U.N. monitors say at least 351 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and another 707 injured—though the actual figures for both are likely 'considerably higher.'
The U.N. casualty figures came as Ukrainian officials accused Russian forces of violating a cease-fire for evacuation routes out of the cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office later said the Russians were not holding to the cease-fire and continued firing on Mariupol and surrounding areas. Russia breached the deal in Volnovakha as well, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk told reporters.
Shelling began in Mariupol as thousands of people gathered to leave the city and buses were departing, Mayor Vadym Boychenko, adding that"we value the life of every inhabitant of Mariupol and we cannot risk it, so we stopped the evacuation."on social media that"due to the fact that the Russian side does not adhere to the cease-fire and has continued shelling both of Mariupol itself and its environs and for security reasons, the evacuation of the civilian population has been postponed.