World News Roundup: Besieged Ukrainian city plans evacuation again, refugee total hits 1.5 million; Over 100 Rohingya refugees arrive by sea in Indonesia's Aceh province and more

A week ago Putin ordered his military command to put Russia's deterrence forces - which include nuclear arms - on high alert, citing what he called aggressive statements by NATO leaders and Western economic sanctions against Moscow. Ukrainians fleeing fighting arrive in Poland in record numbers Record numbers of refugees headed into Poland from Ukraine with the total number expected to surpass 1 million people later on Sunday as Russian forces escalated their invasion.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Besieged Ukrainian city plans evacuation again, refugee total hits 1.5 million

Authorities in Mariupol were seeking to evacuate some residents on Sunday under a new ceasefire plan for the encircled Ukrainian city, as the United Nations said Europe faced its fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War Two. With Russia's assault on Ukraine on its 11th day, the Mariupol city council said its evacuation plan would run from noon (1000 GMT) to 9 p.m. (1900 GMT), after a ceasefire plan the previous day earlier collapsed with each side blaming the other.

Over 100 Rohingya refugees arrive by sea in Indonesia's Aceh province

Over 100 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar arrived by boat on the shores of Indonesia's Aceh province in the early hours of Sunday, an NGO group at the scene said. Authorities were unsure for how long the 114 refugees, including 35 children, had been at sea, but some needed medical assistance when they arrived in Bireuen, Aceh, Nurul Yana Daba, a volunteer for the NGO Aksi Cepat Tanggap, told reporters.

U.S. top diplomat Blinken reassures Moldova amid refugee influx from Ukraine

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday reassured Moldova’s leaders that the United States would rally international opposition to Russian aggression "whenever and wherever" it occurs. Speaking alongside Moldovan President Maia Sandu on a tour through eastern Europe in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Blinken also said that the United States supported Moldova's aspirations to join the European Union but that the process would be decided by the EU.

Erdogan urges Putin to declare Ukraine ceasefire, make peace

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Sunday to declare a ceasefire in Ukraine, open humanitarian corridors and sign a peace agreement, his office said. NATO member Turkey shares a maritime border with Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea and has good ties with both. Ankara has called Russia's invasion unacceptable and offered to host talks, but has opposed sanctions on Moscow.

Russia, Ukraine blame each other as Mariupol evacuation fails again

Pro-Russian separatists and Ukraine's National Guard accused each other of failing to establish a humanitarian corridor out of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Sunday, the second time the sides attempted to arrange it. Ukraine 24 television showed a fighter of the Azov Regiment of the National Guard who said Russian and pro-Russian forces that have encircled the port city of about 400,000 continued shelling the areas that were meant to be safe.

Talk of Russian nuclear escalation is brinkmanship, says UK's Raab

British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab described talk of the threat of Russia using nuclear weapons in its invasion of Ukraine as brinkmanship and rejected President Putin's statement that likened Western sanctions to a declaration of war. A week ago Putin ordered his military command to put Russia's deterrence forces - which include nuclear arms - on high alert, citing what he called aggressive statements by NATO leaders and Western economic sanctions against Moscow.

Ukrainians fleeing fighting arrive in Poland in record numbers

Record numbers of refugees headed into Poland from Ukraine with the total number expected to surpass 1 million people later on Sunday as Russian forces escalated their invasion. Fresh data shows Polish border guards cleared as many as 129,000 people at border crossings on Saturday, the most in a single day since the war started, bringing the total to 922,400.

Kyiv digs in for battle as fighting flares in areas nearby

Ukrainian soldiers bolstered defenses around Kyiv on Sunday, digging trenches, blocking roads, and liaising with civil defense units as Russian forces bombarded the surrounding areas and attacked towns and villages nearby. While the armed forces and civilian volunteers dug in, thousands of people continued to try to flee the city of 3.4 million as fears of a full assault spread.

Ukraine's president tells Russians to protest before it's too late

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed directly to Russians on Sunday to take to the streets in protest against the Kremlin's invasion of his country or risk their own poverty and repression. Since last week, thousands of people in Russia have been detained for protesting against the invasion of Ukraine or what the Russian authorities call a "special military operation" that began on Feb 24.

'I had never left Ukraine before', refugees seek family, friends abroad

Kateryna's parents woke her at 5 a.m., told her to pack her documents and phone, and flee from their home in Dnipro in eastern Ukraine to relatives in Poland. It took the 19-year-old three days to reach the Medyka border crossing in Poland, some 1,000 km (620 miles) from Dnipro. It was the first time she had travelled alone, without family or friends.

(With inputs from agencies.)