Ukraine says Russian forces kill seven civilians in evacuation convoy

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LVIV — Ukraine accused Russian forces on Saturday of killing seven civilians in an assault on ladies and kids making an attempt to flee preventing close to Kyiv, and France mentioned Russian President Vladimir Putin had proven he was not able to make peace.

With Russia’s invasion in its third week, the Ukrainian intelligence service mentioned the seven, together with one little one, had been killed as they fled the village of Peremoha and that “the occupiers pressured the remnants of the column to show again.”

Ukrainian officers later mentioned the convoy was not touring alongside a “inexperienced hall” agreed with Russia when it was struck on Friday, correcting their earlier assertion that it was on such a delegated route.

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Reuters was unable instantly to confirm the report and Russia provided no fast remark.

Moscow denies concentrating on civilians since invading Ukraine on Feb. 24. It blames Ukraine for failed makes an attempt to evacuate civilians from encircled cities, an accusation Ukraine and its Western allies strongly reject.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy mentioned earlier that Moscow was sending in new troops after Ukrainian forces put 31 of Russia’s battalion tactical teams out of motion in what he known as Russia’s largest military losses in many years. It was not attainable to confirm his statements.

He additionally mentioned about 1,300 Ukrainian troops had been killed thus far and urged the West to get extra concerned in peace negotiations. The president prompt Russian forces would face a struggle to the demise in the event that they sought to enter the capital.

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“In the event that they resolve to carpet bomb (Kyiv), and easily erase the historical past of this area … and destroy all of us, then they may enter Kyiv. If that’s their aim, allow them to are available, however they should reside on this land by themselves,” he mentioned.

Zelenskiy mentioned the conflict with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Emmanuel Macron, and the German and French leaders then spoke to Putin by telephone and urged him to order a direct ceasefire.

A Kremlin assertion on the 75-minute name made no point out of a ceasefire and a French presidency official mentioned: “We didn’t detect a willingness on Putin’s half to finish the conflict.”

Russian Deputy International Minister Sergei Ryabkov accused the USA of escalating tensions and mentioned the scenario had been sophisticated by convoys of Western arms shipments to Ukraine that Russian forces thought of “professional targets.”

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In feedback reported by the Tass information company, Ryabkov made no particular menace, however any assault on such convoys earlier than they reached Ukraine would threat widening the conflict.

Responding to Zelenskiy’s name for the West to be extra concerned in peace negotiations, a U.S. State Division spokesperson mentioned: “If there are diplomatic steps that we will take that the Ukrainian authorities believes can be useful, we’re ready to take them.”

Disaster talks between Moscow and Kyiv have been persevering with by way of a video hyperlink, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russia’s RIA information company. He gave no particulars however Ukrainian International Minister Dmytro Kuleba mentioned Kyiv wouldn’t give up or settle for any ultimatums.

Zelenskiy in a while Saturday mentioned he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in regards to the prospects for peace talks. Bennett met with Putin and beforehand talked by telephone to Zelenskiy, however the diplomatic efforts thus far have appeared fruitless.

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HUMANITARIAN CORRIDORS

Air raid sirens blared throughout most Ukrainian cities on Saturday, native media reported.

Russian rocket assaults destroyed a Ukrainian airbase and hit an ammunition depot close to the city of Vasylkiv within the Kyiv area, Interfax Ukraine quoted its mayor as saying.

The exhausted-looking governor of Chernihiv, round 150 km (100 miles) northeast of Kyiv, gave a video replace in entrance of the ruins of town’s Ukraine Resort.

“There isn’t any such lodge any extra,” Viacheslav Chaus mentioned, wiping tears from his eyes. “However Ukraine itself nonetheless exists, and it’ll prevail.”

Britain’s protection ministry mentioned preventing northwest of the capital continued, with the majority of Russian floor forces 25 km (16 miles) from the middle of Kyiv, which it has mentioned Russia may assault inside days.

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Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Mariupol remained encircled below heavy Russian shelling, it mentioned.

Russia’s invasion has been nearly universally condemned world wide and Moscow has drawn powerful Western sanctions.

The Russian bombardment has trapped hundreds of individuals in besieged cities and despatched 2.5 million Ukrainians fleeing to neighboring international locations. Zelenskiy mentioned the battle meant some small Ukrainian cities not existed.

The USA mentioned it could rush as much as $200 million in further small arms, anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons to Ukraine, the place officers have pleaded for extra navy support.

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “particular operation” that it says shouldn’t be designed to occupy territory however to destroy its neighbor’s navy capabilities and “de-Nazify” the nation.

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Ukrainian officers had deliberate to make use of humanitarian corridors from Mariupol in addition to cities and villages within the areas of Kyiv, Sumy and another areas on Saturday.

However Russian shelling threatened makes an attempt to evacuate trapped civilians, they mentioned.

Nonetheless, round 13,000 folks had been evacuated from Ukrainian cities on Saturday, mentioned Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk. It was nearly twice the quantity who obtained out yesterday however far fewer than on the 2 days previous to that.

A senior Russian protection ministry official mentioned the humanitarian scenario in Ukraine continued to say no quickly and blamed Ukrainian fighters, accusing them of mining neighborhoods and destroying bridges and roads, the RIA information company reported.

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Russian officers have beforehand accused Ukrainian forces of shelling their very own folks after which looking for responsible Moscow, allegations that Kyiv and Western nations dismissed as lies.

The governor of the Kyiv area, Oleksiy Kuleba, mentioned preventing and threats of Russian air assaults had been persevering with on Saturday morning although some evacuations had been continuing.

The Donetsk area’s governor mentioned fixed shelling was complicating bringing support into the southern metropolis of Mariupol.

Photographs taken on Saturday by personal U.S. satellite tv for pc agency Maxar confirmed fires burning within the western part of Mariupol and dozens of house buildings closely broken.

“There are experiences of looting and violent confrontations amongst civilians over what little primary provides stay within the metropolis,” the U.N.’s Workplace for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs mentioned.

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MAKESHIFT BURIALS

Individuals had been boiling floor water for consuming, utilizing wooden to cook dinner meals and burying their lifeless close to the place they lay, a employees member for Medecins Sans Frontieres (Docs with out Borders) in Mariupol mentioned.

A minimum of 1,582 civilians in Mariupol have been killed on account of Russian shelling and a 12-day blockade, town council mentioned on Friday. It was not attainable to confirm casualty figures.

Efforts to isolate Russia economically have stepped up, with the USA imposing new sanctions on senior Kremlin officers and Russian oligarchs on Friday.

European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen mentioned the EU on Saturday would droop Moscow’s privileged commerce and financial therapy, crack down on its use of crypto-assets, and ban the import of iron and metal items from Russia, in addition to the export of luxurious items within the different route.

(Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Philippa Fletcher, Timothy Heritage, Matt Spetalnick; Enhancing by William Mallard, Frances Kerry, Daniel Wallis and Grant McCool)