But continued shelling prevented a planned evacuation of the port of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, where food and water were in very short supply after a week of Russian encirclement.

Ukraine flatly rejected as “immoral” a Russian proposal to allow residents of the towns --  including Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, Sumy in the north, the capital Kyiv and Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv -- that would have sent them into the territory of Russia or Belarus, Moscow’s close ally.

The country’s partners have already pledged around $15 billion in financial aid in a move to support Ukraine’s economy and army amid a military conflict with Russia.

Russia’s pressed on with its drive to shell Ukrainian cities into submission, taking a stranglehold on the southern port of Mariupol and taking aim at Mykolayiv and Odesa further west

The World Bank and the IMF are also working together to assess the economic and financial impact of the conflict and refugees on other countries in the region and the world.