Will stop war only if demands met: Putin

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday said the military operation in Ukraine will only be halted if Russia's demands are met.

He has also likened the West's sanctions on Russia to "declaring war", while a second attempted ceasefire in the besieged port city of Mariupol collapsed on Sunday, with Pro-Russian separatists and Ukraine's National Guard accusing each other of failing to establish a humanitarian corridor to allow civilians to leave.

Meanwhile, the number of people fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine has topped 1.5 million, making it Europe's "fastest-growing refugee crisis" since World War-II, the United Nations said on Sunday.