The Russian military has resumed its “offensive” after delaying the evacuation of civilians from two besieged cities in southeastern Ukraine, including Mariupol.
The announcement was made this afternoon by the representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Igor Konachenkov.
“Due to the Ukrainian side’s reluctance to exert influence over the nationalists or to extend the ceasefire, the operations resumed at 18:00 Moscow time,” he said in a video message.
#UPDATE Russian defense ministry says it has resumed “offensive actions” in #Ukraine after announcing a ceasefire earlier in the day to allow residents of two besieged cities to evacuate pic.twitter.com/saOLyQpBeo
– AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 5, 2022
Russia’s Defense Ministry has said that Russian forces are carrying out a large-scale offensive in Ukraine and have occupied many towns and villages, Reuters reported, citing Russia’s Interfax news agency.
According to the source, four Ukrainian Su-27 fighter jets were shot down in an air battle near Zhytomyr, a city about 100 kilometers west of Kiev.
The Tass news agency, always according to Reuters, reports that since the beginning of the war, on February 24, Russian forces have destroyed 69 aircraft on the ground and 21 in the air.
Earlier, the International Committee of the Red Cross described the situation in Mariupol as “heartbreaking”where the evacuation of civilians was halted, calling on the parties to protect civilians in Ukraine, whether or not humanitarian corridors exist and operate.
“We understand that the safe passage operations from Mariupol and Volnovacha will not start today. “We continue to work with the parties on the safe passage of civilians from the various cities affected by the conflict,” the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a press release.
“The scenes that are unfolding today in Mariupol and other cities are heartbreaking,” added the Geneva-based group.
Russia announced on Saturday morning a ceasefire from 09:00 local time and Greek time, to allow civilians from Mariupol and the city of Volnovacha, 60 km north, to leave.
However, the evacuation of residents of Mariupol, a strategic Ukrainian port surrounded by Russian forces and their allies, was halted due to multiple Russian violations of the ceasefire, the city hall reported earlier.
Kyiv said Russian bombings in eastern cities, including Mariupol, had prevented residents from leaving the area through the humanitarian corridors agreed in the latest round of ceasefire talks.
“Continued bombing makes it impossible to open humanitarian corridors for the safe evacuation of civilians and the delivery of medicines and food,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister also said that Russia’s allegations that Ukraine was violating the evacuation of civilians “are false and misinformation to justify the criminal actions of the Russian army.”
The Russian Defense Ministry said no one had used two humanitarian corridors set up near the Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Volnovaka today and accused Ukrainian “nationalists” of preventing civilians from leaving, Reuters reported, citing the Russian RIA news agency.
In statements that contradict the statements of Ukrainian officials, the ministry said that Russian forces came under fire after the creation of humanitarian corridors, during a partial ceasefire.
“Whether or not the humanitarian corridors operate in the coming days, the parties must continue to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure in accordance with international humanitarian law, both for those who choose to leave and for those who remain,” he said.
“The so-called humanitarian corridors or other measures aimed at providing relief to those affected by the conflict must be well designed and implemented with the agreement of the parties involved,” he said.
As a neutral and impartial humanitarian mediator, ICRC states that it is ready to assist in facilitating the safe passage of civilians “when the parties reach an agreement and its terms are strictly humanitarian”.
The occupation of Mariupol, a city of about 450,000 inhabitants in the Sea of ​​Azov, will be a turning point in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
It will allow a crossroads between Russian forces from annexed Crimea, which have already occupied the main ports of Berdyansk and Kherson, and separatists and Russian troops in Donbas.
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