Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appealed for an urgent general ceasefire in Ukraine when he spoke on Sunday to Russian leader Vladimir Putin by telephone, Erdogan's office said.

The two heads of state spoke ahead of a diplomatic forum in Turkey on March 11-13 that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart are due

Retailers in Russia will limit sales of essential foodstuffs to limit black market speculation and ensure affordability, the government said Sunday, as sanctions imposed over Moscow's military incursion into Ukraine began to bite. 

The trade and industry ministry over the weekend said there had been cases where essential foodstuffs had been

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that the United States was "working actively" on a deal with Poland to supply Ukraine with jets to fight invading Russians.

The deal, according to reports, could involve Poland handing over its existing MIG-29s, a Soviet/Russian-made jet fighter Ukrainian pilots are familiar with, and the U.S.

The Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, which is surrounded by Russian troops, said it will restart efforts to evacuate civilians Sunday, after earlier efforts were scuppered by ceasefire violations.

"From 1200 (1000 GMT) the evacuation of the civilian population begins," city officials announced in a statement, which said a ceasefire was agreed with