Russia and Ukraine traded accusations over the evacuation of civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol on Saturday, with Moscow saying Kyiv was preventing people from leaving and Kyiv saying Russia was shelling escape routes.
The accusations came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was open to discussing a neutral status for Ukraine, a key Russian demand, in peace talks, but only if there were international guarantees of security.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Ukrainian nationalists were holding civilians hostage in Mariupol, a southern port city that has been under heavy bombardment for weeks, and were using them as human shields.
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