Received

As Russian troops have appeared to stall in their advance on Ukrainian cities, the United States voiced concern that China might assist Moscow with military equipment as the war entered its fourth week.

Ukraine's capital Kyiv came under renewed Russian shelling as rescuers in the besieged port of Mariupol dug survivors from the rubble of bombed buildings. Officials from the two countries met again for peace talks but said their positions remained far apart.

Western sources and Ukrainian officials said Russia's assault has faltered since its troops invaded on February 24, further dashing expectations of a swift victory and the removal of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government.

Despite battleground setbacks and punitive sanctions by the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown little sign of relenting. His government says it is counting on China to help Russia withstand blows to its economy.

The United States, which this week announced $US800 million ($A1.1 billion) in new military aid to Kyiv, is concerned Beijing is "considering directly assisting Russia with military equipment to use in Ukraine", Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

President Joe Biden will make clear to China's President Xi Jiping in a call Friday that Beijing "will bear responsibility for any actions it takes to support Russia's aggression, and we will not hesitate to impose costs", Blinken told reporters.

China has refused to condemn Russia's action in Ukraine or call it an invasion. It says it recognises Ukraine's sovereignty but Russia has legitimate security concerns that should be addressed.

While the United States says it wants to avoid direct confrontation with Russia, Chinese military aid to Moscow would pit Washington and Beijing on opposite sides of the conflict.

The war has settled into a grinding pattern of sieges of cities, with Ukrainian officials reporting Russian attacks on schools, hospitals and cultural facilities.

The United Nations has recorded 2032 civilian casualties in Ukraine - 780 killed and 1252 injured. Some 3.2 million civilians have fled to neighbouring countries.

A fourth straight day of talks between Russia and Ukrainia took place by video link, but the Kremlin said an agreement had yet to be reached.

Moscow has previously said it was close to agreeing to a formula that would keep Ukraine neutral, one of its demands.

Ukraine has said it is willing to negotiate an end to the war but will not surrender or accept Russian ultimatums.

Kyiv and its Western allies say Russia launched the war to subjugate a neighbour Putin calls an artificial state. Moscow says it is carrying out a "special operation" to disarm Ukraine.

Ukraine's Zelenskiy addressed the German Bundestag by video link on Thursday, giving a speech that invoked the Holocaust and the Berlin Wall, and seemed intended to shame pro-Russian politicians in Germany, Moscow's main energy buyer.

"Every year politicians repeat 'never again'," said Zelenskiy, who is of Jewish heritage, citing a slogan used to mark the Holocaust.

"And now we see that these words are simply worthless. In Europe a people is being destroyed, they are trying to destroy everything that is dear to us, what we live for."

The Russians have failed to capture a major city in the face of spirited resistance from Ukrainian forces protecting residential areas under daily bombardment.

Rescuers in Mariupol, a southern port city, dug survivors from the rubble of a theatre was hit by an air strike on Wednesday as civilians took shelter there from bombardments. The number of casualties is not yet known. Russia denies striking the theatre.

Mariupol has suffered the worst humanitarian catastrophe of the war, with hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in basements with no food, water or power.

Northern suburbs of Kyiv have suffered heavy damage but the capital itself has held firm.

The Ukrainian defence ministry said Russian forces had made no significant recent advances around Kyiv and had resorted to "chaotic" shelling.

British military intelligence said Russia's invasion has largely stalled, with Russian forces suffering heavy losses and making minimal progress on land, sea or air.

© RAW 2022

Japan and Australia have slapped fresh sanctions on Russian entities as punishment for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, which the West says has been stalled by staunch resistance but continues to take a devastating toll on civilians.

Ukraine's capital Kyiv reported "chaotic" Russian shelling while rescuers in the besieged port of Mariupol dug survivors from the rubble of bombed buildings. Officials from the two countries met again for peace talks on Thursday but said their positions remained far apart.

Western sources and Ukrainian officials said Russia's assault has faltered since its troops invaded on February 24, further dashing Moscow's expectations of a swift victory and the removal of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government.

Despite battleground setbacks and punitive sanctions by the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown little sign of relenting.

His government says it is counting on China to help Russia withstand blows to its economy.

