Ukrainian authorities say that new efforts to evacuate civilians from besieged Ukrainian cities have been hampered by persistent Russian shelling.
Humanitarian corridors Mariupol, Sumy, and towns and villages outside Kyiv are being created. But Ukrainian authorities accused Russian troops of opening fire on a convoy of women and children from the town of Peremokha near Kyiv, killing seven people. And evacuations took place as fighting continued around Kyiv and other cities.
"A column of civilians, particularly women and children, was fired upon by the occupiers," Ukrainian military intelligence said in a statement. "As a result of this barbaric act, seven people were killed, including a child. The BBC's Abdujalil Abdurasulov in Irpin, one of the cities outside the capital that was evacuated, says it was previously impossible to tell a humanitarian truce would be respected as explosions and artillery fire, including from the Ukrainian side, had not been heard.
The local government also said fighting was continuing in the area, and there was a constant threat of airstrikes. Later, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Irina Vereshchuk noted that about 13,000 Ukrainians were evacuated through the humanitarian corridor on Saturday, but no one could leave Mariupol.
The situation in Mariupol is deplorable after two weeks of bombing, the United Nations says, with little access to food, water, and electricity. "Drugs for life-threatening illnesses are running out quickly, hospitals are only partially operational, and food and water supplies are limited," the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. Deputy Mayor Sergei Orlov told the BBC that the convoy left Zaporizhzhia with relief supplies for the city and had an evacuation bus on board.
Previously, he said, convoys "were not left behind, they were bombed, roads were mined, there were bullets in the city."
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy said about 1,300 of his country's soldiers had died since the Russian invasion. Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, arguing it felt threatened by its neighbors' intentions to ally with Western-led organizations such as the NATO military alliance.
Latest key developments:
- Clashes outside Kyiv: Heavy fighting rages on the capital's outskirts as British intelligence says most Russian troops are 25 kilometers from the center. Ukrainian authorities worry that Russia could prepare for a large-scale attack.
- The main cities were surrounded: Sirens and explosions were heard in many other cities of Ukraine. The besieged towns of Kharkiv, Mariupol, Mykolaiv, and Sumy suffered from relentless shelling and low temperatures.
- Air Strikes: New artillery and airstrikes were also launched against the cities of Dnipro and Kropyvnytskyi
- Weapons warning: Russia warns that Western arms convoys delivering weapons to Ukraine could become "legitimate targets" for Russian forces
- Outrage over mayor's abduction: Hundreds of people take to the streets in southeast Melitopol to protest the kidnapping of its mayor by Russian forces
- New talks: French and German leaders hold new phone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
- The balance is growing: the conflict has driven 2.5 million Ukrainians to flee to neighboring countries. Poland says more than 1.6 million people have run there, while Moldova says it has reached a "tipping point" in its ability to deal with refugees.
