Second evacuation attempt in Ukrainian city canceled

An attempt to evacuate civilians from Mariupol, Ukraine, was canceled on Sunday for the second time in two days. 

The mayor of the besieged city accused Russian troops of violating a cease-fire with “intense shelling,” according to The New York Times.

The Mariupol City Council said earlier that the roughly 40,000 residents surrounded by Russian forces would be allowed to leave on Sunday under a cease-fire that was to remain in effect through the evening, Reuters reported.

On Saturday, civilian evacuations in Mariupol also came to a halt after Ukrainian and Russian forces each claimed that the other side violated the agreement.

The renewed attempt at a cease-fire for evacuations came on the 11th day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The two sides have participated in two rounds of peace talks thus far, but no major breakthroughs have been reached. After the second round of discussions, however, officials agreed to a temporary, local cease-fire for humanitarian aid and evacuees.

Ukraine’s emergency service announced on Wednesday that more than 2,000 Ukrainian civilians had been killed amid the Russian invasion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday said he had to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the ongoing conflict in his country.

“It’s not about I want to talk with Putin, I think I have to talk with Putin,” Zelensky told reporters. “The world has to talk with Putin because there are no other ways to stop this war.”

Updated at 9:20 a.m.