Ukraine rushing to evacuate civilians as the war hits its 6th week

Fearing a new offensive in the six-week-old war, Ukraine rushed to evacuate civilians as Russian forces pounded cities and towns in the east and south, and Kyiv called on the West to place "ruinous" sanctions on Moscow.

FIGHTING

* The eastern regions of Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk are seeing the worst of the fighting after Russian forces withdrew from around Kyiv.

* At least 160,000 civilians are trapped in Mariupol without power and with little food or running water, the city mayor said, putting the civilian death toll in the city at about 5,000. Reuters was not able to verify the numbers.

* An International Committee of the Red Cross team has led a convoy of buses and private cars carrying more than 1,000 people after they fled besieged Mariupol. The mayor said 40,000 residents had been forcibly deported to Russia, calling the arrivals refugees.

* A total of 4,892 people were evacuated from Ukrainian cities through humanitarian corridors, more than the 3,846 who escaped on Tuesday, a senior Ukrainian official said. Ukraine hopes to open 10 such corridors.

* Ukrainian authorities cannot help people evacuate from the eastern front-line town of Izyum or send humanitarian aid because it is completely under Russian control, the Kharkiv regional governor said.

BUCHA DEATHS

* Civilians killings in the Ukrainian town of Bucha were "very probably war crimes", French President Macron said in an interview. 

* Russia's foreign ministry said that images of bodies strewn across Bucha were staged to justify more sanctions and derail peace talks.

* Reuters reporters have seen the remains of at least five victims in Bucha who were shot through the head.

DIPLOMACY, ECONOMY

* The U.N. General Assembly will vote on Thursday on suspending Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council.

* The United States wants Russia expelled from the G20.

* Austria expelled four Russian diplomats.

* The United States announced sanctions on President Vladimir Putin's two adult daughters and Russia's Sberbank and a ban on Americans investing in Russia.

* European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said there were more EU sanctions to come. The EU was looking into oil and revenues Russia gets from fossil fuels, she said.