A fire burns in Mariupol in southern Ukraine amid Russian shelling of the city

Saturday’s Coverage: Putin Cracks Down on Independent Media

UPDATE 2255 GMT:

TikTok has suspended live-streaming from Russia after the Russian Parliament passed legislation imposing fines and up to 15 years in prison on anyone reporting on the invasion of Ukraine or sanctions on Moscow.

Netflix has also shut down its service.

UPDATE 2250 GMT:

In a call of almost two hours, Vladimir Putin has rebuffed French President Emmanuel Macron call for a halt to the Russian invasion and safe evacuation of civilians from Ukraine’s besieged cities.

Macron’s office said, “President Putin has again expressed his determination to obtain all his objectives by negotiation or by war. The President of the Republic expressed his determination to obtain negotiations and peace.”

Putin repeated his demands for the “denazification” and “demilitarization” of Ukraine.

UPDATE 2240 GMT:

The International Atomic Energy Agency has expressed “grave concern” that a Russian military commander is issuing orders to staff at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest complex in Europe.

Russian forces seized the complex, which has six of Ukraine’s reactors, are shelling the area last week and striking a five-story training building.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said the Russian military command “contravenes one of the seven indispensable pillars of nuclear safety and security” which states that the operating staff must be able to carry out their safety and security duties and be able to make decisions “free of undue pressure”.

The IAEA also expressed concern that the Russian occupiers have shut down mobile phone networks and the Internet “so that reliable information from the site cannot be obtained through the normal channels of communication”.

UPDATE 2230 GMT:

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has told the nation, “We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will punish everyone who committed atrocities in this war.”

Zelenskiy referred to the slaying of eight people in Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, by Russian attacks: “Today, a family of four, parents and two children, were killed in Irpin as they were trying to leave the city. We will not forgive. We will not forget.”

The President again pressed the international community for further support:

The audacity of the aggressor is a clear signal for the West that the imposed sanctions aren’t enough.

You can’t hide from this reality. You can’t hide from the new killings in Ukraine.

UPDATE 1505 GMT:

At least 364 civilians have been killed and 759 wounded by the Russian invasion, according to monitors from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The OHCHR reiterated that the actual numbers are probably “considerably higher”.

UPDATE 1345 GMT:

Russian police said they detained about 3,500 people in demonstrations on Sunday.

A police spokeswoman said 1,700 people were detained in Moscow as 2,500 rallied at an “unsanctioned protest”. Another 750 were detained at a gathering of around 1,500 people in St. Petersburg, according to Russian news agencies. In other locations, 1,062 people were seized.

Protest monitor OVD-Info said 2,575 people were seized in 49 towns and cities across Russia.

The monitor added that police used electric shockers. Photos and videos showed riot police beating protesters with batons, leaving some demonstrators with blood running down their faces.

Among those detained was leading human rights activist Oleg Orlov. Svetlana Gannushkina was held in Moscow on her 80th birthday.

UPDATE 1335 GMT:

In a televised address, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has again appealed to Russians to stand against Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

Speaking in Russia, Zelenskiy said:

Citizens of Russia – for you, this is a struggle not only for peace in Ukraine, this is a fight for your country.

If you keep silent now, only your poverty will speak for you later. And only repression will answer.

He said both Russians and Ukrainians face a choice “between life and slavery”.

But in a one-hour call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Putin rejected any end to the war until Ukraine surrenders and his demands are met.

Erdoğan urged Putin to declare a ceasefire, open humanitarian corridors, and sign a peace agreement.

Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, with the knowledge of the US, visited Putin in Moscow for hours on Saturday.

In televised remarks to his Cabinet on Sunday, Bennet said he will continue mediation efforts even if success seems unlikely.

Ukraine has requested that Israel act as an intermediary to end the invasion.

UPDATE 1333 GMT:

The evacuation effort in Mariupol in southern Ukraine has failed for the second day in a row.

The Red Cross said:

Today, our teams began opening up the evacuation route from Mariupol before hostilities resumed. Our teams remain in Mariupol and are ready to help facilitate further attempts if the parties reach a detailed agreement, which is for the parties alone to implement and respect.

MP Inna Sovsun noted that the Russian siege has been compounded by the destruction of a pipeline:

UPDATE 1330 GMT:

Eight Russian missiles have completely destroyed the airport of Vinnytsia, a regional capital in west-central Ukraine, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ukrainian officials said there were both civilian and military planes at the airport, but it was not operational because a new runway — announced by President Zelenskiy last November — was being completed.

UPDATE 1230 GMT:

Staff at TV Rain, among the media outlets shut by Russia’s authorities since the invasion, walk out live on air with the message of “No Pasaran [They shall not pass]. No to War”.

The outlet Mediazona says it has noe been blocked by regulator Roskomnadzor “because we cover honestly what is happening in Ukraine and call the invasion an invasion, and the war a war”.

The outlet was founded in 2014 by Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, members of the band Pussy Riot, after they spent time in prison for mocking Putin in church.

UPDATE 1227 GMT:

Italy’s Prada has suspended retail sales in Russia, following luxury brands such as France’s Louis Vuitton, Hermes, and Chanel.

“Our primary concern is for all colleagues and their families affected by the tragedy in Ukraine, and we will continue to support them,” Prada said in a statement.

UPDATE 1225 GMT:

Preparations for Russian aerial attacks on western Ukraine:

UPDATE 1210 GMT:

A second evacuation window has opened in Mariupol in southern Ukraine, after Russian forces broke a ceasefire and shelled evacuees on Saturday.

The window opened at 1200 local time (1000 GMT).

