Russian forces blockading the southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol are disregarding an agreed-upon ceasefire to allow the evacuation of civilians from the combat zone, according to a report on Saturday by Mariupol’s city council.
Residents have been advised to return to their shelters and wait for further information.
Those living in the city are running out of food and medicine. Water, electricity and sanitation were cut off four days ago.
“We ask the people in Mariupol to head for shelter; there will be more information on the evacuation as soon as possible,” said a statement by the city’s authorities quoted by the BBC.
“Due to the fact that the Russian side is not sticking to the ceasefire and continues to shoot in Mariupol itself and the outskirts, the evacuation has been postponed.”
Mariupol deputy mayor Serhiy Orlov confirmed the report in a conversation with the BBC, saying, “The Russians are continuing to bomb us and use artillery. It is crazy.
“There is no ceasefire in Mariupol and there is no ceasefire all along the route. Our civilians are ready to escape but they cannot escape under shelling,” he said.
The report comes just a few hours after Russian defense officials announced the start of a temporary ceasefire in Mariupol and the eastern city of Volnovakha to allow civilians to flee.
Russian forces are also continuing to focus on the effort to circle Kiev and Kharkiv. A 40-mile-long column of Russian armored vehicles has been stalled for days outside the Ukrainian capital, but Russian fighter pilots have not stopped bombing the city.
Earlier this week, Russian forces succeeded in capturing the southern city of Kherson.
