Russia said it would cease attacks on key Ukrainian cities to allow safe passage for civilians.- But Russian shelling killed eight Ukrainian civilians trying to flee a town close to Kyiv on Sunday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that there was no such thing as Russian "humanitarian corridors" as Russian shelling killed multiple Ukrainians trying to flee over the weekend.
On Saturday, Russia announced that its forces would stop firing in several key Ukrainian cities to allow safe passage to civilians fleeing the conflict.
But those cease-fires failed, with eight Ukrainian civilians trying to flee were killed on Sunday after Russian troops started shelling the streets of Irpin, a town northwest of Kyiv, The New York Times reported.
Among them were a woman, her teenage son, and her young daughter, The Times reported. Disturbing footage of the attack was published by other journalists who were nearby.
"There was a lot of talk about humanitarian corridors. There were talks every day about the opportunity for people to leave the cities where Russians came," Zelensky said in a Sunday night video address.
"But there are no humanitarian corridors. Instead of humanitarian corridors, they can only make bloody ones."
Speaking specifically about the family killed in Irpin, Zelensky said: "They were just trying to get out of town. To escape. The whole family. How many such families have died in
On Monday, Russia announced another cease-fire to allow civilians in cities including Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Mariupol to leave — but only to Russia or its ally, Belarus.
Monday marks the 12th day of Russia's full invasion of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin initially said that his invasion would not target any civilians.
However, the United Nations has recorded more than 1,000 civilians killed since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sky News reported.
The UN report covered the period of 4 a.m. on February 24 to midnight on March 4. The United Nations believes the real figures are higher, especially in government-controlled territories, Sky News reported.
Insider's live blog of Russia's invasion is covering developments as they happen.