Ukraine rejected a Russian ultimatum to surrender the besieged port city of Mariupol on Monday, as overnight Russian strikes destroyed a shopping mall in the capital Kyiv, killing eight people.
Almost 350,000 people are trapped without water and electricity in the southern city of Mariupol, which has been bombarded by Russian troops for almost a month in what EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell described as a "massive war crime".
Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russian bombs struck targets overnight, allegedly damaging a chemical plant in the north of the country causing an "ammonia leakage."
Nearly a month after Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, troops pressed on despite sweeping unprecedented sanctions imposed by Western allies.
Russian strikes, likely a missile, laid waste to a shopping mall in Kyiv, whose mayor announced a new curfew from 1800 GMT on Monday until 0500 GMT on Wednesday.
AFP reporters saw six bodies covered by black sheets laid out on the ground at the complex called "Retroville."
An Orthodox priest walking through the wreckage muttered prayers while cursing "Russian terrorists".
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Europe to significantly dial up pressure on Moscow to halt its invasion, saying the continent must cease all trade with Russia.
"No euros for the occupiers. Close all of your ports to them. Don't export them your goods. Deny energy resources. Push for Russia to leave Ukraine," Zelensky said in his latest video address.
Ukrainian leaders also stressed they were standing firm against invaders in Mariupol, which is suffering a critical humanitarian crisis.
Defenders of the port city have "played a huge role in destroying the enemy's plans and enhancing our defence," said Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov.
The Kremlin's military command had warned authorities in Mariupol had until "5am... on March 21" to respond to eight pages of demands, which Ukrainian officials said would amount to a capitulation.
Rejecting the ultimatum by Russia, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Moscow should instead allow the trapped residents to escape.
Mariupol is a pivotal target in Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine -- providing a land bridge between Russian forces in Crimea to the southwest and Russian-controlled territory to the north and east.
A Greek diplomat, believed to be the last EU diplomat to leave the city, said the devastation would rank alongside history's most ruinous wartime assaults.