Russian assaults block evacuations of Ukrainian civilians for second time

Lviv, Ukraine —A second attempt to evacuate civilians of a besieged city in southern Ukraine collapsed on Sunday when Russian attacks halted plans to create a humanitarian corridor, a Ukrainian government official said, and Pope Francis called for an end to the “rivers of blood and tears “created by war.

Food, water, medicine and almost all other supplies were desperately in short supply in the port city of Mariupol, where Russian and Ukrainian forces had agreed to an 11-hour ceasefire to allow the evacuation of civilians and wounded. But Russian attacks quickly closed the corridor, Ukrainian officials said.

“There can be no ‘green corridors’ because only the sick brains of the Russians decide when to start firing and to whom,” Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko told Telegram.

The news shattered hopes that more people could escape the fighting in Ukraine, where Russia’s plan to quickly invade the country has been hampered by fierce resistance. Russia has made significant strides in southern Ukraine and along the coast, but many of its efforts have stalled, including a huge military convoy that has been nearly stationary in northern Kyiv for days.

The war, which is in its 11th day, has caused 1.5 million people to flee the country. The head of the UN refugee agency described the exodus as “the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II”.

As has often been the case, Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed the fight on Ukraine, telling Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday that the invasion could only be stopped “if Kyiv ceases hostilities,” according to a Kremlin statement on the phone. . named.

He said Ukraine had to comply with “Russia’s well-known demands”, which include what he called “demilitarization” and “deacification” of Ukraine.

The presidents of Turkey and France, as well as Pope Francis, called on Putin to negotiate.

In a very unusual move, the pope said he had sent two cardinals to Ukraine, saying the Vatican would do everything possible to end the conflict.

“Rivers of blood and tears flow in Ukraine,” the pontiff said in his traditional Sunday blessing. “This is not just a military operation, but a war that sows death, destruction and misery.”

After the ceasefire in Mariupol did not continue on Saturday, Russian forces intensified bombing of the city and dropped massive bombs on residential areas of Chernihiv, a city north of Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said.

British military officials compared the tactics of Russia with those used by Moscow in Chechnya and Syria, where the surrounding cities were pulverized by airstrikes and artillery.

“This is likely to represent an effort to break Ukraine’s morale,” the UK Defense Ministry said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his call for foreign protectors to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Putin warned on Saturday that Moscow would consider a third-party statement to shut down Ukrainian airspace as a hostile act, and the West has so far rejected Zelensky’s requests, fearing a confrontation with Russia.

“The world is strong enough to close our skies,” Zelensky said in a video address on Sunday.

Zelensky’s adviser Oleksiy Arestovich said Ukrainian officials and international humanitarian organizations were working with Russia through intermediaries to establish humanitarian corridors from Bukha and Hostomel, which are the suburbs of Kyiv where there has been heavy fighting.

As Russian forces surrounded several Ukrainian cities, Zelensky appeared on television Saturday night and gathered his people to stay challenging.

“Ukrainians in all our cities where the enemy has entered: go on the offensive!” said Zelensky, who wore his usual military green T-shirt. “You should take to the streets! You must fight! … We must go out and expel this evil from our cities, from our land.”

The strength of the Ukrainian resistance continues to amaze Russian forces, and they have responded by targeting populated areas, including the cities of Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol, the UK Ministry of Defense said in its daily briefing. intelligence.

The death toll is difficult to measure. The UN human rights bureau said at least 351 civilians had been confirmed dead, but the actual figure is likely to be much higher.

Ukraine’s army is far superior to Russia’s, but its professional and volunteer forces have fought fiercely. In Kyiv, volunteers lined up on Saturday to join the army.

Even in the cities that have fallen, there were indications of the resistance that Zelensky was calling for.

Chernihiv spectators applauded as they watched a Russian military plane fall from the sky and crash, according to a video released by the Ukrainian government. In Kherson, hundreds of protesters waved blue and yellow Ukrainian flags and shouted, “Go home.”

But the struggle to enforce temporary ceasefires in Mariupol and Volnovakha on Saturday showed the fragility of efforts to stop fighting in Ukraine.

A third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine will take place on Monday, according to Davyd Arakhamia, a member of the Ukrainian delegation. He gave no further details, including where they would take place. Previous meetings were held in Belarus. These talks led to a ceasefire agreement that failed on Saturday and recovered on Sunday.

Russia has made significant strides in southern Ukraine as it seeks to block access to the Avrov Sea. The capture of Mariupol could allow Moscow to establish a land corridor to Crimea, which Russia annexed to Ukraine in 2014 to an extent that most other countries considered illegal.

Meanwhile, the head of the Chernivtsi region said that Russia has dropped powerful bombs on residential areas of the city of the same name, which has a population of 290,000. Vyacheslav Chaus posted an online photo of what he said was an unexploded FAB-500, a £ 1,100 bomb.

“This weapon is generally used against military-industrial facilities and fortified structures,” Chaus said.

Zelensky tried to gather support of U.S. lawmakers Saturday, speaking to more than 300 members of Congress via a video link. He called for additional assistance, specifically fighter jets to help secure the sky over Ukraine, although he insisted that Russia was being defeated.

Russian troops advanced by a third nuclear plant, said Zelensky. They have already taken control of the Zaporizhzhia plant in Ukraine, as well as Chernobyl, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster.

President Biden called Zelensky early Sunday, Kyiv time, to discuss sanctions on Russia and the acceleration of US assistance to Ukraine. The White House said the talks also covered talks between Russia and Ukraine, but did not give details.

Blinken was in Moldova on Sunday, where he pledged support for the former Western-oriented Soviet republic, which is facing an influx of refugees, and is cautiously watching Russia’s movements in Ukraine.