Putin Tells Ukrainians To Stop Fighting; 10,000 Russian Protesters Arrested

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday his campaign in Ukraine was going to plan and would not end until Kyiv stopped fighting, as efforts to evacuate 200,000 people from the heavily bombarded city of Mariupol fell apart for a second day in a row, Pavel Polityuk and Aleksandar Vasovic reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, who is said to be a close confidant of the Russian President.

Most people trapped in the port city are sleeping in bomb shelters to escape more than six days of near-constant shelling by encircling Russian forces that has cut off food, water, power, and heating supplies, according to the Ukrainian authorities.

The civilian death toll from hostilities across Ukraine since Moscow launched its invasion on Feb. 24 stood at 364, including more than 20 children, according to the United Nations on Sunday, with hundreds more injured.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said most civilian casualties were caused by the use of "explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and missile and airstrikes."

Moscow has repeatedly denied attacking civilian areas but video documentation rendered the denials completely bogus.

The invasion has drawn almost universal condemnation around the world, sent more than 1.5 million Ukrainians fleeing from the country, and triggered tough Western sanctions against Russia aimed at squeezing its economy.

Putin made his demand for Kyiv to end the fighting in a phone call with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who appealed for a ceasefire. The Ukrainians scoffed at Putin’s demand. Putin told Erdogan he was ready for dialogue with Ukraine and foreign partners but any attempt to draw out negotiation would fail, a Kremlin statement said.

Ukraine's military said more than 11,000 Russian troops had been killed so far and 88 Russian aircraft shot down since the start of the invasion excluding four destroyed by anti-aircraft fire and four jet fighters blasted when Ukrainian missiles hit a Russian airbase across the border. Reuters could not corroborate the claim. Russia has not given regular updates on its death toll.

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