Second attempt to evacuate embattled Ukrainian city of Mariupol fails

The second attempt this weekend to evacuate the embattled Ukrainian port city of Mariupol failed on Sunday, according to the Kremlin and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

During talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed Ukraine for not adhering to the agreed ceasefire, the Kremlin said.

According to Moscow, Ukrainian nationalists did not allow people from Mariupol and Volnovakha to be brought to safety. Instead, the ceasefire was used to allow the Ukrainian troops to seek new positions, Moscow alleged.

The ICRC said the attempt to start relocating around estimated 200,000 people was unsuccessful.

"We remain in Mariupol and are ready to help facilitate further attempts – if the parties reach an agreement, which is for them alone to implement and respect," it said.

Pro-Russian separatists said earlier that some 300 people were initially able to leave. No figures have yet been provided by Ukrainian officials. As with almost all information coming out of Ukraine these days, it was impossible to independently verify.

A similar effort in Mariupol and nearby Volnovakha quickly fell apart on Saturday, stranding residents who had hoped to leave by private vehicles and organized bus journeys.

Russia's aerial attack had continued in Mariupol through Saturday night. Many people are living without electricity, water and heat, while running short on food and other essentials.

A strategic port city

Mariupol is a strategic city located in the Donetsk region, parts of which are under the control of Moscow-backed separatists and Russian forces.

The capture of Mariupol - a city of some 440,000 - would be a significant win for Moscow, as Russian troops would then begin to be able to join up with their counterparts elsewhere in Donetsk and in the Crimean Peninsula.

Meanwhile, fighting continued elsewhere in Ukraine, with the Ukrainian army warning that Russian forces were aiming to seize the dam of a key hydroelectric power station south of the capital Kiev.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said Russia planned to seize the dam of the Kaniv hydroelectric power station, located some 150 kilometres south of Kiev on the Dnipro River.

So far, Russian forces have destroyed, attacked or captured several energy infrastructure facilities in Ukraine, including Europe's largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia.

Russian troops also attempted to approach the highway near Kiev International Airport, according to the report.

In the direction of Kozelets, which is around 70 kilometres north-east of Kiev, the movement of 100 units of weapons and other military equipment, including rocket launchers in particular, was observed.

Encirclement of key cities

The main focus of the Russian troops continues to be the encirclement of the cities of Kiev, Kharkiv in the east and Mykolaiv in the south.

But hundreds of Russian soldiers have been captured by Ukrainian forces, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday.

The Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reported on Saturday that 194 people had been killed in the Kharkiv region since the war began on February 24, including 126 civilians.

The head of the Ukrainian delegation for talks with Russia, David Arachamija, was hopeful that a humanitarian corridor out of the eastern city of Kharkiv could be opened on Sunday.

Israeli mediation

Meanwhile, efforts to mediate in the conflict continued. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, after visiting Moscow and Berlin, spoke again with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday, his office confirmed.

It was the third telephone conversation between the two politicians within 24 hours, Bennett's office said. No further details were given.

Bennett met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday, the first Western leader to visit the internationally isolated Kremlin chief since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.

Bennett then travelled on to Berlin, where he discussed the conflict with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Both sides agreed to intensify their security co-operation.

Israel is being discussed as a potential mediator in the conflict. According to media reports, Zelensky has asked Bennett to host negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Israel.

Upon his return from Germany, Bennett told his cabinet on Sunday: "As you all know, the situation on the ground [in Ukraine] is not good. The human suffering is great and is liable to be much greater."

"Even if the chance is not great — as soon as there is even a small opening, and we have access to all sides and the capability — I see this as our moral obligation to make every effort," Bennett said.

Meanwhile, more than 3,500 people have been arrested in cities across Russia amid renewed demonstrations against the invasion of Ukraine, the state news agency TASS reported citing the Ministry of the Interior.