The military head in the Russian-controlled part of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine said an evacuation corridor for the town of Volnovakha will be opened, but he gave no information over the duration or any ceasefire.

UPDATE 1200 GMT:

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, updates the refugee situation:

A record 129,000 people crossed into Poland on Saturday, bringing the total to 922,400.

UPDATE 0900 GMT:

Mariupol’s city council says a ceasefire will be observed between 10 am and 9 pm local time today, following Russia’s firing on evacuees on Saturday.

The council asked residents to return to shelters and await further information.

A humanitarian worker in the city, in southern Ukraine on the Sea of Azov, said:

No communication, no water, no electricity, no food in stores. Ships, artillery, planes are shooting.

The population is already on the edge. But we’re holding on.

I have no words, this is a living hell.

UPDATE 0840 GMT:

In a video address, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has praised Ukraine as “a superpower of spirit” in its resistance to the Russian invasion, with civilians as well as troops defending cities and towns, hospitals, and fire departments.

Encouraging residents of occupied areas to protest if possible, he said Ukraine was now “millions of people which became one whole”.

UPDATE 0835 GMT:

The World Health Organization has verified six reports of Russian attacks on Ukraine health care facilities, killing six people and wounding 11, and is investigating more claims.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted, “Attacks on healthcare facilities or workers breach medical neutrality and are violations of international humanitarian law.”

UPDATE 0830 GMT:

There were protests around the world in Saturday in support of Ukraine against Russia’s invasion; however, the most striking rally may be this morning in Kazakhstan, whose Government was supported by Russian military intervention in January amid mass protests.

UPDATE 0815 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke for more than 30 minutes with US counterpart Joe Biden on Saturday.

In a video call with US legislators, Zelenskiy sought supply of warplanes from Eastern European allies to Ukraine.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “President Zelenskiy made a desperate plea. I will do all I can to help the administration to facilitate their transfer.

Earlier on Saturday, the President criticized NATO for being “weak” in its refusal to declare a no-fly zone as Russia attacked civilian areas.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Poland for discussions, crossed the border to meet Ukraine Foreign Minister Dymtro Kuleba, who reinforced Kyiv’s call for more economic assistance.

Blinken also spoke with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who said Beijing opposes any steps that will “add fuel to the flames” and wants negotiations that acknowledge the effect of NATO’s eastward expansion on Russian security.

Blinken responded that the world is acting in unison in response to Russia’s invasion, ensuring that Moscow will pay a high price.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Russia lied about a “ceasefire” on Saturday, while continuing its assault on Ukraine’s towns and cities.

However, Vladimir Putin’s forces continued to struggle in their attempts at occupation, apart from a corridor in southern Ukraine along the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.

Meanwhile, sanctions continued to tighten on Moscow, with more companies declaring their withdrawal and cessation of business.

Ukraine and Russia had agreed in talks on Friday to an evacuation of civilians from besieged areas in the southern corridor. Yesterday Russian authorities announced a five-hour window for movement out of Mariupol, a city of 400,000 people, and the town of Volnovakha, 90% of which has been damaged. The aim was for 200,000 to leave Mariupol and 15,000 to depart Volnovakha.

But soon after the window opened at 11 a.m. local time, Russian forces shelled convoys in the two areas. The evacuation was cancelled.

Deputy Mayor Sergei Orlov summarized, “We understand that [the ceasefire] was not true from the Russian side, and they continue to destroy Mariupol. We decided to move our citizens back because it’s not safe to be on the streets.”

Only 400 people left Volnovakha, and Al Jazeera English’s Charles Stratford reported panic in Zaporizhzhia, which was to receive the evacuees, amid nearby Russian shelling: “Many of the villagers are absolutely terrified. They say the situation has deteriorated dramatically since that ceasefire failed.”

In a televised statement later Saturday, Putin compounded the Russian lie, claiming that Ukraine sabotaged the evacuations.

Putin then threatened that the Zelenksiy Government “risks the future of Ukrainian statehood”, and betrayed his worry about the sanctions by saying they were “akin to an act of war”.

Despite the Russian breaking of the ceasefire, Ukraine agreed to a third round of talks with a Russian delegation on the Belarus border on Monday.

Russia Continues to Struggle Against Ukrainian Resistance

The Ukrainian military reported an ongoing Russian focus on the capital Kyiv and assaults on the second city of Kharkiv and Mykolaiv as well as the offensive in the south. Russian warplanes carried out strikes on Kyiv and Zhytomyr aircraft from airports in Belarusian territory were involved in air strikes on military and civilian infrastructure in Kyiv and Zhytomyr.

However, the UK’s military intelligence reported that “the scale and strength of Ukrainian resistance continue to surprise Russia”, with Russian supply lines hit. The summary noted that Russia is targeting civilian areas in an attempt to “break Ukrainian morale”.

The Ukrainian military said more than 11,000 Russian military personnel have been killed in the invasion. It claimed the destruction of 285 Russian tanks, 109 artillery systems, 44 aircraft, and 48 helicopters.

An entire regiment of 1,600 personnel was reportedly “wiped out” on Saturday, and more than 650 wounded troops were taken to a hospital in a village in the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine.

In Kyiv, hundreds of men lined up to join the Ukrainian army. EA WorldView was told by a local source of men in neighboring Poland leaving their jobs to fight.

A UN mission reported that at least 351 civilians have been killed in the Russian invasion with at least 707 wounded. It warned, “The real figures are considerably higher, especially in government-controlled territory and especially in recent days.”

On the economic front, Visa and Mastercard are the latest firms to halt services in Russia, further limiting transactions as the stock market remains closed and the rouble falls.