Fighting stopped
about 200,000 people from evacuating the besieged
Ukrainian city of Mariupol for a second day in a row on
Sunday, as Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to
press ahead with his invasion unless Kyiv surrendered.
Most people trapped in the port city are sleeping
underground to escape more than six days of near-
constant shelling by encircling Russian forces that has cut
off food, water, power and heating supplies, according to
the Ukrainian authorities.
In a phone call with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan,
Putin told Erdogan he was ready for dialogue to end the
fighting but that any attempt to draw out talks would fail,
according to the Kremlin.
The suspension of what Moscow describes as a special
operation “is only possible if Kyiv stops military operations
and carries out well-known Russian demands,” the Kremlin
said in a readout of the call.
The civilian death toll from hostilities across Ukraine since
Moscow launched its invasion on Feb. 24 stood at 364,
including more than 20 children, the United Nations said
on Sunday, adding hundreds more were injured.
Moscow has repeatedly denied attacking civilian areas.
In Irpin, a town some 25 km (16 miles) northwest of the
capital Kyiv, men, women and children trying to escape
heavy fighting in the area were forced to take cover when
missiles struck nearby, according to Reuters witnesses.
Soldiers and fellow residents helped the elderly hurry to a
bus filled with frightened people, some cowering as they
waited to be driven to safety. read more
The invasion has drawn almost universal condemnation
around the world, sent more than 1.5 million Ukrainians
fleeing from the country, and triggered sweeping Western
sanctions against Russia aimed at crippling its economy.
The Biden administration said on Sunday it was exploring
banning Russian oil imports. read more
“War is madness, please stop,” Pope Francis said in his
weekly address to crowds in St Peter’s Square, adding that
“rivers of blood and tears” were flowing in Ukraine’s war.
read more
Russian media said Putin also spoke by phone for almost
two hours with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Macron told Putin he was concerned about a possible
amphibious attack on Ukraine’s historic port city of
Odessa, Macron’s office said.
The United States does not believe such an attack is
imminent, the senior U.S. defense official said, speaking
on condition of anonymity.
‘NO TO WAR’
Anti-war protests took place around the world including in
Russia itself, where police detained more than 4,600
people, an independent protest monitoring group said. The
interior ministry said 3,500 demonstrators had been held,
included 1,700 people in Moscow and 750 in St
Petersburg. read more
Thousands of protesters chanted “No to war!” and “Shame
on you!”, according to videos posted on social media by
opposition activists and bloggers. Reuters was unable to
independently verify the footage and photographs.
Demonstrations also took place in Western capitals as well
as in India and Kazakhstan, after jailed Kremlin critic
Alexei Navalny called for worldwide protests against the
war.
In the besieged city of Mariupol, authorities had said on
Sunday they would make a second attempt to evacuate
some of the 400,000 residents. But the ceasefire plan
collapsed, as it had on Saturday, with each side blaming
the other.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said the
failed attempt to evacuate 200,000 people had
underscored “the absence of a detailed and functioning
agreement between the parties to the conflict.”