Blitzed in Ceasefire
Putin fires on fleeing families despite deal to let them go
RUSSIAN shelling yesterday shattered a pledged ceasefire in Ukraine before it even began.
Vladimir Putin’s U-turn left hundreds of thousands of innocents fearing for their lives in bunkers – without heat, electricity or a mobile phone signals.
Serhiy Orlov, deputy mayor of Mariupol, where evacuation hopes were dashed, declared: “It is crazy.”
In other developments last night on the 10th day of conflict:
Putin’s onslaught on Kyiv continued Russian troops surrounded three more major cities – as locals tried desperately keep them at bay
Heartbreaking images emerged of new mums and babies cowering in a hospital basement
The Russian president warned the West against a no-fly zone, calling the move an act of war
And oligarchs were again hit as superyachts were seized.
Yesterday had started with fresh hope after Russia said it would observe a ceasefire from 9am to 4pm.
It was to allow up to 200,000 to flee the besieged city of Mariupol along a so-called humanitarian corridor.
But the exodus was plunged into chaos with Russian forces ruthlessly bombarding areas where people were told to gather to catch buses, Ukrainian officials said.
Terrified locals abandoned cars to scramble back to hideaways as it became clear the bombardment would not stop.
Three hours after the evacuation was meant to start, loudspeaker announcements were made postponing it.
And with critical infrastructure grinding to a halt, some were last night relying on melting snow for water, said charity Médecins Sans Frontières.
Footage also appeared to show explosions along the planned escape route.
Mariupol, a port city of 400,000 people, has endured indiscriminate shelling as Moscow attempts to link separatist forces in eastern Ukraine with troops in Crimea, which Putin annexed in 2014.
The city has no drinking water, heat or electricity and is running out of food, officials said. Deputy mayor Mr Orlov said: “The Russians are continuing to bomb us and use artillery. There is no ceasefire in Mariupol and no ceasefire along the escape route. Civilians are ready to escape but cannot.”
Another official added: “When the people organised in evacuation points, they started an attack on those points. Not all the city. Just evacuation points.”
The Ukrainian parliament said it had been forced to suspend the evacuations “for security reasons” amid reports that Russian troops were using the ceasefire as a chance to make advances. A second humanitarian corridor came under fire in the eastern city of Volnovakha, where some 15,000 had hoped to flee. Just 400 managed to get out.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, which was due oversee the evacuations, called it “heartbreaking”.
The charity added: “Our priority is the safety and wellbeing of all civilians.”
Russia last night said it had resumed attacks in Mariupol and Volnovakha.
It’s defence ministry blamed Ukrainian “nationalists” for thwarting the humanitarian corridors.
But in its latest intelligence update, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said: “By accusing Ukraine of breaking the agreement, Russia is likely seeking to
shift responsibility for current and future civilian casualties in the city.”
The cities of Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Sumy were last night encircled – though brave Ukrainians continued to hold them.
In Odesa, in the south, dozens of pregnant women and mothers with their newborn babies hid in the basement of a maternity hospital during air raid alerts.
And hundreds of thousands of households were left without gas after damage to distribution stations.
Meanwhile, thousands of exhausted women and children did manage to reach Lviv in western Ukraine as the state railway put on more trains – with the number of refugees passing 1.3million. Hundreds
lined up at the station in flurries of snow, warming themselves on oil-drum braziers or waiting for hot food and drinks served by volunteers.
Many were in tears, weary children standing silently beside them. Others carried cats in baskets or pulled shivering dogs on leashes. The longest line was for buses to neighbouring Poland.
Anna Filatova, who arrived from Kharkiv with daughters Margarita, 18, and Lilly, four, said: “The Russians want to flatten Kharkiv. It was impossible to stay there anymore.
“The Russians thought Kharkiv would welcome them. But we hate them. We hate Putin.” Ukrainian president
Volodymyr Zelensky again urged Nato to impose a no-fly zone over his country, which the West has ruled out.
Mr Zelensky warned that otherwise “all the people who die from this day forward will also die because of you”.
People heading over the border also begged the West to take action.
At the Medyka crossing in Poland, Solomiya Zdryko, 18, said: “Please close the sky. People are dying.”
Putin said Moscow would see such a move as NATO “participation in the armed conflict”. He also crowed that “everything was going to plan” .
Ukrainians in the UK remain terrified. Mychajlo Barsky, 62, from
Coventry, has family in Ternopil, western Ukraine. He shed a tear as he said: “We are dealing with evil.
“Everyone is scared but we are prepared to fight it out.”
His musician son Danylo, 31, added: “Even if Russia wins the battle, they will not win the war. We will never accept a pro-putin president.”