Kyiv: Russia escalated its bombardment of the Ukrainian capital and launched new assaults on the port city of Mariupol, making bloody advances on the ground as Ukraine's president prepared Wednesday to make a direct appeal for more help in a rare speech by a foreign leader to the US Congress.
As the invasion entered its third week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested there was still some reason to be optimistic negotiations might yet yield an agreement with the Russian government.
After their delegations met Tuesday via video, Zelenskyy said Russia's demands were becoming more realistic. The sides were expected to speak again later Wednesday.
Efforts are still needed, patience is needed, he said in his video address to the nation.
Any war ends with an agreement.
Developments on the diplomatic front and on the ground occurred as the number of people fleeing Ukraine amid Europe's heaviest fighting since World War II eclipsed 3 million.
Zelenskyy, previewing his speech to the US Congress, thanked President Joe Biden and all the friends of Ukraine for 13.6 billion in new support.
He appealed for more weapons and more sanctions to punish Russia and repeated his call to close the skies over Ukraine to Russian missiles and planes.
He said Russian forces on Tuesday had been unable to move deeper into Ukrainian territory but had continued their heavy shelling of cities.
Over the past day, 28,893 civilians were able to flee the fighting through nine humanitarian corridors, although the Russians refused to allow aid into Mariupol, he said.
Also Tuesday, the leaders of three European Union countries Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia visited Kyiv in a bold show of support amid the danger. Russia's bombardment of the capital appeared to become more systematic and edged closer to the city center Tuesday, smashing apartments, a subway station and other civilian sites. Zelenskyy said the barrages hit four multi-story buildings and killed dozens.
A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagon's assessment, said the Russians were using long-range fire to hit civilian targets inside Kyiv with increasing frequency but that their ground forces were making little to no progress around the country.
The official said Russian troops were still about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the center of the capital. The official said the U.S. has seen indications that Russia believes it may need more troops or supplies than it has on hand in Ukraine, and it is considering ways to get more resources into the country.