The United States, which this week announced $US800 million ($A1.1 billion) in new military aid to Kyiv, is concerned Beijing is "considering directly assisting Russia with military equipment to use in Ukraine", Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

President Joe Biden, who described Putin as a "murderous dictator", will make clear to China's President Xi Jinping in a call Friday that Beijing "will bear responsibility for any actions it takes to support Russia's aggression", Blinken told reporters.

China has refused to condemn Russia's action in Ukraine or call it an invasion. It says it recognises Ukraine's sovereignty but that Russia has legitimate security concerns that should be addressed.

A Chinese foreign ministry official met this week with Russia's ambassador to China to exchange views on counter-terrorism and security co-operation, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday.

Tokyo and Canberra announced separate measures sanctioning Russian individuals and organisations including the state-owned arms exporter, the finance ministry and the central bank.

The war has settled into a grinding pattern of sieges of cities, with Ukrainian officials reporting Russian attacks on schools, hospitals and cultural facilities.

The United Nations human rights office in Geneva said it had recorded 2032 civilian casualties so far in Ukraine - 780 killed and 1252 injured. Some 3.2 million civilians have fled to neighbouring countries.

A fourth straight day of talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators took place on Thursday by video link, but the Kremlin said an agreement had yet to be reached.

Kyiv and its Western allies say Russia launched the war to subjugate a neighbour Putin calls an artificial state. Moscow says it is carrying out a "special operation" to disarm Ukraine.

Rescuers in Mariupol, a southern port city, dug survivors from the rubble of a theatre that officials said had been hit by an air strike on Wednesday as civilians took shelter there from bombardments. The number of casualties is not yet known. Russia denies striking the theatre.

Northeastern and northwestern suburbs of Kyiv have suffered heavy damage but the capital itself has held firm, under a curfew and subjected to deadly rocket attacks nightly.

Ukrainian defence ministry spokesperson Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said Russian forces had made no significant advances around Kyiv in the past 24-48 hours and had resorted to "chaotic" shelling.

"The Ukrainian armed forces are making every effort to stop the enemy attacking from that area," he told a press briefing in Kyiv.

British military intelligence said on Thursday Russia's invasion has largely stalled on all fronts, suffering heavy losses and making minimal progress on land, sea or air.

Viacheslav Chaus, governor of the region centred on the frontline northern city of Chernihiv, on Thursday said 53 civilians had been killed there in the past 24 hours. One of those killed in Chernihiv was a US citizen, Jimmy Hill, who was gunned down while waiting in a bread line, his family said.

© RAW 2022

Aussie singer Amy Shark thinks Australia is breeding a new generation of socially-conscious youngsters who embrace the chance to help out others who are doing it tough... even in their sleep.

The Everybody Rise singer has called on her following of "Sharks" to embrace a campaign to help fund accommodation for young cancer patients forced to travel for treatment by buying a special pair of PJs.

One in three of the 1200 a year young Australians diagnosed with cancer will have to travel to urban centres for their treatment.

Designed by Shark, Slash and the Foo Fighters, all proceeds from the the "Sleep Exchange" pyjama sets will go to covering the cost of apartments for these patients, to enable regional and rural families to stay together for the duration of the hospital visits.

"I know the second everyone hears about the 'You Can Stay' program my PJ's will fly out the door, lol," Shark told AAP.

"I am so excited about our younger generation, they're super brave, courageous, smart and have so much empathy towards people in need.

"That's the key to being a good human I think."

Shark was keen to participate in the Sony Foundation campaign because of her own experience of losing a young friend to cancer.

"When I was younger, a friend of mine passed away from cancer and I just remember how unfair it was that someone with so much of life still ahead of them was taken too soon," she said.

"I've heard stories from some of the young people who have to travel from far away to access their cancer treatment, but one story in particular really touched me because the young girl said she would listen to my song "C'mon" on repeat and it really got her through.

"I guess I wrote these songs to get me through tough times so it's nice to hear they are helping others.

"I've always believed in the ability of music to get you through tough times, and now I hope these PJs can do the same."

The PJs were launched at an event in Sydney's Woolloomooloo on Thursday that raised over $1 million for the foundation.

Since launching in July 2020, the You Can Stay program has supported over 120 patients and families with over 8750 nights of accommodation.

© AAP 2022