Russia to resume Ukraine attack as ceasefire collapses

Lviv (Ukraine): Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Saturday that Ukrainian statehood is in jeopardy during a rambling speech from Moscow, while a promised ceasefire in the port city of Mariupol collapsed amid scenes of terror in the besieged town.

The struggle to enforce the temporary ceasefire in Mariupol and the eastern city of Volnovakha showed the fragility of efforts to stop the fighting across Ukraine as the number of people fleeing the country reached 1.4 million just 10 days after Russian forces invaded.

Ukrainian officials said Russian artillery fire and airstrikes had prevented residents from leaving before the agreed-to evacuations got underway. Putin accused Ukraine of sabotaging the effort and claimed the actions of Ukraine’s leadership called into question the country’s future as an independent state. “If this happens, it will be entirely on their conscience,” Putin said.

Earlier, the Russian defence ministry said it had agreed with Ukraine on evacuation routes out of the two cities. Before the announcement, Russia’s days-long assault had caused growing misery in Mariupol, where AP journalists witnessed doctors make unsuccessful attempts to save the lives of wounded children, pharmacies ran bare and hundreds of thousands of people faced food and water shortages in freezing weather. In comments carried on Ukrainian television, Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said thousands of residents had gathered for safe passage out of the city when shelling began on Saturday.

“We value the life of every inhabitant of Mariupol and we cannot risk it, so we stopped the evacuation,” he said. In recent days, Ukraine had urged Moscow to create humanitarian corridors to allow children, women and the older adults to flee the fighting, calling them “question No. 1.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held out the possibility that talks with Russia could result in a sustained, if limited ceasefire Saturday. Elsewhere in the country, Ukrainian forces were holding key cities in central and southeastern Ukraine. — AP