Three European prime ministers were travelling to Kyiv on Tuesday, the first foreign leaders to visit the Ukrainian capital since Russia launched its invasion in a striking symbol of Ukraine's success so far in fending off Russia's assault.
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Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Poland's Mateusz Morawiecki announced plans for the visit, saying they and Slovenia's Janez Jansa would meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose office confirmed the plans.
"The purpose of the visit is to confirm the unequivocal support of the entire European Union for the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine," Fiala said, adding the three leaders would present a broad support package for Ukraine.
Morawiecki's aide, Michal Dwoczyk, told reporters the delegation had crossed the Polish-Ukraine border and was heading to Kyiv by train, in what the Polish leader said was a historic mission.
"It is our duty to be where history is forged. Because it's not about us, but about the future of our children who deserve to live in a world free from tyranny," Morawiecki said.
The International Organization for Migration says more than 3 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded last month.
The new milestone also indicated that some 157,000 third-country nationals − people who aren't Ukrainian − were part of the outflow in what UN.officials have called the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.
IOM spokesman Paul Dillon said at a UN news briefing in Geneva on Tuesday that the totals were compiled from figures provided by national authorities.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR, which provides a more detailed count than the IOM though based on similar data, has reported that more than 1.8 million of the refugees were in Poland.
UNHCR spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh said some 300,000 had moved on from there to Western Europe and noted that the vast majority of those fleeing have been women and children.
In western Ukraine, local authorities said Tuesday the number of people killed in a Russian rocket attack on a TV tower in western Ukraine has risen to 19 from an original estimate of nine.
The Rivne regional government posted on its Facebook page Tuesday that 19 people were killed and nine were injured in the strike on the TV tower in Antopol, a village outside the city of Rivne.
The village is only about 160 kilometers (100 miles) from the border of NATO member Poland and comes as Russia presses its invasion of Ukraine.
Elsewhere, about 300 civilians from the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol have reached the city of Zaporizhzhia after leaving in the first successful evacuation of residents on Monday, Mariupol city council said on Tuesday.
"As was reported, about 160 cars left Mariupol yesterday. As of 10 a.m. there is information that about 300 Mariupol residents reached Zaporizhzhia," it said.
At least 200,000 people are in urgent need of evacuation from Mariupol, according to official
China is still insisting that its stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine is "impartial and constructive."
The Chinese government is also repeating its accusations that the US is spreading misinformation over reports Beijing has responded positively to a Russian request for military supplies.
Speaking to reporters at a daily briefing Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian accused the US of "immoral and irresponsible" conduct by spreading misinformation.
"What the US should do is to deeply reflect on the role it has played in the development and evolving of the Ukraine crisis and do something practical to ease the tension in Ukraine," he said, in a nod to China's contention that Russia was provoked by NATO's expansion and threats to its security.
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