LVIV, Ukraine - The city council of Ukraine's Mariupol said an evacuation of some of 400,000 residents trapped by encircling Russian forces would start at 12:00 p.m. local time (1000 GMT) on Sunday under a temporary ceasefire that will last till 9:00 p.m.

A similar plan had to be abandoned on Saturday after the ceasefire was not fully observed, with both sides trading blame.

Drivers on both the east and west coasts are being hit hard in the wallet each time they step up to the gas pump.

Gas prices in the Golden State increased 13 cents this week. Local gas stations charged as much as $6.95 for a gallon of regular, according to NBC Los Angeles.

Drivers hoping for Premium gas are required to fork up as much as $7.55 per gallon to fill their tanks.

The uptick in gas prices is a result of extensive supply and demand issues and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Experts predict the cost for a gallon of gas could surpass $7.

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LONDON - Russia struck and disabled Ukraine's Starokostiantyniv military airbase with long-range high-precision weapons, Russia's defense ministry said on Sunday.

"The Russia armed forces continue to strike the military infrastructure of Ukraine," Russian defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

"On the morning of March 6, strikes were carried out by high-precision long-range weapons. The Ukrainian air force base near Starokostiantyniv was disabled."

He said a Ukrainian-controlled S-300 missile system had also been destroyed by Russian rocket forces. He said Russia had downed 10 Ukrainian planes and helicopters over the past 24 hours.

SEOUL - South Korea will implement export controls against Belarus for "effectively supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine," Seoul's foreign ministry said on Sunday.

The ministry did not detail what measures would be taken, but said they will be applied in a similar way to moves already taken by South Korea against Russia. It condemned Moscow as having launched an "armed invasion" of Ukraine.

South Korea said last month it would tighten export controls against Russia by banning shipments of strategic items and join Western countries' moves to block some Russian banks from the SWIFT international payments system.

"The Korean government decided today to implement export control measures against Belarus as well, judging that Belarus is effectively supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine," the ministry said in Sunday's statement.

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation." Last month Russia's Ambassador to South Korea Andrey Kulik expressed regret at the sanctions, blaming "strong outside pressure" on Seoul from the United States and its Western partners.

LVIV - More than 11,000 Russian troops have been killed since Moscow launched an invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, the Ukrainian armed forces' general staff said on Sunday.

A day earlier, it put Russian casualties at over 10,000. It did not report Ukrainian casualties.

Russia continued its assault on Ukraine Sunday morning on the 11th day of its invasion, a day after a temporary ceasefire fell apart and Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened Ukrainian statehood.

Putin once again blamed Ukraine leaders for Russia’s violent invasion, threatening on Saturday that if they “continue to do what they are doing, they are calling into question the future of Ukrainian statehood.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky remained defiant, urging Ukrainians to pick up arms to fight back against Russian invaders.

“It is a special kind of heroism — to protest when your city is occupied,” Zelenskyy said. “Ukrainians in all of our cities that the enemy has entered — go on the offensive! You should take to the streets! You should fight!”

Thousands of people took to the streets to protest in Ukrainian cities occupied by Russian forces, including Kherson, a city in southern Ukraine. The city, which has a population of nearly 300,000, was the first to fall to Russian troops on March 2.

A group of Ukrainian civilians arrived at the Lviv Film Center to learn how to combat the Russian invasion. Tables were propped in front of the theater and men were instructed on the weapons, which included AK47 rifles.

It is said that in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. So it was last week when America ran out of ideas for helping the suffering souls in Ukraine. 

It was then that Sen. Lindsey Graham broke the brain freeze by calling for the assassination of Vladimir Putin. 

“Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military?” the South Carolina Republican tweeted, referring to Julius Caesar’s assassin and a German officer who tried to kill Hitler. “The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out. You would be doing your country — and the world — a great service.” 

His thought, which he repeated several times, is almost certainly a common one around the world, but it was a no-no for a top government official to say it out loud, which is why the White House, the Kremlin and both Democrats and Republicans rebuked him. After all, encouraging assassinations is the sort of thing that can quickly get out of hand. 

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First lady Jill Biden prays every day that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is “still alive,” she told attendees at a Democratic fundraiser in California.

“I just have to turn on the TV every morning and pray that Zelensky is still alive,” she said Saturday at the exclusive fundraiser in San Francisco’s wealthy Pacific Heights neighborhood, while addressing “what’s on everybody’s mind.”

The event was attended by about 25 guests, including California lieutenant governor Eleni Kounalakis. Biden had made the trip to the Golden Gate City to attend the funeral of Richard Blum, the husband of California Senator Dianne Feinstein, who died Feb. 27.

“The phone just never stops ringing, all through the night,” said Biden, giving some insight into the chaotic situation in the White House as Russian forces advance closer towards Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. “And Joe is up, trying to help solve this crisis.”

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President Joe Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by phone to discuss the “ongoing actions undertaken by the United States, its Allies and partners, and private industry to raise the costs on Russia for its aggression in Ukraine,” the White House said Saturday.

In the roughly 30-minute phone conversation, the White House said Zelensky welcomed Visa and Mastercard’s announcement that they would suspend its services in Russia.

Biden “noted his administration is surging security, humanitarian, and economic assistance to Ukraine and is working closely with Congress to secure additional funding,” the White House said.

The two also discussed Russian forces’ frightening attack on a Ukrainian nuclear power plant earlier in the week, which had raised panic of a potential nuclear disaster after the plant caught fire. Biden praised the plant operators who kept the reactors safe, the White House said.

Zelensky, who spoke with US senators in a Zoom call Saturday, has repeatedly pleaded with NATO and Western officials to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine to counter Russian air attacks. Western leaders have been hesitant to establish the zone fearing an escalation in the conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin said a no-fly zone would be tantamount to a declaration of war.

The World Health Organization reported Russian attacks on half a dozen health care facilities in Ukraine, resulting in six people killed and 11 injured.

The UN agency tweeted Saturday it had confirmed the attacks, and were investigating others.

"Even in times of conflict, we must protect the sanctity and safety of health care, a fundamental human right," said WHO, adding that attacks on health care workers, ambulances and facilities are a violation of international law.

The agency did not specify the location of the attacks.

"Health facilities, staff and patients are #NotATarget," said the tweet.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to unveil a six-point "action plan" of aid and sanctions to fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine.

"Putin must fail and be seen to fail in this act of aggression," said Johnson Saturday, who has meetings scheduled next week with Canada's Justin Trudeau and the Netherlands' Mark Rutte.

The six-point package will include military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine and further sanctions designed to isolate Putin, he said.

“It’s not enough to express our support for rules-based international order — we must defend it against a sustained attempt to rewrite the rules by military force,” Johnson said.