Ceasefires in two Ukrainian cities halted amid reports of shelling

Plans to remove civilians from Mariupol and Volnovakha scrapped after Ukrainian authorities accused Russian troops of continuing attacks

A Ukrainian serviceman stands near captured Russian tanks, one painted in the colours of the Ukrainian national flag and the other marked with the letter 'Z' in the north of the Kharkiv region, Ukraine. Reuters

Russian military vehicles with the letter 'Z' painted on them. Reuters

French Air Force jets patrol airspace over Poland. Nicolas Tucat / AFP

The patrol is part of Nato's surveillance system. Photo by Nicolas Tucat / AFP

The German-flagged 'Seacod' oil tanker moored at Birkenhead Docks near the Stanlow Oil Refinery in the UK.

A woman holds the hand of a child as they flee Ukraine. AP Photo / Markus Schreiber

A young woman clutches a doll as she crosses the border in Medyka, Poland. AP Photo / Markus Schreiber

A woman weeps after finding a friend at the border crossing in Medyka. AP Photo / Markus Schreiber

People walk with their belongings as they flee Ukraine. AP Photo / Markus Schreiber

Ukrainian refugees arrive at Berlin central station, Germany, from Poland on March 4. EPA / Filip Singer

Russian troops entered Ukraine on February 24, prompting the country's president to declare martial law and triggering a series of announcements by western countries to impose severe economic sanctions on Russia. EPA / Filip Singer

Military vessels docked at the military harbour of Constanta, Romania, on March 4. Daniel Mihailescu / AFP

A child plays with a pigeon during a protest in San Jose, Costa Rica, against the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Ezequiel Becerra / AFP

Ukrainian citizens in San Jose, Costa Rica, protest against the Russian invasion in Ukraine on March 4. Ezequiel Becerra / AFP

People fleeing Ukraine wait to board a bus in Palanca Village, Moldova. EPA / Dumitru Doru

Ukrainians living in Britain join a protest at Trafalgar Square, London. EPA / Andy Rain

Ludmila Shkarupa, 73, from Ukraine, sits on a chair wrapping herself with a sleeping bag to avoid the cold at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland. AP

A view shows a thermal power plant destroyed by shelling amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the town of Okhtyrka in the Sumy region. Reuters

People fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine use mobile devices in a temporary refugee centre located at a local track-and-field athletics stadium in Chisinau, Moldova. Reuters

A local resident walks past the remains of a house of culture following a night air raid in the village of Byshiv, 40 kilometres west of Kyiv, Ukraine. AP

A member of the Ukrainian military guards an evacuation train of women and children who fled fighting in Bucha and Irpin. Getty Images

A member of the Ukrainian military gives instructions to women and children that fled fighting in Bucha and Irpin before boarding an evacuation train to Kyiv after heavy fighting overnight forced many to leave their homes. Getty Images

A person demonstrates outside the Russian embassy in London following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Reuters

The Danish rescue group Falck A/S has donated 30 ambulances to Ukraine and neighbouring countries, where they will be used by local emergency services. AFP

An aerial view of the remains of the local house of culture following a night air raid in the village of Byshiv, 40 kilometres west of Kyiv, Ukraine. AP

People fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine rest in a temporary refugee centre located at a local track-and-field athletics stadium in Chisinau, Moldova. Reuters

Ukrainian Oleg, who decided to remain in Irpin, comforts his son, Maksim, and his wife, Yana, before the arrival of an evacuation train to the city of Kyiv. EPA

Yevghen Zbormyrsky, 49, runs in front of his burning house after being shelled in the city of Irpin, outside Kyiv. AFP

People remove personal belongings from a burning house after being shelled in Irpin. AFP

Medical workers tend to a Ukrainian serviceman wounded during the fighting with Russian troops near the Ukrainian capital, in a hospital in Kyiv. AFP

A mother of a wounded Ukrainian serviceman waits outside his ward in a hospital in Kyiv. AFP

Refugees from Ukraine arrive at an assistance point organised in the sports hall of a primary school in Lubycza Krolewska in Poland. EPA

A member of Ukraine's Territorial Defence Forces at a checkpoint in Kyiv. Reuters

People carry their belongings past the debris of last week's combat in Kyiv. AFP

Shelves in a supermarket stand empty in Bila Tserkva, Ukraine. Reuters

War refugees from Ukraine at the assistance point organised at the Torwar sports hall in Warsaw, Poland. EPA

Ukrainian servicemen, wounded during the fighting with Russian troops near the Ukrainian capital, rest outside a hospital in Kyiv. AFP

A 3-year-old boy watches cartoons on a tablet while his mother sews military vests for the Ukrainian army in the western city of Lviv. AFP

A woman's shock as she stands in front of a house burning after being shelled in Irpin, outside Kyiv. AFP

People fleeing from Ukraine queue to board on a bus at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland. AP

Ukrainian refugees are tested for Covid-19 in a reception centre in Vienna, Austria. AFP

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg pose with foreign ministers after a meeting at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Reuters

People who fled Ukraine wait for a bus to take them to the train station in Przemysl, at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland. AP Photo

The extraordinary meeting of Nato ministers of foreign affairs about Russian aggression in Ukraine at Nato headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. EPA

Messages in support of Ukraine on a board in the Ukrainian pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. AFP

