New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday warned that Ukraine’s statehood is in jeopardy as he also likened the West’s sanctions on Russia to “declaring war.”
The address came as a cease-fire in the besieged port city of Mariupol collapsed, the Associated Press reported.
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As Russian troops continued to shell encircled cities, the number of Ukrainians forced to leave their country grew to 1.4 million.
According to Ukrainian officials, Russian forces had intensified their shelling over Mariupol by Saturday night while powerful bombs were dropped on residential areas of Chernihiv, a city north of Kyiv.
Vladimir Putin continued to blame the Ukrainian leadership for the scenes of terror, slamming their resistance to the invasion.
“If they continue to do what they are doing, they are calling into question the future of Ukrainian statehood and if this happens, it will be entirely on their conscience,” he said, as quoted by AP.
Putin delivered the statement during a televised meeting with flight attendants from Russian airline Aeroflot
The Russian President criticised Western sanctions that have crippled the country’s economy.
“These sanctions that are being imposed, they are akin to declaring war,” he said, adding “But thank God, we haven’t got there yet.”
The remarks come as Russia’s financial system faced yet another blow as Mastercard and Visa announced they were suspending their operations in the country.
Notably, the struggle in enforcing the temporary cease-fires in Mariupol and the eastern city of Volnovakha can be seen as a setback in efforts to stop the fighting across Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian officials, Russian artillery fire and airstrikes had prevented residents from leaving before the mutually agreed evacuations got underway.
Vladimir Putin blamed Ukraine for sabotaging the effort.
Meanwhile, the third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine will take place on Monday, AP reported Davyd Arakhamia, a member of the Ukrainian delegation, as informing.
Additional details, including confirmation about the place where the meeting would take place, are awaited.