Russia Advances Towards Kyiv, Forces Kill Fleeing Civilians As Cities Lay Under Siege
Russian forces have advanced closer to Ukraine capital Kyiv from the north, west and northeast. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky also said Russia was sending new forces after suffering what he said were its biggest losses in decades.?
Russian forces appeared to make progress from the northeast in their slow fight toward Ukraine's capital, while tanks and artillery pounded places already under siege with shelling so heavy that residents of one city were unable to bury the growing number of dead.?
The invading Russian forces also killed seven evacuees, including a child, near Kyiv, said the Ukrainian government on Saturday. Ukraine says Russian troops shot at the group of women and children evacuees leaving a village near Kyiv.?
The incident came on the day when Ukraine evacuated a record number of people out of the country.
Around 13,000 people were evacuated from a number of Ukrainian cities on Saturday, the deputy prime minister said, almost twice the number who managed to get out on Friday.
In a media briefing, Zelensky said that the approach was in contrast to earlier talks at which Moscow only "issued ultimatums" and that he was "happy to have a signal from Russia" after President Vladimir Putin said he saw "some positive shifts" in their dialogue.
Putin indicated previously that negotiations are "now being held on an almost daily basis".
The governors of Kyiv and Donetsk regions said Russian attacks were continuing in areas where Ukraine was trying to evacuate people and bring aid through humanitarian corridors.
Meanwhile, 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.?
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have held several rounds of talks since Putin sent in troops to the country.
Turkey on Thursday hosted the first talks between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers since the invasion.
The talks have led to the opening of several humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from combat areas. Both sides have accused each other of blocking these efforts.
The war, which began on February 24 when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour, has continued for over two weeks now.
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