Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday his campaign in Ukraine was going to plan and would not end until Kyiv stopped fighting, as efforts to evacuate 200,000 people from the heavily bombarded city of Mariupol fell apart for the second day in a row.
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Most people trapped in the port city are sleeping in bomb shelters to escape more than six days of near-constant shelling by encircling Russian forces that has cut off food, water, power, and heating supplies, according to the Ukrainian authorities. Read full story
The civilian death toll from hostilities across Ukraine since Moscow launched its invasion on Feb. 24 stood at 364, including more than 20 children, according to the United Nations on Sunday, with hundreds more injured. Read full story
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said most civilian casualties were caused by the use of "explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and missile and airstrikes."
Moscow has repeatedly denied attacking civilian areas. In Irpin, a town some 25 km (16 miles) northwest of the capital Kyiv, men, women, and children trying to escape armed clashes in the area were forced to take cover when missiles struck nearby, according to Reuters witnesses. Soldiers and fellow residents helped the elderly hurry to a bus filled with frightened people, some cowering as they waited to be driven to safety.
The invasion has drawn almost universal condemnation around the world, sent more than 1.5 million Ukrainians fleeing from the country, and triggered tough Western sanctions against Russia aimed at squeezing its economy."War is madness, please stop," Pope Francis said in his weekly address to crowds in St Peter's Square, adding that "rivers of blood and tears" were flowing in Ukraine's war.
Putin made his demand for Kyiv to end the fighting in a phone call with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who appealed for a ceasefire. Putin told Erdogan he was ready for dialogue with Ukraine and foreign partners but any attempt to draw out negotiation would fail, a Kremlin statement said.
Russian media said Putin also held almost two hours of talks on Sunday with French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron told Putin he was concerned about a possible imminent attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa, Macron's office said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States has seen very credible reports of deliberate attacks on civilians in Ukraine, adding that Washington was documenting them to support appropriate organizations in their potential war crimes investigation over Russia's actions.
Moscow calls its campaign a "special military operation", saying it has no plans to occupy Ukraine.
A huge Russian convoy on a road north of Kyiv has made limited visible progress in recent days, although Russia's defense ministry released footage on Sunday showing some tracked military vehicles on the move.
In the capital, Ukrainian soldiers bolstered defenses by digging trenches, blocking roads and liaising with civil defense units as Russian forces bombarded areas nearby. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian rockets had destroyed the civilian airport of the central-western region capital of Vinnytsia on Sunday. Russian forces opened fire at a protest against their occupation of the southern Ukrainian city of Nova Kakhovka on Sunday, wounding five people, Ukrainian news agency Interfax Ukraine said, citing eyewitnesses.
The World Health Organization said there had been several attacks on Ukrainian healthcare facilities during the conflict, causing deaths and injuries.
Meanwhile, staff at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – the largest such facility in Europe – continue to operate it, but management is now under the orders of the commander of the Russian forces that seized it last week, the UN nuclear watchdog said on Sunday, citing Ukraine's regulator. "I'm extremely concerned," International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement, adding that Russian forces had cut off some mobile networks and the internet, complicating communications with the plant.
"Management and staff must be allowed to carry out their vital duties in stable conditions without undue external interference or pressure."
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