Ukraine says ceasefire ‘violated’ as Putin warns against no-fly zone

Ukraine has accused Russia of violating a limited ceasefire by shelling the besieged port city of Mariupol, as the war in the country entered the tenth day.

Officials in the city said on Saturday Russia continues shelling the city, despite a ceasefire agreed earlier to allow civilians to leave the port of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov.

Russia and Ukraine are holding talks in Belarus for a way out of the conflict. During the second round of talks on Friday, the two sides agreed to create humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from unspecified locations. A third round of talks is expected to take place next week.

The Russian Defense Ministry, however, denied the accusation, saying the Russian forces had respected the ceasefire. It accused Ukrainian forces of shoring up defenses during the halt in fighting.

The ministry also accused Ukraine nationalists of blocking Ukrainians from leaving Mariupol and Volnovakha towards Russia.

"The same is happening in Kharkiv and Sumy, as well as in a number of other settlements," the defense ministry said in a statement, referring to two other cities in eastern Ukraine at the heart of battle.

Putin warns third parties against imposing no-fly zone over Ukraine

The Russian president warned world counties against imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine, saying any such move would have “catastrophic consequences” for the whole world. "Any movement in this direction will be considered by us as participation in an armed conflict by that country."

The president said imposing a no-fly zone would have "colossal and catastrophic consequences not only for Europe but also the whole world." Putin also dismissed reports that Russia is planning to declare martial law.

"Martial law should only be introduced in cases where there is external aggression ... we are not experiencing that at the moment and I hope we won't," Putin said. 

SS