Putin says any attempt to impose no-fly zone in Ukraine would amount to declaration of war

Vladimir Putin said Russia would consider such a move as "participation in the armed conflict”

Vladimir Putin has warned that any attempt to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine would be tantamount to entering the conflict, and said Western sanctions on Russia were akin to a declaration of war.

Speaking at a meeting with female pilots on Saturday - the tenth day of the conflict in Ukraine - Mr Putin said Russia would view "any move in this direction" as an intervention that "will pose a threat to our service members”.

"That very second, we will view them as participants of the military conflict, and it would not matter what members they are," the Russian president said at an Aeroflot training centre near Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his meeting with Aeroflot employees outside Moscow, 5 March 2022 (SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has demanded that Nato impose a no-fly zone over his country, warning that "all the people who die from this day forward will also die because of you."

Nato has rejected the request for a no-fly zone - which would bar all unauthorized aircraft from flying over Ukraine - on the grounds it could provoke widespread war in Europe.

The Russian president also reiterated that his aims in Ukraine are to defend Russian speaking communities through the “demilitarisation and de-Nazification” of the country so that it became neutral.

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

"These sanctions that are being imposed are akin to a declaration of war but thank God it has not come to that," Mr Putin said.

Mr Putin’s comments came as a ceasefire to evacuate residents from two cities in Ukraine quickly fell apart, with officials saying work to remove civilians had halted amid shelling hours after Russia announced the deal.

This map shows the extent of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (Press Association Images)

The Russian defence ministry said early on Saturday that it had agreed on evacuation routes with Ukrainian forces for Mariupol, a strategic port in the south-east, and the eastern city of Volnovakha.

The vaguely worded statement did not make clear how long the routes would remain open.

But a short time later, Mr Zelensky’s office said the ceasefire had already failed.

Deputy head of his office Kyrylo Tymoshenko said: “The Russian side is not holding to the ceasefire and has continued firing on Mariupol itself and on its surrounding area.

“Talks with the Russian Federation are ongoing regarding setting up a ceasefire and ensuring a safe humanitarian corridor.”

Russia’s defence ministry accused Ukrainian “nationalists” of preventing civilians from leaving, RIA news agency reported.

Additional reporting by agencies