Ukraine: Zelenskyy says Russia blocking Mariupol refugee efforts — live updates
- President Zelenskyy has described attempts to negotiate with Russia as ‘very difficult’
- The Ukrainian president has also accused Russia of ‘capturing’ refugees
- Vietnam is to suspend flights from Hanoi to Moscow
This article was last updated at 08:00 UTC/GMT
Nine ‘humanitarian corridors’ for refugees agreed
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Wednesday that agreements have been made to evacuate trapped civilians from Ukrainian towns through nine “humanitarian corridors.”
In the besieged city of Mariupol, Vereshchuk said evacuees would find transport in the city of Berdyansk, which is more than 80 kilometers (50 miles) to the southwest.
Vietnam Airlines to suspend flights to Moscow
The national carrier of Vietnam is to suspend flights from Hanoi to Moscow from March 25, according to state run Vietnam News Agency (VNA).
The agency reported that the temporary suspension was due to review procedures, requirements and regulations for operations in Russia.
The countries have close links which date back to the Soviet era and Hanoi has not condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy accuses Russian forces of ‘capturing’ Mariupol refugees
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russian forces of “simply capturing” refugees trying to make their way out of the besieged city of Mariupol, on a previously agreed route. Zelenskyy said 7,000 people were able to escape over the past 24 hours, but claimed one group traveling the route was taken captive.
Zelenskyy said in a video message that there 100,000 people remain in the port city on the Sea of Azov “without food, without water, without, medicine, under constant shelling.” Tens of thousands of people have already escaped the city.
He also accused Russian forces of blocking a humanitarian convoy trying to reach the city on Tuesday and taking rescue workers and drivers captive There were around 450,000 people living in the city before Russia invaded.
“We are trying to organize stable humanitarian corridors for Mariupol residents, but almost all of our attempts, unfortunately, are foiled by the Russian occupiers, by shelling or deliberate terror,” Zelenskyy said.
Human Rights Watch described the city as a “freezing hellscape riddled with dead bodies and destroyed buildings.” The United States military says Russia is bombing the city with artillery and long-range missiles fired from naval ships.
A destroyed civilian vehicle seen on a route between Mariupol and Zaporizhzhia, a city to the northwest
Peace negotiations are ‘difficult’ says Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has described attempts to negotiate peace with Russia as “very difficult.”
Zelenskyy made the comments in a video address released early on Wednesday.
“They are very difficult, sometimes scandalous, but we are moving forward step by step,” Zelenskyy said and added that Ukrainian officials were negotiating on a daily basis.
“We will work, we will fight as much as possible. Until the end. Brave and open,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian leader has indicated a willingness to hold direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin but there has been no response to his requests for dialogue.
Russians accused of destroying Chernobyl laboratory
The agency responsible for managing the Chernobyl exclusion zone has accused Russian forces of destroying a new laboratory at the nuclear power plant.
Ukraine’s State Agency for Exclusion Zone Management said that Russian troops had “illegally seized” the laboratory and then said they “robbed and destroyed the November Central Analytical Laboratory.”
The agency said the laboratory contained “highly active samples and samples of radionuclides that are now in the hands of the enemy, which we hope will harm itself and not the civilized world.”
The facility was built at a cost of €6 million ($6.6 million) with the help of the European Union. It had been in operation since 2015.
Summary of events in Ukraine-Russia crisis on Tuesday
After weeks of bombardment by Russian forces, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Italian parliament there is “nothing left” of the post city of Mariupol.
The UK’s Ministry of Defense said Ukrainian forces continued to “repulse” Russian attempts to take over the southern port city of Mariupol.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said 300,000 people in the Russian-occupied city of Kherson are running out of food and medical supplies.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was willing to consider dropping its demands for full NATO membership in exchange for security guarantees.
The UN refugee agency said more than 3.3 million Ukrainian refugees have poured into neighboring countries since Russia’s invasion on February 24.
Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, paid tribute to Boris Romanchenko, who survived several Nazi concentration camps but was killed last week in a Russian strike on Kharkiv.
A senior US defense official said Russia’s combat power in Ukraine has dipped below 90% of its pre-invasion level, pointing to the possibility of heavy losses and rising casualties.
kb/wmr(AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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