Civilian evacuations in Ukraine stopped after Russia ‘breaks ceasefire’

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A ceasefire had been agreed in two cities, but the attacks continued, as Correspondent Sejal Karia reports

Russia has broken a ceasefire intended to give Ukrainian civilians a chance to clear two cities under siege, according to senior officials.

The Russian military had said it will observe a ceasefire in Mariupol in the south-east and the eastern town of Volnovakha from 7am UK time on Saturday, expected to last until 2pm UK time.

However, it appears by midday Vladimir Putin’s forces have failed to adhere to the agreement after the Ukrainian presidential office said evacuations have halted.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, said the city of Mariupol remained under fire.

“The Russian side is not holding to the ceasefire and has continued firing on Mariupol itself and on its surrounding area,” he said.

“Talks with the Russian Federation are ongoing regarding setting up a ceasefire and ensuring a safe humanitarian corridor.”

The Deputy Mayor of Mariupol, Sergei Orlov, told ITV News the city is under constant attack and that he doesn’t know how or when they can safely evacuate residents.

He added that they’re seeing dead people on the street, but such is the danger from rocket fire that they “cannot even collect them.”

“We saw continued shelling… they continue to destroy this city, they continue to kill people on the street,” he said.

“There is no safe place in the city, they continue bombing, using rockets all over the city.

“They [the city’s residents] see dead people on the street and we cannot even collect them.”

‘There is no safe place in this city’: Mariupol’s deputy mayor tells ITV News Mariupol is still under attack

Russia breached the deal in Volnovakha as well, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk told reporters. “We appeal to the Russian side to stop firing,” she said.

The human corridors were highlighted as vital by Mr Zelenskyy on Saturday, insisting it “must work today” to “save women, children and the elderly.”

But as Global Security Editor Rohit Kachroo explained from Kyiv before reports of Russia’s shelling resuming, there were doubts over the Kremlin’s true intentions to begin with.

Speaking from the capital, Kyiv, he said: “This temporary ceasefire, this civilian, humanitarian corridor, which is being started up, there is a great deal of suspicion about that.

“What we’ve seen before in Syria, for example, is ceasefires announced by Russian authorities which have then been used as a front to call everyone who decided to remain as aggressors.

In Syria it was ‘jihadists.’ So there is some suspicion of what the ceasefire motives might be behind Russia’s agreement to this ceasefire.”

‘There is a great deal of suspicion’: Global Security Editor Rohit Kachroo breaks down why many do not trust Russia’s promise of civilian evacuations

Mr Orlov, speaking before the ceasefire was broken, told ITV News there are 50 buses to ferry up to 6,000 people from his city to Zaporizhzhia, 220 kilometers north-west of Mariupol.

The head of Ukraine’s security council, Oleksiy Danilov, had called on Russia to create humanitarian corridors to allow children, women and the elderly to escape the fighting, calling such corridors “question number 1.”

It comes as Ukraine’s president warned “if Ukraine falls, so will Europe” amid further calls for a no-fly-zone over the country.

He also NATO warned in a virtual address to supporters “all the people who die from this day forward will also die because of you, because of your weakness, because of your lack of unity.”

The Ukrainian president has also made a “desperate plea” to US senators on Saturday to send more planes to help the country fight the Russian invasion.

The US Congress also is working on a $10 billion package of military and humanitarian aid, and Schumer told Zelenskyy that lawmakers hope to send it quickly to Ukraine.

Mr Zelenskyy told senators he needs planes and drones more than other security tools, according to a senior Senate aide granted anonymity to discuss the private meeting.

How far will Putin go and what can the West do to stop him? Listen to the ITV News ‘What You Need To Know’ podcast

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