RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin in a telephone call with the French president blamed Kyiv for failed civilian evacuations from the key Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, which is surrounded by Russian troops, said the Kremlin today.

Putin “drew attention to the fact that Kyiv still does not fulfil agreements reached on this acute humanitarian issue”, said the Kremlin in a statement, after two agreements to evacuate Mariupol in south-eastern Ukraine fell through following allegations of ceasefire breaches.

“Ukrainian nationalists” prevented civilians and foreign citizens from leaving the port city of Mariupol and neighbouring Volnovakha yesterday despite a ceasefire announcement, said Putin.

“And the pause in hostilities is again used only to build up forces and means in their positions,” he told Emmanuel Macron.

Putin assured Macron of the “physical and nuclear safety” of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant that was captured by Russian forces.

He said Russian troops are in control of Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which is encased in a giant sarcophagus following an explosion in 1986—the worst nuclear accident in history.

“All this is being done to exclude the possibility of provocations fraught with catastrophic consequences by Ukrainian neo-Nazis or terrorists,” added the Kremlin.

According to the Elysee, the two leaders spoke for one hour and 45 minutes. – AFP, March 6, 2022.