Firefighters at a warehouse that caught fire after shelling in the village of Chaiky in the Kyiv region. Reuters

The wreckage of a missile at a bus terminal in Kyiv. Reuters

A crater in front of a house damaged by shelling in the village of Hatne. Reuters

The damaged administrative building of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Enerhodar, a city in the Zaporizhzhia region. Reuters

A bright object lands on the grounds of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Enerhodar, Ukraine, during heavy shelling by Russian forces. AP

Zlata, 3, with her face painted in the colours of the Ukrainian flag, stands on the Romanian side of the border with Ukraine after fleeing the country. AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends an interview with foreign media in Kyiv. Reuters

Ukrainian artillerymen maintain their position in the Luhansk region. AFP

Women and children try to board a train bound for Lviv, at a station in Kyiv. AP

US soldiers on patrol near a military camp in Arlamow, Poland, near the border with Ukraine. AFP

A woman and child look out the window of a train at a station in Kyiv. AP

A descendant of Ukrainian immigrants attends Mass at a Ukrainian Orthodox church in Canoas, Brazil. Reuters

Boxes of donations destined for Ukraine at the St Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Montreal, Canada. AP

Firefighters battle a blaze at a damaged building in the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv after a Russian air raid. AP

A woman in Frankfurt, Germany, attends a protest against Russia's military offensive in Ukraine. AFP

Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine

Russian-declared ceasefires to allow the removal of civilians from two Ukrainian cities quickly fell apart on Saturday as Ukraine officials reported shelling hours after the suspension of hostilities was supposed to begin.

Russia's defence ministry said on Saturday morning that it had agreed with Ukrainian forces on evacuation routes for Mariupol, a strategic port in the south-east, and the eastern city of Volnovakha.

The agreement came days after Russian and Ukrainian delegations agreed on establishing humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to flee violence that has engulfed the country since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces to enter the neighbouring country on February 24. More than one million civilians have fled Ukraine so far and at least 300 have been killed in the fighting, the UN has said.

The ceasefire announcement did not make clear how long the evacuation routes would remain open. A city official in Mariupol said the removal of people was supposed to start at 11am and the ceasefire was to last until 4pm.

“The Russian side is not holding to the ceasefire and has continued firing on Mariupol itself and its surrounding area,” said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office. “Talks with the Russian Federation are ongoing regarding setting up a ceasefire and ensuring a safe humanitarian corridor.”

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Russia breached the deal in Volnovakha as well. “We appeal to the Russian side to stop firing,” she said.

Russia's defence ministry claimed that the firing came from inside both cities against Russian positions, the RIA Novosti agency reported.

The ceasefires were announced as the mayor of Mariupol said the city was under blockade by Russian troops who cut off electricity, water, heating and food supplies.

Russian forces have faced stiff resistance in Ukraine, while President Zelenskyy has been rallying global support for his country.

Mr Zelenskyy on Friday accused Nato of “weakness” after the western military alliance ruled out imposing a no-fly zone.

Ukraine requested the move to halt Russian bombing as Moscow’s forces advance on the capital Kyiv and other major cities.

"Knowing that new strikes and casualties are inevitable, Nato deliberately decided not to close the sky over Ukraine," Mr Zelenskyy said in a video published by the presidency.

"We believe that the Nato countries themselves have created a narrative that the closing of the skies over Ukraine would provoke direct Russian aggression against Nato."

Speaking after an urgent meeting in Brussels on Friday, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance would not intervene in the conflict over fears of a direct clash with Moscow that could spiral into a wider conflict.

"The only way to implement a no-fly zone is to send Nato fighter planes into Ukraine's airspace, and then impose that no-fly zone by shooting down Russian planes," Mr Stoltenberg said. "If we did that, we'll end up with something that could end in a full-fledged war in Europe, involving many more countries and causing much more human suffering."

Mr Zelenskyy said the Nato gathering was a "weak summit, a confused summit".

"All the people who die starting today will also die because of you. Because of your weakness, because of your disconnection," he said.

"Today the leadership of the alliance gave the green light for further bombing of Ukrainian cities and villages, refusing to make a no-fly zone."

Mr Zelenskyy was scheduled to speak to the US Senate on Saturday morning.

Diplomatic efforts continued as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Poland to meet the prime minister and foreign minister, a day after attending the Nato meeting in Brussels. He was scheduled to visit a border post to meet refugees later in the day.

Ukraine’s western allies have responded to Moscow's attack with hard-hitting sanctions aimed at Russian financial institutions, businesses and oligarchs considered close to the Kremlin, while also supplying direct military aid. International pressure for the crisis to be resolved through dialogue have yielded two meetings between the two sides, with another round expected this weekend.

Russian forces have so far taken two key cities in 10 days — Berdiansk and Kherson on Ukraine's southern Black Sea coast. They also seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on Friday, triggering global alarm when a fire broke out at the plant during the attack.

Diplomats at the UN said the Security Council plans to hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

They told AFP a public session would be followed by a closed-door meeting of the council’s 15 members to discuss a possible draft resolution.

The latter meeting was proposed by Mexico and France, which are pushing a draft that calls for an end to hostilities in Ukraine, unhindered flow of humanitarian aid and protection of civilians.

But it has run into obstacles, namely a warning from the US that it will not support such a draft unless it states explicitly that Russia has caused the humanitarian crisis, a diplomat said.