Russians strike near Kyiv, block aid convoy; port city reels

Russian forces pounded the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol shelling its downtown as residents hid in an iconic mosque and elsewhere to avoid the explosions Fighting also raged in the outskirts of the capital Kyiv as Russia kept up its bombardment of other cities throughout the countryMariupol has endured some of Ukraines worst punishment since Russia invaded Unceasing barrages have thwarted repeated attempts to bring food water and medicine into the city of 430000 and to evacuate its trapped civilians More than 1500 people have died in Mariupol during the siege according to the mayors office and the shelling has even interrupted efforts to bury the dead in mass gravesTalks aimed at reaching a ceasefire again failed Saturday and while the US announced plans to provide another USD200 million to Ukraine for weapons a senior Russian diplomat warned that Moscow could attack foreign shipments of military equipment Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of employing a new stage of terror with the alleged detention of a mayor from a city west of MariupolRussian soldiers on Saturday pillaged a humanitarian convoy that was trying to reach Mariupol and blocked another a Ukrainian official said Ukraines military said Russian forces captured Mariupols eastern outskirts tightening their siege of the strategic port They are bombing it Mariupol 24 hours a day launching missiles It is hatred They kill children Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a video address An Associated Press journalist in Mariupol witnessed tanks firing on a ninestory apartment building and was with a group of hospital workers who came under sniper fire on FridayIn Irpin a suburb about 12 miles 20 kilometers northwest of central Kyiv bodies lay out in the open Saturday on streets and in a park Zelenskyy encouraged his people to keep up their resistance We do not have the right to let up our defense no matter how difficult it may be he said Later Saturday Zelenskyy reported that 1300 Ukrainian soldiers had died since the Russian invasion began Zelenskyy again deplored NATOs refusal to declare a nofly zone over Ukraine and said Ukraine has sought ways to procure air defence assets though he didnt elaborate NATO has said that imposing a nofly zone could lead to a wider war with RussiaThe Ukrainian president also accused Russia of detaining the mayor of Melitopol a city 192 km west of Mariupol The Ukrainian leader called on Russian forces to heed calls from demonstrators in the occupied city for the mayors release In multiple areas around Kyiv artillery barrages sent residents scurrying for shelter as air raid sirens wailed Britains Defence Ministry said Russian forces that had been massed north of the capital had edged to within 25 kilometers of the city centre and spread out likely to support an attempted encirclementA convoy of hundreds of people fleeing Peremoha about 20 kilometers northeast of Kyiv were forced to turn back under shelling by Russian forces that killed seven people including a child Ukraines defense ministry said Saturday Moscow has said it would establish humanitarian corridors out of conflict zones but Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of disrupting those paths and firing on civilians Ukraines Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said just nine of 14 agreedupon corridors were open on Saturday and that about 13000 people had used them to evacuate around the countryUkraines military and volunteer forces have been preparing for an allout assault on the capital Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Thursday that about 2 million people half the metropolitan areas inhabitants had left and that every street every house is being fortified Zelenskyy said Saturday that Russia would need to carpetbomb Kyiv and kill its residents to take the city They will come here only if they kill us all he said If that is their goal let them comeFrench and German leaders spoke Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a failed attempt to reach a ceasefire According to the Kremlin Putin laid out terms for ending the war For ending hostilities Moscow has demanded that Ukraine drop its bid to join NATO and adopt a neutral status acknowledge the Russian sovereignty over Crimea which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014 recognise the independence of separatist regions in the countrys east and agree to demilitariseZelenskyy told Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Saturday that he would be open to meeting Putin in Jerusalem to discuss an end to the war but that there would first have to be a ceasefire Bennett recently met in Moscow with Putin who has ignored previous offers of talks from Zelenskyy In Mariupol the Ukrainian government said Saturday that the Sultan Suleiman Mosque was hit but an unverified Instagram post by a man claiming to be the mosque associations president said the building was spared when a bomb fell about 750 yards awayRussian forces have hit at least two dozen hospitals and medical facilities according to the World Health Organization Thousands of soldiers on both sides are believed to have been killed along with many civilians including at least 79 Ukrainian children its government says At least 25 million people have fled the country according to the United Nations refugee agencyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever