Kyiv pauses civilian evacuations from eastern Ukraine amid ceasefire disagreement
Russia claims to have 'destroyed' military factory outside Kyiv as fears mount of a renewed offensive by Moscow
Ukraine said on Sunday that it was pausing the evacuation of civilians from the war-scarred east of the country for a day after failing to agree terms with Russian forces.
“As of this morning, April 17, we have not been able to agree with the occupiers on a ceasefire on the evacuation routes. That is why, unfortunately, we are not opening humanitarian corridors today,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk wrote in a statement on social media, referring to Moscow’s forces.
Ukrainian authorities have urged people in the eastern Donbas area to move west to escape a large-scale Russian offensive to capture its composite regions, Donetsk and Lugansk.
They have also recently accused Russian forces of targeting evacuation infrastructure, including buses and a train station in Kramatorsk where more than 50 people were reported killed in Russian strikes.
Vereshchuk also urged Russian forces to allow for evacuations from the besieged and devastated port city of Mariupol, which Moscow’s forces claim to have brought under their control.
“Once again, we demand the opening of a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of civilians, especially women and children, from Mariupol,” she wrote.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this week that if Russian forces kill Kyiv’s troops remaining to defend the city, then a fledgling negotiation process to end nearly two months of fighting would be ended.
Russia’s defense ministry said Sunday that it had struck a military plant outside Kyiv, as Moscow intensifies its attacks on the Ukrainian capital.
“During the night, high-precision, air-launched missiles destroyed an ammunitions factory near the settlement of Brovary, Kyiv region,” the ministry said in a statement on Telegram.
The mayor of Brovary Igor Sapozhko said that “some infrastructure objects were hit” in the early hours of Sunday morning.
An AFP journalist in Brovary did not witness any signs of destruction, smoke or fire.
In recent days, Russia has carried out several attacks on military plants in and outside Kyiv.
Last month, Russia said it was withdrawing troops from northern Ukraine — including from around the capital — to focus on gaining control of the eastern Donbas region.
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