A second attempt to evacuate civilians from a besieged city in southern Ukraine collapsed amid renewed Russian shelling, while Russian President Vladimir Putin turned the blame for the war back on Ukraine and said Moscow’s invasion could be halted “only if Kyiv ceases hostilities”.
Food, water, medicine and almost all other supplies were in desperately short supply in the port city of Mariupol on Sunday, where Russian and Ukrainian forces had agreed to an 11-hour cease-fire that would allow civilians and the wounded to be evacuated. But Russian attacks quickly closed the humanitarian corridor, Ukrainian officials said.
“There can be no ‘green corridors’ because only the sick brain of the Russians decides when to start shooting and at whom,“ Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said on Telegram. The news dashed hopes that more people could escape the fighting in Ukraine, where Russia’s plan to quickly overrun the country has been stymied by fierce resistance.
Russia has made significant advances in southern Ukraine and along the coast, but many of its efforts have become stalled, including an immense military convoy that has been almost motionless for days north of Kyiv. Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky rallied his people to remain defiant, especially those in cities that Russian soldiers have entered.
“You should take to the streets! You should fight!” he said on Saturday on Ukrainian television. “It is necessary to go out and drive this evil out of our cities, from our land.” Mr Zelensky also asked the US and Nato countries to send more warplanes to Ukraine, though that idea is complicated by questions about which countries would provide the aircraft and how those countries would replace the planes.
The war, now on its 11th day, has caused 1.5 million people to flee the country. The head of the UN refugee agency called the exodus “the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe” since the Second World War.
Mr Putin blamed Ukraine for the war, telling Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday that Kyiv needed to stop all hostilities and fulfil “the well-known demands of Russia”. Mr Putin launched his attack with a string of false accusations against Kyiv, including that it is led by neo-Nazis intent on undermining Russia with the development of nuclear weapons.
The Russian leader also told Mr Erdogan he hoped Ukraine “would show a more constructive approach (to talks), fully taking into account the emerging realities”. The third round of Russia-Ukraine negotiations is scheduled for Monday.
Mr Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke about the nuclear situation in Ukraine, which has 15 nuclear reactors and was the scene of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The men agreed in principle to a “dialogue” involving Russia, Ukraine and the UN’s atomic watchdog, according to a French official who spoke on condition of anonymity, in line with the presidency’s practices. Potential talks on the issue are to be organised in the coming days, he said.
Mr Putin also blamed the fire last week at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, which Ukrainian officials said was caused by Russian attackers, on a “provocation organised by Ukrainian radicals”. “Attempts to shift responsibility for this incident onto the Russian military are part of a cynical propaganda campaign,” he said, according to the French official.
In other developments:
- Netflix has said that it is suspending its service in Russia. A statement from the company cited “circumstances on the ground” for its decision to suspend its Russian service, but did not offer any additional details.
- The International Atomic Energy Agency says Russian forces are tightening their grip on the Zaporizhzhya nuclear station, Ukraine’s largest, that they seized last week.
- The Russian military has warned Ukraine’s neighbouring countries against hosting its warplanes, saying Moscow may consider them a part of the conflict if Ukrainian aircraft fly combat missions from their territory.
- European Union leader Charles Michel said closing Ukraine’s airspace could spark a world war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called on Nato countries to stop the Russian onslaught on his country by imposing a no-fly zone. Western leaders have refused for fear of triggering a wider war in Europe.
- A Ukrainian official says a second attempt to evacuate civilians from a southern city under siege for a week has failed due to continued Russian shelling.
