Mariupol evacuation postponed as Russia accused of breaking ceasefire

Authorities in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol have said an evacuation of civilians has been postponed because Russian forces encircling the city were not respecting an agreed ceasefire.

In a statement, the city council asked residents to return to shelters in the city and await further information on evacuation.

In a televised broadcast, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said Russia was not observing an agreed ceasefire in some areas, preventing a joint plan to allow civilians to evacuate.

The Russian defence ministry said its units had opened humanitarian corridors near Mariupol and Volnovakha, a smaller city 40 miles (65km) to the north, on Saturday morning. Evacuations from Mariupol had been due to begin at 11am local time (0900 GMT).

In Volnovakha, the attack is still so intense that dead bodies lie uncollected, those hiding in shelters are running out of food, and about 90% of the city has been damaged by bombing, local MP Dmytro Lubinets said.

Putin said on Saturday that western sanctions on Russia were akin to a declaration of war and warned that any attempt to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine would lead to catastrophic consequences for the world.

Ukraine and western countries have dismissed this as a baseless pretext for the invasion he launched on 24 February and imposed a sweeping range of sanctions aimed at isolating Moscow.

Mariupol and Volnovakha are just two of many cities across Ukraine left reeling by a devastating campaign of shelling and artillery from Russian forces. The Russian defence ministry said on Saturday a broad offensive would continue elsewhere in Ukraine.

Nato said on Friday that a no-fly zone could provoke full-fledged war in Europe with nuclear-armed Russia, causing far greater loss of life.

As people flee the crisis, a humanitarian disaster is unfolding, with more than 1.3 million people seeking refuge in western Ukraine and neighbouring countries. The UN security council will hold an emergency meeting Monday on the humanitarian crisis triggered by the invasion, diplomats said on Friday.