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Russia Claims Cease-Fire Ordered In Some Areas, But Shelling Continues

By RFE/RL March 07, 2022

The Russian military says it has ordered a cease-fire to allow civilian evacuations from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, as well as the cities of Mariupol, Kharkiv, and Sumy from 10 a.m. on March 7, after attempts to evacuate civilians from Mariupol failed the previous day.

Negotiators from Russia and Ukraine are due to hold a third round of negotiations on March 7, Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamiya announced on Facebook. The two sides have met twice in Belarus since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.

Ukrainian officials have yet to confirm the cease-fire announced by Moscow. Previous cease-fire agreements failed to allow civilians to flee.

Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian officials accused each other of failing to establish the humanitarian corridor out of the Black Sea city of Mariupol for the thousands of civilians attempting to flee the shelling.

Ukraine's General Staff said on March 7 that Russian forces continued their offensive, opening fire on the city of Mykolaiv, 480 kilometers south of Kyiv. Rescuers said they were putting out fires in residential areas caused by rocket attacks.

Shelling also continued in the suburbs of Kyiv, including Irpin, which has been cut off from electricity, water, and heating for three days. Residents tried to flee Irpin, and Bucha, another Kyiv suburb, as they were pounded by air strikes.

"Russia continues to carry out rocket, bomb, and artillery strikes on the cities and settlements of Ukraine," the General Staff said. "The invaders continue to use the airfield network of Belarus to carry out air strikes on Ukraine."

Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said planned evacuations along designated humanitarian corridors on March 6 were halted because of continued Russian shelling.

The Interfax news agency cited an official in the separatist-held part of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region who accused Ukrainian forces of failing to observe the cease-fire.

Despite ample, concrete evidence of Russian attacks on civilian areas documented by reporters, including RFE/RL correspondents on the ground, Moscow denies targeting civilian areas, calling its campaign a "special military operation."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is on a visit to Eastern Europe, said the United States and its allies are having a "very active discussion" about banning the import of Russian oil.

Kyiv on March 6 renewed its appeal to the West to toughen sanctions and again requested more weapons, including a plea for Russian-made planes.

Speaking in Moldova, which has a long border with Ukraine, Blinken said Washington was considering how it could resupply aircraft to Poland, if Warsaw decided to send its Russian-made warplanes to Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on March 6 also pressed his demand for foreign countries to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Zelenskiy said in a video address that "the world is strong enough to close our skies."

NATO has ruled out such a closure over fears that a direct confrontation with Russia could spark a world war.

Zelenskiy also described some of the destruction from Russian bombardments. He said Russian rockets had "completely destroyed" the civilian airport in Vinnytsia in central Ukraine on March 6.

Ukraine's military said on March 6 that it was fighting "fierce battles" with Russian forces on the edge of the southern city of Mykolayiv, which controls the road to the key Black Sea city of Odesa in the west.

Ukrainian officials said that Russian forces launched hundreds of missiles and artillery attacks across the country, including dropping powerful bombs on residential areas of Chernihiv, a city north of the capital of Kyiv.

Soldiers in Kyiv bolstered defenses by digging trenches, blocking roads, and liaising with civil defense units.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 6 held phone calls with Israeli Prime Minster Naftali and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in addition to a call with French President Emmanuel Macron.

In the call with Erdogan, Putin said the invasion could be halted only "only if Kyiv ceases hostilities," according to a Kremlin statement on the phone call.

He said Ukraine had to fulfill "the well-known demands of Russia," which include what he calls the "demilitarization" of Ukraine and a guarantee that it will not be able to join NATO.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on March 7 urged China to join the effort to stop Russia's invasion of Ukraine, warning that the world was in danger of being reshaped by an "arc of autocracy."

China, which has close ties with Moscow, has declined to call the Russian attack on Ukraine an "invasion" while asking Western countries to respect Russia's "legitimate security concerns."

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on March 7 that Beijing's friendship with Russia is "rock solid" and the prospects for cooperation are very broad.

Beijing has called for a solution to the crisis through negotiations.

The diplomatic moves came as the UN human rights office said at least 364 civilians have been confirmed killed since the invasion began on February 24 and Ukrainian refugees continued to pour into neighboring countries, including Poland, Romania, and Moldova.

The number of people who have left since fighting began has now reached 1.5 million, according to the UN refugee agency.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, AP, the BBC, and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-invasion- evacuation-mariupol-kharkiv-fighting/31739947.html

Copyright (c) 2022. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.