Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 10, 2022 in this still image taken from video. – Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/via Reuters TV/Handout via Reuters
LVIV (Ukraine), March 11 – Not a single civilian was able to leave the encircled Ukrainian city of Mariupol yesterday as Russian forces failed to respect a temporary ceasefire to allow evacuations, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on national television.
Efforts to send food, water and medicine into the city failed when Russian tanks attacked a humanitarian corridor, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a televised address.
“This is outright terror … from experienced terrorists,” he said. “The world needs to know this. I have to admit it – we are all dealing with a terrorist state.”
Zelenskiy said Ukrainian authorities managed to evacuate almost 40,000 people yesterday from five other cities.
Russia’s defence ministry said earlier it would declare a ceasefire today and open humanitarian corridors from Mariupol as well as Kyiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Mariupol and Chernihiv. – Reuters