Washington, Mar 7 (AP): On Day 11 of Russia's war on Ukraine, Russian troops shelled encircled cities and a second attempt to evacuate civilians from Mariupol failed as the besieged port city was shelled.
Ukrainian officials said the attacks disrupted what was supposed to have been a cease-fire at the time that a pro-Russian official had said safe-passage corridors were to open.
The number of Ukrainians forced from their country increased to 1.5 million, and the Kremlin's rhetoric grew, with Russian President Vladimir Putin warning that Ukrainian statehood is in jeopardy. He likened the West's sanctions on Russia to “declaring war.” Here's a look at key things to know about the conflict Sunday: VIOLENCE STOPS PLANNED CIVILIAN EVACUATIONS AGAIN Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko blamed Russian artillery fire for halting a second attempt in as many days to evacuate civilians from Mariupol.
The plan agreed to with Russian forces had been to allow people fleeing the combat and shelling to leave along designated humanitarian “green corridors,” but Gerashchenko said on Telegram that Russians had not respected the truce.
A day earlier, Ukrainian officials similarly said Russian artillery fire and airstrikes had prevented residents from leaving before the agreed-to evacuations got underway in Mariupol and the nearby city of Volnovakha. Then, Putin accused Ukraine of sabotaging the effort.
Russia has sought to cut off Ukraine's access to the Sea of Azov in the south. Capturing Mariupol could allow Russia to establish a land corridor to Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING ON THE GROUND? Russian forces launched hundreds of missiles and artillery attacks across the country, including powerful bombs dropped on residential areas of Chernihiv, a city north of the capital of Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said. But a miles-long Russian armoured column threatening the capital remained stalled outside Kyiv.
Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces were holding key cities in the central and southeastern part of the country, while the Russians were trying to block and keep encircled Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv and Sumy.
Ukrainian forces were also defending Odesa, Ukraine's largest port city, from Russian ships, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich said.
Russian troops took control of the southern port city of Kherson last week.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced Sunday plans to strike Ukraine's military-industrial complex, prompting criticism of Western leaders by Zelenskyy for not responding.
Zelenskyy said those who order and carry out such crimes should be brought to justice.
Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement carried by the state news agency Tass that employees of those plants should not go to work.
ZELENSKYY PUSHES CALL FOR NO-FLY ZONE Zelenskyy pushed his call for foreign countries to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Establishing a no-fly zone would risk escalating the conflict by involving foreign militaries directly. Although the United States and many Western countries have backed Ukraine with weapons shipments, they have sent no troops.
Zelenskyy said in a video address on Sunday that “the world is strong enough to close our skies" and this weekend urged US officials help his country obtain warplanes to fight the invasion and retain control of its airspace.
NATO countries have ruled out policing a no-fly zone, which would bar all unauthorized aircraft from flying over Ukraine.
Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Sunday that some Ukrainian combat planes had redeployed to Romania and other Ukraine neighbours he didn't identify. He warned an attack from planes operating out of those nations could be deemed an engagement by them in the conflict.
Also Sunday, European Union leader Charles Michel said closing Ukraine's airspace could spark a world war.
DIRECTLY WITNESSED OR CONFIRMED BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Onlookers in Chernihiv cheered as they watched a Russian military plane fall from the sky and crash, according to video released by the Ukrainian government. In Kherson, hundreds of protesters waved blue and yellow Ukrainian flags and shouted, “Go home.” In Mariupol, Associated Press 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 Irpin, near Kyiv, a sea of people on foot and even in wheelbarrows trudged over the remains of a destroyed bridge to cross a river and leave the city. Assisted by Ukrainian soldiers, they lugged pets, infants, purses and flimsy bags stuffed with minimal possessions. Some of the weak and elderly were carried along the path in blankets and carts.
Kyiv's central train station remained crowded with people desperate to leave, and frequent shelling could be heard from the centre of the capital city.
DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS Intense diplomatic efforts continued, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Moldova pledging America's support to the small Western-leaning former Soviet republic. The country is coping with an influx of refugees from Ukraine and keeping an eye on Russia's intensifying war with its neighbour.
Blinken says the United States and its allies are having a “very active discussion” about banning the import of Russian oil and natural gas.(AP) VN VN
(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)