LIVE UPDATES: Russia Declares Ceasefire in Ukraine From 07:00 GMT to Open Humanitarian Corridors

UK-Dutch petroleum giant Shell announced on Tuesday its intention to gradually withdraw from all oil and gas projects in Russia, adding it will stop all spot purchases of Russian oil as a first step.

"Shell plc (Shell) today announced its intent to withdraw from its involvement in all Russian hydrocarbons, including crude oil, petroleum products, gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) in a phased manner, aligned with new government guidance. As an immediate first step, the company will stop all spot purchases of Russian crude oil. It will also shut its service stations, aviation fuels and lubricants operations in Russia," the company said in a statement.

"On 8 March, Irish Ambassador to Moscow Brian McElduff was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry. The ambassador was strongly protested to in connection with an incident with a security breach of the Russian embassy in Dublin, during which a truck rammed the entrance gate of the Russian diplomatic mission," the document says.

Malaysia will not impose unilateral sanctions against Russia, leaving the decision to the United Nations, Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said on Tuesday.

"If there is a need for sanctions, we can do it but it has not reached that stage. If need be, it will be done by the United Nations," Saifuddin told the parliament, as quoted by the Star newspaper.

The diplomat expressed concern that sanctions may affect innocent people if improperly addressed or applied.

A representative of the Donetsk People's Republic told Sputnik on Tuesday that militants block civilians from escaping battlegrounds in the Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha.

"Militants continue to block civilians from escaping Mariupol and Volnovakha. We constantly record fire provocations. People cannot escape at the moment for reasons attributable to nationalists," the representative said.

The first stage of civilians' evacuation has begun in Ukraine's Sumy, Ukrainian media reported on Tuesday, publishing videos featuring people on buses.

Kiev-based UNIAN news agency published a video on its Telegram channel showing people with their suitcases on buses. The caption to the video says "Green corridor in Sumy, the first stage of the evacuation has begun."

Earlier in the day, Moscow announced a ceasefire from 10:00 Moscow time (07:00 GMT) so that civilians from a number of Ukrainian cities, including Kiev can be evacuated. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said that the first column will start moving along the humanitarian corridor from Sumy at 08:00 GMT.

"In order to safely evacuate civilians from settlements, a ceasefire is introduced today from 10 o'clock Moscow time and humanitarian corridors from Kiev, Chernigov, Sumy, Kharkov and Mariupol are opened," the general said.

China has urged the United States to clarify its biological activities for military purposes at home and abroad, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday.

"We once again urge the American side to fully clarify its biological militarization activities at home and abroad," Zhao told reporters, commenting on information about US-funded biological laboratories in Ukraine.

The Russian defence ministry on Monday made public a presentation, which said that the United States spent more than $200 million on the work of biological laboratories in Ukraine, the laboratories of the central sanitary and epidemiological directorate of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry participated in the US military biological program.

The government of Japan has protested the Russian decision to designate Japan as an unfriendly country, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Tuesday.

"The Russian listing as an unfriendly country is regrettable. We have lodged the protest via diplomatic channels," Matsuno told a briefing.

Ukraine has asked to ban Russia from accessing the technological resources of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as well as to break off relations with Russian citizens in UN structures related to the nuclear field, the energy ministry said on Tuesday.

Kiev has sent official appeals to the IAEA, outlining its vision of ensuring security in the conditions of hostilities, the ministry wrote on Facebook.

Ukraine calls on the IAEA to apply to NATO to close the airspace over the territory of Ukraine, given the geography of the nuclear power plant, as well as asks for "a ban on Russia's access to the intellectual and technological resources of the IAEA, severing relations with Russian citizens who are employed in UN structures related to nuclear energy," the ministry said.

The price of nickel continues to rally more than 100% on the London Metal Exchange (LME), rising to historic highs above $100,000 a tonne on concerns about possible disruptions in supplies from Russia.

As of 06:31 GMT on Tuesday, the price of three-month nickel futures was rising 109.4% to $100,680 per tonne.

On Monday, it reached a historic high of $47,891.5 per tonne.