1 million flee Ukraine as Russia steps up assault on Mariupol, Kherson

The fresh tensions in Ukraine came just hours after a second round of talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials ended with the two sides tentatively agreeing to establish humanitarian corridors for the safe evacuation of civilians caught in the crossfire and the delivery of supplies to those staying in the country.“I think this is a significant progress,” Vladimir Medinsky, Russia’s chief negotiator on the ceasefire talks, said in a video message.More than 1 million people have already fled Ukraine in a rapid exodus after a week of war, as Russia’s military bombarded key cities across the country amid staunch resistance to the invasion.The conflict has fueled a growing humanitarian crisis in Europe, and left those who have remained in Ukraine facing an intensifying assault from the air and the ground.But a mileslong Russian military convoy threatening the Ukrainian capital has made little progress over the last three days. Vladimir Medinsky, Russia’s chief negotiator, said his team agreed with Ukrainian negotiators to create humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians.Meanwhile, the U.S. military has established channels to communicate directly with the Russian military as a way to deconflict tactical movements around Ukraine, according to a senior defense official.From the capital, Kyiv, to Kharkiv in the northeast and Kherson in the south, Russia’s advances have brought destruction to major Ukrainian cities and civilian areas.The bombardment of Ukrainian cities has pushed residents to flee to neighboring countries and forced many more of the nation's 44 million residents to seek shelter underground or head west by road or train.“I have worked in refugee emergencies for almost 40 years, and rarely have I seen an exodus as rapid as this one,” Filippo Grandi, the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, said in a statement issued Thursday.In Lviv, a city in the country's west that has become a hub for international diplomats and the news media, trains heading out of Ukraine are packed with families desperate to make it to safety.Many are wheeling small suitcases and carrying backpacks containing all the possessions they could carry. "The hottest destination of the day is Odesa," Ukraine’s top security official, Oleksiy Danilov, said on Facebook.Though the Russian advance was making progress in Ukraine’s south, in the north it appeared bogged down.Residential areas of several cities came under attack early Thursday, according to an update from the Ukrainian military posted on Facebook.Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city, and surrounding towns continued to face a barrage of heavy shelling. "For us, this is the greatest treasure."While he steeled his public for the fight ahead, Ukrainian negotiators traveled to Belarus by helicopter for a fresh round of talks, according to a tweet by Zelenskyy adviser Mykhailo Podoliyak.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on state television Thursday that "we won’t allow Ukraine to preserve a military infrastructure that threatens Russia."As its global isolation has grown — Ikea was the latest global brand to halt sales in Russia — and its military has struggled to make progress, Russia has escalated its assault on civilian areas in key Ukrainian cities, as well as its crackdown on dissent at home.