.

South Attack Continues: Russian troops continued an offensive towards the strategic port city of Mykolaiwi on Monday morning, with officials warning residents to stay in their shelters. Warning of an attack came several hours after Mykolaev Mayor Oleg Senchev said the town was hit by Russian missiles this morning. CNN saw evidence Sunday that the cluster ammunition had fallen near civilian areas, and an official at a Mykolaiv hospital told CNN that one person was killed and three were injured in the bombing.

A City Under siege: Fear is growing for civilians stranded in Ukraine's besieged southern cities, Marioupol and Volnovakha, as attacks by Russian forces continue. A man who fled Volnovakha two days ago told CNN about the conditions in parts of the city, where he spent days hiding in a basement. People are there for 11 days now. Some came out, but about 450 are still there”, he said, adding that there has been no contact with people since he left.

Evacuation: Ukraine has criticised Russia's unilateral announcement of evacuation routes for civilians trying to escape war. Ukraine's deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereschuk, described the Russian proposal as unacceptable, especially after all corridors except one leads to Russia or its close ally, Belarus. Meanwhile, an official of a humanitarian organisation described the announcement as “cinic and not practical, without any preparation”.

The Number of Civil Victims: More than 360 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24th, the UN said in a statement Sunday. So far, 1,123 civilians have been injured, including 364 people killed and 759 injured, the statement said, while acknowledging that real figures are likely to be <x0 clearest”.

EU expects 5 million refugees: The European Union “should prepare for five million” refugees from Ukraine, EU High Representative Josep Borrell said on Monday. More than 1.5 million Ukrainians have already passed from Ukraine to neighbouring countries, UN refugee agency Commissioner Filippo Grandi said Sunday, describing the situation as the “refugee crisis with the fastest growing in Europe since World War II”.

Military Power: Russia has launched a total of 600 missiles since the beginning of Ukraine's invasion, a senior US defence official said, and Russia has used approximately 95% of its military power collected within Ukraine.

NATO Sends Missiles: The US and other NATO members have so far sent 17,000 antitank missiles and 2,000 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine, a senior US official told CNN. NATO is also seeing the possibility of permanent deployment in Baltic, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said.

Talks Again: Ukraine and Russia are scheduled to hold a third round of talks today.