Here are the top developments of the day on the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

  1. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday told CNN that he was ready to discuss the crisis with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but warned that if any attempt to negotiate fails, it could lead to a third World War. “I’m ready for negotiations with him [Putin],” he said. “I was ready for the last two years. And I think that without negotiations, we cannot end this war.”
  2. At least 902 civilians have been killed and 1,459 injured in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on February 24, according to the United Nations human rights office. “Most of the casualties were from explosive weapons such as shelling from heavy artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes,” the UN body said, according to Reuters. The actual toll is said to be considerably higher. 
  3. The Russian defence ministry on Sunday said that it fired hypersonic missiles into Ukraine from the Crimean airspace. It also fired cruise missiles from ships in the Black and Caspian Seas, according to Al Jazeera. Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson Major General Igor Konashenkov said that the hypersonic missile hit a Ukrainian fuel depot in Kostiantynivka near the Black Sea port of Mykolaiv.
  4. Russian forces on Sunday dropped bombs at an art school in the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, where about 400 residents had taken shelter, the city council claimed, according to Reuters. The council said that the building was destroyed and there were victims under the rubble. The claims have not been independently verified.
  5. Pope Francis on Sunday termed the war in Ukraine as “a senseless massacre” during his weekly Sunday address, according to CNN. “I beg all the actors of the international community to make a real effort to put an end to this repugnant war,” he said, while addressing the crowd in St Peter’s Square in Vatican City.