“Azov neo-Nazis attack convoy of fleeing civilians in Mariupol,” Russia says

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukrainian authorities of blocking the humanitarian passages from Mariupol

Russia’s Ria Novosti news agency reported late Sunday afternoon that a civilian convoy had been hit by Ukrainian nationalists, killing two people and injuring four others.

Azov Battalion neo-Nazis shot dead civilians trying to leave Mariupol along the M23 motorway corridor in the direction of Novoazovsk, the agency quoted the self-proclaimed People’s Democratic Militia as saying.

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukrainian authorities of blocking the humanitarian passages from Mariupol during a telephone conversation with his French counterpart Emanuel Macron.

Putin “drew attention to the fact that Kyiv continues to disregard the agreements reached on these humanitarian issues,” adding that “Ukrainian nationalists prevented the evacuation of civilians” on Saturday from Mariupol and Volnovaka, a nearby town.

On Saturday, Moscow and Kyiv announced that they had reached an agreement on a ceasefire and the creation of humanitarian corridors to allow the evacuation of the two cities, which are surrounded by Russian forces and their allies, before accusing each other of violating the agreement.

In a conversation with Macron, Putin accused the Ukrainian forces present in the two cities of “using the ceasefire to strengthen their position.”