More than 12,000 residents were evacuated from several towns, but not from Mariupol, surrounded for more than a week, its residents deprived of heating, water and running dangerously low on food.

Biden pointedly drove home the fundamental U.S. retaliatory plan to Russia's invasion - Washington was prepared to do everything to defend NATO from attack, but would not risk triggering “World War Three” by engaging directly with Russia.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met his Russian opposite number Sergei Lavrov in Turkey but an hour of talks produced no results.

The London-listed Anglo Asian mines gold, silver and copper at Gedabek, Gosha and other mines in western Azerbaijan.

Last week, Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has instructed the government to work out a detailed plan of specific measures to overcome the negative impact of “the current situation in individual key trading partner countries”.