Russian forces ‘break ceasefire in attack on civilian evacuation route in Mariupol’, Ukraine claims

Residents have been trying to flee shelling as Russia lays siege to the southern city

People have been trying to flee Russian bombing in Mariupol (AP)

Russian forces have broken a ceasefire agreement and shelled an evacuation route for civilians trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukraine claims.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said the Russian military was bombing the humanitarian corridor to nearby Zaporizhzhia.

“Ceasefire violated!” he wrote on Twitter. “Pressure on Russia must step up to make it uphold its commitments,” he added.

There were no immediate reports of casualties. Russia has not yet commented.

Residents in Mariupol have been without power, sanitation and basic necessities for almost a week.

Bodies have been left lying in the street, and there are fires burning across the city.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a child had died of dehydration after the Russian military cut off the water supply.

Several previous attempts to get civilians out have been disrupted by shelling.

People lie on the floor of a hospital in Mariupol during shelling by Russian forces on Friday (AP)

Mariupol’s deputy mayor said Russian forces had been bombarding the area where people were trying to gather. He said some roads were blocked and others were mined.

“This morning the situation did not change,” Sergei Orlov told the BBC. “So we still have... a city in blockade.”

Lorries and buses bearing red cross symbols had been on their way to bring supplies and ferry civilians out.

Smoke rises after shelling by Russian forces in Mariupol on Friday, (AP)

It is unclear if the convoy made it to Mariupol, or whether people will board the buses if shelling continues.

Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba accused Russia of holding “300,000 civilians hostage in Mariupol”.

He said Russia was preventing a humanitarian evacuation “despite agreements with ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) mediation.”

He tweeted: “One child died of dehydration (!) yesterday! War crimes are part of Russia’s deliberate strategy. I urge all states to publicly demand: Russia, let people go!”

It came soon after residents began leaving the northeastern city of Sumy and the town of Irpin near the capital Kyiv, after ceasefires were agreed for evacuations there.

People have been escaping the Russian bombardment of Irpin, near Kyiv (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The battle for Mariupol is crucial because its capture could allow Moscow to establish a land corridor to Crimea, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014.

An estimated 200,000 people – nearly half the city’s population – hope to flee.

Earlier, the UN announced the number of refugees escaping the war in Ukraine has passed two million.

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