After a temporary ceasefire between Russian and Ukrainian troops fell through on Saturday, residents of two besieged cities of Mariupol and neighbouring Volnovakha were unable to evacuate amid an ongoing barrage of shelling.
While Ukrainian officials claimed that Russian artillery fire and airstrikes prevented residents from escaping the city, Moscow maintained that it was Ukraine that was sabotaging their efforts, Associated Press reported. If the ceasefire had gone through, thousands of civilians from the two cities could have escaped into neighbouring Poland, Romania, Slovakia and elsewhere, according to AFP.
Russian forces intensified their attack on Mariupol on Saturday night—blockading the key Ukrainian port city and dropping bombs on residential areas—according to officials. The city of Chernihiv, located north of Kyiv, also came under heavy fire from Russian forces. Officials said 17 people in the region were killed in the shelling, according to AP.
Earlier, while laying siege on Mariupol, Russian forces also cut its electricity, food, water, heating and transportation, AFP reported. “For now, we are looking for solutions to humanitarian problems and all possible ways to get Mariupol out of the blockade,” said mayor Vadim Boychenko.
Just look at the reaction of this mother with her children in Mariupol, when a soldier from the Neo-Nazi Azov Battalion tells her that they will not allow her to pass through the agreed human corridor for evacuation so that she can escape the war. #HumanShield #Donbass pic.twitter.com/LW5X0vu4oJ
— Dean O’Brien (@DeanoBeano1) March 5, 2022
A hold on Mariupol by the Russians would hinder Ukraine’s maritime access and connect troops coming from annexed Crimea and the Donbas.
In a video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged citizens to resist the Russian invasion. “It is a special kind of heroism — to protest when your city is occupied,” he 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.”
Residents of Berdyansk near Mariupol protest the Russian occupation pic.twitter.com/9lrpdrxwLQ
— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) March 5, 2022
Thousands took his advice, clashing with troops, climbing Russian military vehicles and waving the Ukrainian flag.
Meanwhile, the number of Ukrainian refugees is expected to reach around 1.5 million on Sunday, according to Reuters.
As part of the constant dialogue, I had another conversation with @POTUS. The agenda included the issues of security, financial support for Ukraine and the continuation of sanctions against Russia.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 6, 2022
In a video call with US lawmakers, Zelenskyy asked for help securing aircraft from its European allies. He also called for a ban on Russian oil, a no-fly zone and an end to Visa Inc and MasterCard Inc privileges in Russia, Reuters reported.
On Saturday, Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett turned mediator and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss the crisis in Ukraine. While Israel, which remains a close ally of the US, has condemned the Russian invasion, it has said it will maintain communications with Moscow in the hope of helping to ease the crisis.
Glass on a hospital window is shattered by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, March 3, 2022. (AP Photo)
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was at the Ukraine-Poland border, said he expected new sanctions and weapons for Ukraine in the coming days.
The UN Security Council is set to hold a meeting Monday afternoon on the escalating humanitarian crisis that has arisen in the region.
(With inputs from agencies)