Russia ignores ceasefire and BOMBS city just hours after Putin’s forces promised they’d let besieged civilians flee

RUSSIA breached a ceasefire just hours after agreeing to allow civilians to escape from two besieged cities.

Vladimir Putin’s forces had agreed to halt their bombardments on the strategic port of Mariupol in the southeast and the eastern town of Volnovakha.

Reuters

Reuters

Los Angeles Times / Polaris

And yet around one hour later, their troops were once again opening fire – causing the suspension of the evacuation and sending people running for shelter in Mariupol.

It comes after a week of vicious bloodshed that has seen thousands of civilians butchered at the hands of Putin’s forces.

The ceasefire began at 9am UK time – offering the briefest window of respite for the besieged people of Ukraine.

And even then that was too long for shameless and bloodthirsty Russians.

Ukrainian officials had hoped to evacuated some 200,000 civilians from the city before the bombardment restarted.

“The Russians are continuing to bomb us and use artillery. It is crazy,” Mariupol deputy mayor Serhiy Orlov.

“There is no ceasefire in Mariupol and there is no ceasefire all along the route. Our civilians are ready to escape but they cannot escape under shelling.”

Civilians are having to take the route from Mariupol to Rozivka to Zaporizhzhia – but fighting continues along the supposed “humanitarian corridor”.

Russia meanwhile blamed Ukrainian “nationalists” for preventing the evacuation.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this morning confirmed the new humanitarian corridors – but urged those who could to “continue fighting”.

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And in a bitter speech on Friday night he renewed calls for a no fly zone, telling Nato that “all the people who die from this day forward will also die because of you”.

Mariupol has been one of the most brutalised cities of war as the Russian have blockaded it and cut off food, water, heating and transport in the depths of water.

It has been compared to the Nazi blockade of Leningrad in World War 2.

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It comes as:

• Heartbreaking photos show the horrors of Vladimir Putin’s war – including a baby being carried amongst the rubble
• Russian generals have been urged to ASSASSINATE demented Putin to stop the war in Ukraine
• It is feared Vlad may begin to chemical weapons on civilians like he did in Syria
• Brits have been told to leave Russia – but there are no direct flights to the UK
• Russian troops are now 20 miles from another nuke plant amid fears of a catastrophe in Ukraine
• Dramatic footage showed the moment a Russian helicopter was blown out of the sky by Ukraine
• Russia losses are mounting – and Vlad has lost at least three army commanders in the fighting
• F1 driver Nikita Mazepin – son of Russian oligarch Dmitry Mazepin – was sacked by the Haas team

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Citizens had been given just five hours to leave – with a window from 9am to 2pm UK time – and there will be 50 specially arranged buses.

Mariupol mayor Vadim Boychenko aid his people have been under “constant, ruthless fire” from the Russians.

And there are no trains running as the Russians destroyed the railways, he said – and added he also fears information may be hard to get to residents due the destroyed communications.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has reported a dire situation in the city, with numerous staff injured and water having to be collected from rain and snow.

Multiple supermarkets providing food for the desperate civilians have been hit by missiles – and there remains no mobile connection, according to MSF.

Putin’s invasion has drawn condemnation and severe sanctions from Western nations balancing punishment of the Kremlin with fears of a hazardous escalation.

Moscow has seized two key cities in its 10-day-long invasion, Berdiansk and Kherson on Ukraine’s southern coast along the Black Sea.

And today in Kherson there have been mass protests as citizens come out in force waving the flag of Ukraine.

One incredible moment saw a man climb aboard a Russian tank to wave the yellow and blue banner, while other footage showed protesters confronting heavily armed Russian soldiers.

But capturing Mariupol, a city of about 450,000 people on the Azov Sea, would represent a bigger prize for Russian forces as it would deal a severe blow to Ukraine’s maritime access and connect troops coming from annexed Crimea and the Donbas.

Peace talks are expected to continue today – but Ukraine remains defiant as civilians prepare to fight back amid Russia’s grinding advance.

And according to civilians fleeing Volnovakha – the other city granted a brief moment of peace in the ceasefire – the city has almost been totally destroyed.

The eastern city has undergone bombardment by artillery since the very first day of the invasion has come under attack by pro-Russian separatists.

“The attacks went on all night and all day. We told the children it was thunder,” said one resident, Viktor.

“We can never go back to Volnovakha. Everything has been ruined and nothing is there anymore.”

Disgraceful dictator Putin had denied bombing Ukrainian civilians despite overwhelming evidence showing the horrors of his invasion.

Children have been killed in his indiscriminate bombing campaigns which have allegedly used weapons such as cluster munitions and vacuum bombs.

In a phone call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Russian tyrant insisted the information about bombing was fake.

The Kremlin later put out a statement saying “the alleged ongoing airstrikes of Kyiv and other large cities are gross propaganda fakes”.

Delusional Putin said he was open to talks with Ukraine but only under the condition “all Russian demands are met”.

The Kremlin later put out a statement saying “the alleged ongoing airstrikes of Kyiv and other large cities are gross propaganda fakes”.

Vlad’s bizarre denial comes as he claimed the war he unleashed has been a “success”, despite the Russian army suffering heavy losses.

The reported temporary ceasefire in Ukraine is welcome but it is only a “small step”, said the UK’s economic secretary to the Treasury John Glen.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Mr Glen said: “But (the) big picture is that Putin’s aggression shows little signs of abating and the humanitarian crises that are unfolding are appalling and they are entirely his responsibility.

“The number of cities that are apparently under threat remain high and the level of the aggression and the nature of the shelling is becoming more and more desperate and indiscriminate as each day goes by.”

And this comes as a US official says Russia is getting ready to deploy 1,000 additional mercenaries to Ukraine in the near future.

AFP

AFP

AFP

AP

Eyevine

AFP

Meanwhile, Russia yesterday took control of Europe’s biggest power plant in Zaporizhzhia – after a battle that set the facility on fire.

Putin has received international condemnation for its actions, which could have triggered the biggest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

Russia has found its invasion blighted with logistical problems – with reports of tanks running out of fuel and soldiers running low on supplies.

Putin is believed to have thought he could roll over Ukraine within just 48 hours – and his forces thought they would be met as heroes.

But instead, they have found themselves bogged down against a staunch resistance.

Putin is also becoming increasingly isolated in the world as Russia feels the crushing weight of Western sanctions.

Moscow however is believed to be growing frustrated – and it is feared Putin could resort to ever more brutal tactics as the war drags on.

Kyiv is believed to remain the prime objective for the Russians.

And a massive convoy of armoured vehicles has been lurking nearby apparently preparing for a protracted siege.

However, mystery surrounds the so-called “Convoy of Death” as it hasn’t made any significant progress for days.

Russian forces are believed to be being increasingly demoralised, with captured troops seen crying for their mums.

Ukraine despite its defiance is facing a humanitarian crisis with more than one million refugees fleeing the devastating war.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – who has remained in a bunker in Ukraine, dodging assassination attempts – has called for a face-to-face meeting with Putin to try and end the destruction.