New Delhi, March 21: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while addressing Israel's Parliament on the Russian invasion, drew comparisons between the Russian offensive and the "final solution" - the plan by Nazi Germany to exterminate Jews. Earlier in the day, Zelenskyy said that he's "ready for negotiations" with Russian President Vladimir Putin but warned that if they fail "that would mean that this is a third World War." Meanwhile, the United Nations said on Sunday that as many as ten million people have now fled their homes in Ukraine due to Russia's devastating war.

Residents of the northern Ukrainian town of Novoselytsya should seek shelter after an ammonia leak at a nearby chemical factory, an official said Monday, as intense fighting with Russian forces in the area continues. Sumy regional governor Dmytro Zhyvytsky said there had been an “ammonia leakage" at the Sumykhimprom facility, affecting an area within 2.5 kilometres of the plant, which produces fertilisers.  Russia-Ukraine War: Kremlin Does Not Rule Out Taking ‘Full Control’ of Major Ukrainian Cities

The extent and cause of the incident was not immediately clear, but residents were told to seek refuge in basements or on lower levels of buildings to avoid exposure. Russia-Ukraine War: Oil Prices Down By 7%

US President Joe Biden will travel to Poland this week to discuss international efforts to support Ukraine and “impose severe and unprecedented costs on Russia” for its invasion, the White House has said. The discussions will follow Biden’s meetings in Brussels, Belgium with Nato allies, G7 leaders, and European Union leaders.

Ukraine said there is no question of surrendering the city of Mariupol after Russia called on Ukrainian forces on Sunday to lay down arms in the besieged port city. “There can be no question of any surrender, laying down of arms," the Ukrainska Pravda news portal cited Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk as saying. “We have already informed the Russian side about this."

Russia said a “terrible humanitarian catastrophe" was unfolding in Mariupol. “Lay down your arms," Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, the director of the Russian National Center for Defense Management, said in a briefing distributed by the defence ministry.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday urged Israel to abandon its effort to maintain neutrality following Russia’s invasion, saying the time had come for the Jewish state to firmly back his country. Zelensky, who is Jewish, made the appeal during an address to Israeli lawmakers, the latest in a series of speeches by videoconference to foreign legislatures. In remarks that at several points compared Russian aggression to the Holocaust, Zelensky said that “Ukraine made the choice to save Jews 80 years ago."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 21, 2022 11:29 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).