Russian shelling fire rages in residential areas of Mariupol, Ukraine

BLAZING fires rage at apartment blocks in Ukraine's port city, Mariupol after another night of heavy Russian shelling as the invasion enters its second week.

The port city is seeing some of the fiercest fighting, with constant shelling for the past 24 hours.

"Mariupol remains under fire. Women, children and the elderly are suffering. We are being destroyed as a nation. This is genocide of the Ukrainian people," the city's council said in a statement.

Officials say they cannot evacuate the wounded.

Ukrainian negotiators at talks with Russian officials on Thursday demanded a ceasefire and humanitarian corridors to evacuate besieged citizens as Moscow's invasion forces surrounded and bombarded Ukrainian cities.