Ukraine war: evacuation of Mariupol canceled – Ukraine accuses Russia of violating ceasefire

LThe International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will evacuate the embattled cities Mariupol and Volnovakha but not on Saturday. “The scenes in Mariupol and other cities today are heartbreaking,” the ICRC said. The organization remains in touch with all parties involved to facilitate a safe evacuation of civilians from various cities affected by the conflict.

According to Ukrainian information, the ICRC should guarantee the ceasefire for the evacuations actually planned for this Saturday.

Mariupol authorities had previously accused Russian troops of violating the ceasefire agreed upon for the evacuation. The evacuation of the city was “postponed for security reasons” because the Russian troops “continue to bombard Mariupol and the surrounding area,” the city administration said on Saturday in the messenger service Telegram.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, no Ukrainians have used the humanitarian corridors near Mariupol and Volnovakha, reports the Russian news agency RIA, citing the ministry.

According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, there is information that the authorities in Mariupol are not allowing civilians to leave the country. Russia has been ready to set up humanitarian corridors since the beginning of the military operation in Ukraine. Russian forces only attacked Ukraine’s military infrastructure, he affirmed. Lavrov called on Ukraine to observe a ceasefire.

The Russian Defense Ministry previously had one ceasefire for Mariupol and the northern suburb of Volnowakha for 8 a.m. CET and the establishment of a humanitarian corridor for civilians. Shortly thereafter, the city administration announced that the evacuation should begin at 10 a.m. CET. Ukrainian authorities expected more than 200,000 people to leave Mariupol during the ceasefire. This did not happen until Saturday afternoon.

Does evacuation mean final capture?

The announced evacuation of Mariupol was used as a prelude to a final attack and the revenue of the strategically important city by the Russian army. Located on the Sea of ​​Azov Mariupol with half a million inhabitants and the small town Volnovakha have been under military pressure from the advancing Russian army for days.

The port city is near the former front line between pro-Russian separatists from eastern Ukraine and the Ukrainian army. Taking them would allow Russian troops to join forces with units from Crimea and Donbass.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for further defense of Mariupol. The humanitarian corridors should be there to rescue women, children and the elderly, as well as deliver food and medicines to the embattled cities, he said.

For five days, according to Mayor Vadym Boichenko, Mariupol had been suffering from “relentless attacks” from the Russian side. Residents previously said they had virtually no water, electricity or gas. Also the strategically important port of Mariupol According to Mayor Vadym Boichenko, it is under a Russian “blockade” after days of “reckless” attacks.

Russian military spokesman Igor Konashenkov said “troops of the Donetsk People’s Republic” closed the ring around Mariupol.

According to the Ukrainian military, heavy fighting with Russian troops is continuing elsewhere. “Fierce fighting is going on to liberate Ukrainian cities from the Russian occupiers,” said the army’s morning report published in Kyiv on Saturday. Regions and cities were not named. The military claimed that Russian soldiers were “demoralized.” They would flee, leaving their weapons behind. This information could not be independently verified.

Fighting continues in Kyiv and Kharkiv

In Kyiv According to the authorities, Saturday night was “quiet”. “The situation is under control.” The supply of electricity and water is working. Public transport resumed operations in the morning.

Russian troops had previously continued their offensive against Ukraine with air support and the use of high-precision weapons. The main efforts of the Russian side would be to protect the cities Kyiv and Kharkiv according to a report published by the Ukrainian army on Saturday night. The Defense Forces Kievs continued to beat back the “enemy offensive” and inflicted defeats on attacking troops.

On Friday, near Kyiv, a television crew from the British broadcaster Sky News Under fire. As the correspondent reported on the Sky News website, his team is en route in the northwest of Kyiv came under heavy automatic weapon fire near a Ukrainian checkpoint.

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Both the reporter and the cameraman were hit, but thanks to their protective vests they escaped without major injuries. They were later told by Ukrainian soldiers that they had been fired upon by a Russian squad.

According to information from US circles, the Russian troops are also directly ahead Kharkiv. According to local authorities, at least 34 civilians were killed and hundreds injured, including several children, in the Russian attacks on the eastern Ukrainian city and its surroundings on Wednesday and Thursday. This information cannot be independently verified.

Heaviest shelling on Irpin

WELT journalist Steffen Schwarzkopf reports on Saturday about the heaviest shelling of the city irpin, north of Kyiv. The Ukrainian soldiers retreated from the city. The city is attacked with rockets and artillery. There is partial Russian fire on the city, but Ukraine is also trying to hit in the Russian direction. The Ukrainians tried to get civilians out of the city. The 60,000 inhabitants are trapped there. The Ukrainians tried to resist. Some people came out of the city over a destroyed bridge. Civilians are also under fire. The city is Ukraine’s line of defense; if it falls, Russian troops will go straight to Kyiv.

On Friday evening, thick clouds of black smoke rose into the sky from suburbs in north-western Kiev. The Russian army is trying to encircle the capital, the Ukrainian army warned. “The Russian troops are about ten kilometers away from Kyiv,” reported WELT reporter Schwarzkopf on Saturday afternoon.

Recaptured Mykolaiv

According to the Ukrainian regional authorities, Russian troops are out of the city Mykolayiv displaced in the south of the country. But fighting continues in the outskirts, says Governor Vitaliy Kim. He had announced in the morning that Russian soldiers had advanced into the city on the Black Sea. He later explained that the Russian army’s advances had been repelled.

Sumy and Chernihiv continued to be contested

According to Defense Minister Resnikov, Ukrainian forces are also holding back the attackers in strategically important locations, such as in the north-eastern regions of Ukraine Sumy and Chernihiv. “The enemy is confused and intimidated,” Reznikov wrote on Facebook.

Ukrainian forces captured vast amounts of military equipment and weapons and killed more than 10,000 Russian soldiers, he claimed. Shortly before that, the General Staff had spoken of a good 9,100 opponents killed. At the beginning of the week there was talk of almost 6,000, when the Russian side still spoke of around 500 dead.

Zhytomyr ammunition depots destroyed

According to a Russian spokesman, on the other hand, the Russian armed forces are continuing to “demilitarize” Ukraine. Ammunition depots in the western Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr were destroyed with anti-tank missiles. In total, more than 2,000 objects of military infrastructure and more than 700 tanks of Ukraine have been destroyed so far.

NATO and US intelligence more “barbaric” weapons

NATO accuses Russia of using cluster bombs in Ukraine. There are also reports of Russia using other weapons that violate international law, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Cluster bombs consist of a large number of smaller bombs. They can have devastating consequences for residents when deployed in cities. Over a hundred states have outlawed this type of weapon.

The United States is also seeing increasing bombing of cities “to the point of submission,” an intelligence official told the agency Broadcaster CNN. There is a risk of a “significant increase in civilian casualties” as a result of this military strategy. “The heavier weapons are not only heavier in weight, but also in terms of their destructive power and what they can trigger,” the official said.

“And they are less targeted,” which is why there will be more victims. This move is “barbaric” and leads him to believe that the Russian government and President Putin have “a different standard of respect for human life,” he said.

And what is the column doing?

More than 60 kilometers long, the Russian military convoy continues to make little progress on its way to the Ukrainian capital. Damaged and destroyed vehicles hindered the onward journey for the others, it was said on Friday from Western government circles. It was one huge traffic jam, said the informant.

The Ukrainian military had repeatedly attacked the convoy from the air, but it did not have the capacity for large-scale attacks, it said.