Putin likens Western sanctions to conflict as Russian assault traps Ukrainian civilians

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LVIV/KYIV — Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned Western sanctions had been akin to conflict on Saturday as his forces pressed on with their assault on Ukraine, the place deliberate civilian evacuations from two besieged cities had been referred to as off.

Russia and Ukraine traded blame over the failure to offer secure passage to civilians fleeing the 2 bombarded cities, on the tenth day of a conflict that has fueled Europe’s greatest humanitarian catastrophe in many years.

Russia’s invasion, which started on Feb. 24, has despatched practically 1.5 million refugees fleeing westward into the European Union and provoked unprecedented worldwide sanctions on Moscow.

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The Russian protection ministry mentioned its models had opened humanitarian corridors close to the cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha, which have been encircled by its troops.

However in Mariupol, town council mentioned Russia was not observing the ceasefire and it requested residents to return to shelters and await additional info on evacuation.

Russia’s protection ministry accused Ukrainian “nationalists” of stopping civilians from leaving, RIA information company reported.

The Worldwide Committee of the Pink Cross later mentioned it understood that civilian evacuations from Mariupol and Volnovakha wouldn’t now begin on Saturday.

The port of Mariupol has endured heavy bombardment, an indication of its strategic worth to Moscow attributable to its place between Russian-backed separatist-held japanese Ukraine and the Black Sea Crimean peninsula, which Moscow seized from Kyiv in 2014.

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“This evening the shelling was tougher and nearer,” a workers member from Docs with out Borders/Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) mentioned, in accordance with the help company. There was nonetheless no energy, water, heating or cell phone hyperlinks and meals was scarce.

OFFENSIVE TO CONTINUE

The Russian protection ministry mentioned a broad offensive would proceed in Ukraine, the place it denies attacking civilians or invading, calling its actions a “particular navy operation.”

Russian forces had been finishing up strikes on navy infrastructure and forces from separatist-held Donetsk had been tightening the encirclement of Mariupol, Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov mentioned.

A United Nations monitoring mission mentioned not less than 351 civilians had been confirmed killed and 707 injured in Ukraine thus far for the reason that begin of the invasion, including that the actual figures had been prone to be “significantly larger.”

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The variety of refugees may rise to 1.5 million by Sunday evening from 1.3 million now, the U.N. refugee company chief mentioned.

Girls and youngsters crossed on the Medyka checkpoint in southeastern Poland in freezing situations.

One lady, struggling to hold half a dozen luggage, wept when the snacks she had packed for her and her younger son, who was clutching a inexperienced dinosaur toy, fell to the bottom. She gave the boy a bag to hold as they trudged slowly on.

The state of affairs was equally determined on the opposite aspect of the border, within the western Ukrainian metropolis of Lviv, the place hundreds of ladies and youngsters numb with exhaustion continued to flood in from war-ravaged japanese areas.

“I’ve barely slept for 10 days,” mentioned Anna Filatova, arriving together with her two daughters from closely bombed Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second metropolis close to its japanese border with Russia. “The Russians need to flatten Kharkiv… We hate Putin.”

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Putin mentioned on Saturday he needed a impartial Ukraine that had been “demilitarized” and “denazified,” including: “These sanctions which are being imposed are akin to a declaration of conflict however thank God it has not come to that.”

Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused the West of “financial banditry” and threatened to retaliate, with out giving particulars.

Russia’s International Ministry accused Britain of “sanctions hysteria” and vowed robust however proportionate measures towards British pursuits in Russia. Britain plans to tighten its legal guidelines to facilitate a crackdown on Russian oligarchs in London.

Italian police have seized villas and yachts price not less than $153 million from 4 high-profile Russians placed on an EU sanctions checklist, sources mentioned on Saturday.

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The battle has shaken worldwide diplomacy over Iran’s nuclear program, one of many few areas the place Russia and america had been working collectively to curb what the West suspects is an Iranian plan to develop nuclear arms.

Russian International Minister Sergei Lavrov mentioned on Saturday the brand new Western sanctions imposed on his nation had turn into a stumbling block for clinching a nuclear cope with Iran.

In additional diplomatic fallout from the conflict, the premiers of non-NATO nations Finland and Sweden mentioned on Saturday they’d step up their safety cooperation attributable to Russia’s actions, although they had been non-committal about becoming a member of the Atlantic alliance.

‘PLEASE CLOSE THE SKY’

Ukraine says Russian forces have centered efforts on encircling Kyiv and Kharkiv, whereas aiming to determine a land bridge to Crimea.

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Kyiv, within the path of a Russian armored column that has been stalled outdoors the Ukrainian capital for days, was once more beneath assault, with explosions audible from town middle.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was anticipated to press Washington for extra assist in a video name with the U.S. Senate on Saturday.

At a gathering on Friday, NATO allies rejected Ukraine’s attraction for no-fly zones, saying they had been growing assist however that stepping in instantly may make the state of affairs worse.

“Please shut the sky … as a result of individuals are dying,” mentioned Solomiya Zdryko, 18, who fled from Lviv in western Ukraine.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on a go to to Poland, mentioned safety and humanitarian help with high officers there and in addition met refugees staying in a disused shopping center close to the border. Poland has taken within the overwhelming majority of the Ukrainian refugees.

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Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov mentioned 66,224 Ukrainian males had returned from overseas to hitch the struggle towards Russia’s invasion.

Ukraine’s navy mentioned armed forces “are preventing fiercely to liberate Ukrainian cities from Russian occupiers,” counter-attacking in some areas and disrupting communications.

It mentioned not less than 39 Russian planes and 40 helicopters had been destroyed, whereas Russia mentioned it had destroyed 82 Ukrainian plane, 708 armored automobiles, 74 a number of rocket launchers and 56 drones. Reuters has not been capable of independently confirm the accounts from both aspect.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Natalia Zinets, Aleksandar Vasovic in Ukraine, Olzhas Auyezov in Almaty, Matthias Williams in Medyka, Man Faulconbridge and William Schomberg in London, John Irish in Paris, Francois Murphy in Vienna, David Ljunggren in Ottawa and different Reuters bureaus Writing by Kim Coghill, Philippa Fletcher and Gareth Jones Modifying by William Mallard, Frances Kerry and William Maclean)