BREAKING: Ukraine: Three Dead - Including A Child - In Russian Airstrike On Mariupol Hospital

Three people are dead, including a child, after Russia's attack on a maternity hospital in Mariupol, the city council says.

The attack in the southern port city wounded women waiting to give birth and doctors, and buried children in the rubble.

News of the casualties comes after two more hospitals were bombed in Russian airstrikes on the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr, its mayor Serhii Sukhomlyn said - one of them was a children's hospital and no one was wounded.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed there have been 18 attacks on medical facilities since the Russian invasion began.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine enters its third week today with foreign ministers from both sides meeting in Turkey for the first high-level talks between the countries since the war began on 24 February.

Key developments:
• Diplomatic talks between Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov begin in Turkey
• Russia could use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, US warns
• British troops must not go to Ukraine to fight and 'take some selfies', Armed Forces minister warns
• Chernobyl radiation fears as minister calls for Russia to allow for urgent repairs
• Home Office confirms new UK visa centre in Lille will not accept walk-in applications from Ukrainian refugees

US fears Russia could unleash chemical weapons

The White House has warned Russia could be planning a chemical or biological weapon attack in Ukraine.

Press secretary Jen Psaki suggested "Russia's false claims about alleged US biological weapons labs and chemical weapons development in Ukraine" were an "obvious ploy" to justify "further premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified" attacks.

"Now that Russia has made these false claims, and China has seemingly endorsed this propaganda, we should all be on the lookout for Russia to possibly use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, or to create a false flag operation using them," she tweeted.

It comes after Western officials shared similar concerns about fresh attacks.

More than 10,000 people evacuated around Kyiv in a day

Ukrainian forces including citizen-soldiers are holding out in Kyiv and other frontlines, while Russian troops, tanks and artillery make slow progress from the north, south and east.

Russian advances in the south - the captured city of Kherson to the besieged city of Mariupol - have been more successful in contrast with the difficulties forces have experienced in the north and north-east, in particular its efforts to encircle the capital.

More than 10,000 people were evacuated from villages and cities around Kyiv on Wednesday, the city's regional governor Oleksiy Kuleba said on local television on Thursday.

Putin accused of deploying conscript troops 'to replace his losses'

Russia says it has destroyed more than 2,900 Ukrainian military infrastructure facilities in Ukraine, Russian news agencies reported.

In its latest update, the Ministry of Defence said Russian forces northwest of the capital have made "little progress" and are "suffering continued losses" at the hands of the Ukrainian military.

There has been a "notable decrease in overall Russian air activity" over Ukraine in recent days, "likely due to the unexpected effectiveness and endurance" of Kyiv's air defences, it added.

The MoD also accused Russia of deploying conscript troops to Ukraine and said Vladimir Putin will have to draw from across his forces "and other sources to replace his losses".

Children buried under rubble, says Zelenskyy

The strikes on Zhytomyr follow the Mariupol maternity hospital attack on Wednesday, in which at least 17 people were wounded, according to Ukrainian officials.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it a war crime and said children were among people "under the wreckage".

"An aerial bomb on a maternity hospital is the conclusive evidence that what is happening is a genocide of Ukrainians," he said.

The complex was hit by a series of blasts - and the victims evacuated included a heavily pregnant, bleeding woman on a stretcher.

A Kremlin spokesman said "Russian forces do not fire on civilian targets" and blamed Ukraine for the failure of a planned evacuation from the city.

Zelenskyy urges tougher sanctions

Mariupol is surrounded by Russian troops and has been subject to heavy shelling for days, leaving thousands of people without food, water and electricity.

"Europeans," said Mr Zelenskyy. "You won't be able to say that you didn't see what happened to Ukrainians in Mariuopol. You saw. You know.

"Consequently, you must strengthen sanctions against Russia so that it never has the chance to continue this genocide.

"You need to pressure Russia so that it sits at the negotiating table and ends this barbarous war."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the "horrifying hospital strike" and pledged the "maximum economic cost" would be imposed on Russia.

He said it was "yet further proof that Putin was acting with careless disregard for international humanitarian law".

"There are few things more depraved than targeting the vulnerable and defenceless," he said.

Hundreds of civilians have been killed, more than two million made refugees, and thousands forced to hide in besieged cities under relentless bombardment.

The United Nations says it has recorded 516 civilian deaths and 908 injuries as a result of the conflict, but the true toll is likely to be "considerably higher".

'Unconscionable attacks'

Fresh peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are under way between Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Antalya in Turkey.

Speaking ahead of the talks, Mr Kuleba said he had "low" expectations, while Russian negotiator Leonid Slutsky said his side "will not concede a single negotiating point", according to RIA news agency.

In a speech in the US later, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is expected to say that aggression like Russian President Vladimir Putin's must "never again" be allowed to "grow unchecked".

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned Russia's "unconscionable attacks" as America pressed on with tougher sanctions.

A US ban on Russian oil and gas imports was approved by the House of Representatives, along with $13.6bn (£10.3bn) in aid for Ukraine.