Ukraine rejects ultimatums as conflict intensifies

A view shows a destroyed car at the site of a shelling of a shopping center in the Podilskyi district of Kyiv, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 21, 2022. REUTERS/Serhii Nuzhnenko

MARIUPOL/LVIV/KYIV, Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Monday it would not obey ultimatums from Russia after Moscow demanded it stop defending besieged Mariupol, where hundreds of thousands of civilians are suffering through Russian bombardments laying waste to their city.

Mariupol has become a focal point of Russia's assault on Ukraine, but attacks were also reported to have intensified on the country's second city Kharkiv on Monday.