FOG BLOG RUSSIAN WAR AGAINST UKRAINE LOG: MARIUPOL AND KYIV APT. BUILDINGS HIT BY RUSSIAN ROCKETS!

Russian forces shell residential buildings in Ukraine as convoy of refugees leaves Mariupol...Bombardments 'nothing short of a nightmare' for civilians, says Red Cross......Russian artillery hits residential buildings across Ukraine.

• At least 596 civilians have died since start of invasion, says UN.

• 4th round of Ukraine-Russia talks ends with no breakthrough.

• US warns China against helping Russia in Rome summit.

• Anti-war protester interrupts news program on Russian state TV.

Russia and Ukraine kept a fragile diplomatic path open with a new round of talks Monday even as Moscow's forces pounded away at Kyiv and other cities across the country in a punishing bombardment the Red Cross said has created "nothing short of a nightmare" for civilians.

Meanwhile, a convoy of 160 civilian cars left the encircled port city of Mariupol along a designated humanitarian route, the city council reported, in a rare glimmer of hope a week and a half into the lethal siege that has pulverized homes and other buildings and left people desperate for food, water, heat and medicine.

The latest negotiations, held via video conference, were the fourth round involving higher-level officials from the two countries and the first in a week.

The talks ended without a breakthrough after several hours, with an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying the negotiators took "a technical pause" and planned to meet again Tuesday.