Moscow/Kyiv - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday accused Western sanctions as being akin to war even as his forces pressed on with their assault on Ukraine, planned civilian evacuations from two besieged cities were called off.
Russia and Ukraine lay the blame on each other over the failure to provide safe passage to civilians fleeing the two bombarded cities, on the 10th day of a war that has fuelled Europe's biggest humanitarian disaster in decades.
Limited cease fire collapses
A limited cease-fire that Russia declared to allow civilians to evacuate the cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha quickly fell apart on Saturday. Ukrainian officials blamed Russian shelling for blocking the promised safe passage as Moscow tightened its grip on the southern coast and residents raced to escape areas not under siege.
The Russian defence ministry said its units had opened humanitarian corridors near the cities, but the city council said Russia was not observing the ceasefire and had asked residents to return to shelters and await further information on evacuation.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it understood that evacuations of civilians from both Mariupol and Volnovakha would not now start on Saturday.
Aid agencies have warned of a humanitarian disaster across the country. The number of refugees could rise to 1.5 million by the end of the weekend from a current 1.3 million, said the head of the United Nations refugee agency. Women and children crossed at the Medyka checkpoint in south-eastern Poland in freezing conditions.
Officials in Ukraine have reported thousands as dead and wounded civilians. Putin's said on Saturday Russia wanted Ukraine to be "demilitarised", "denazified" and that Ukraine should have neutral status.
Kremlin accuses Western forces
Russia said on Saturday that the West was behaving like a bandit by cutting economic relations, but that Russia was far too big to be isolated as the world was much larger than just the United States and Europe.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the West was engaged in "economic banditry" against Russia and that Moscow would respond. He did not specify what response there would be but said it would be in line with Russian interests.
Peskov however noted that channels for dialogue between Moscow and Washington still existed. He said that if the United States imposed sanctions on Russia's oil and gas exports, it would give a considerable jolt to world energy markets.
Russia warns against 3rd party no-fly zones
Russian President Vladimir Putin cautioned on Saturday that Moscow would consider any third-party declaration of a no-fly zone over Ukraine as “participation in the armed conflict.”
Speaking at a meeting with female pilots on Saturday, Putin said Russia would sight “any move in this direction” as an intrusion that “will pose a threat to our service members.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pushed NATO to 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” as Russian forces were battering strategic locations in Ukraine.
NATO has said a no-fly zone, which would bar all unauthorized aircraft from flying over Ukraine, could provoke widespread war in Europe with nuclear-armed Russia.
-Reuters/AP