Russian shelling traps residents of Mariupol

FE Team | Published: April 10, 2022 21:02:13

MARIUPOL, Apr 10 (AP): Shelling by Russian forces of Ukraine's key port of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov has collapsed several humanitarian corridors and made conditions seldom right for people to leave.
It was not clear Saturday how many people remained trapped in the city, which had a prewar population of 430,000. Ukrainian officials have put the number at about 100,000, but earlier this week, British defense officials said 160,000 people remained trapped in the city.
Ukrainian troops have refused to surrender the city, though much of it has been razed.
Resident Sergey Petrov said Saturday that recently two shells struck around him in quick succession, but neither exploded upon landing. He was in his garage at the time and said his mother later told him, "I was born again."
"A shell flew in and broke up into two parts but it did not explode, looks like it did not land on the detonator but on its side," he said.
He added that when another shell flew in and hit the garage, "I am in shock. I don't understand what is happening. I have a hole in my garage billowing smoke. I run away and leave everything. I come back in several hours and find another shell lying there, also unexploded."
Johnson praises 'spirit' of Ukraine rail workers
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised the resilience of Ukrainian rail workers in the war with Russia when he took the train from Poland to Kyiv to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday.
His video address was posted on Facebook on Sunday by Ukrainian railways spokesman Oleksandr Shevchenko.
"I gather you are called the 'iron people'," the British leader said.
"This is not just because of the industry you work in. It also reflects that you are showing the spirit of Ukraine in standing up to the appalling aggression that we are seeing."
Ukrainian trains have played a key role in evacuating civilians from conflict zones.
Trains have been targeted by shooting and shelling.
This week 52 people were killed by shelling at a railway station in the eastern city of Kramatorsk as they awaited evacuation.
"I am so sorry for the loss of some of your colleagues and comrades in Kramatorsk," Johnson said.
"I want to say a massive thank you to all the staff of Ukrainian railways for what you're doing," he added.
"We in the UK stand in solidarity with you."
Johnson was in Kyiv on Saturday for talks with Zelensky, during which he pledged more military aid for Ukraine.
Pope calls for
'Easter ceasefire'
Pope Francis on Sunday called for an Easter ceasefire in Ukraine to pave the way for peace through "real negotiation".
"Let the Easter truce begin. But not to provide more weapons and pick up the combat again-no! -- a truce that will lead to peace, through real negotiation," he told a public mass at Saint Peter's Square.
The pontiff denounced a war where "defenceless civilians" suffered "heinous massacres and atrocious cruelty".
"What victory is there in planting a flag on a pile of rubble?" he asked.
Francis on Wednesday had already condemned the targeting of civilians in Ukraine, calling the discovery of bodies in Bucha near Kyiv a "massacre" and embracing a Ukrainian flag from the "martyred town".
He has also expressed his willingness to contribute to halting the fighting in Ukraine and said he would be ready to travel to Kyiv.
Russia has denied responsibility for the apparent killings of civilians in Bucha, accusing Ukraine of staging them. Moscow has not provided any evidence to back up its claim.