Russian Forces Inch Towards Kyiv, 1,500 People Killed

Russian forces announced, on Saturday, that they inched towards Kyiv and pounded civilian areas in other Ukrainian cities.

Officials revealed that more than 1,500 people had been killed as concerns grew over the besieged southern port of Mariupol.

Ukrainian media reported that air raid sirens sounded Saturday in several cities, including the capital Kyiv, Odessa, Dnipro and Kharkiv. It has been more than two weeks after Moscow shocked the world by invading Ukraine.

"Hundreds of thousands of people... are for all intents and purposes besieged," Stephen Cornish, one of those heading the medical charity's Ukraine operation, told AFP in an interview.

"Sieges are a medieval practice that have been outlawed by the modern rules of war for good reason," Cornish added.

On his part, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky said they were trying to arrange evacuations from besieged cities but Russian forces were disrupting efforts.

"Mariupol remains blocked by the enemy. Russian troops did not let our aid into the city and continue to torture our people, our Mariupol residents," Zelensky said in a video address late Friday. "Tomorrow we'll try again. Once again, send food, water and medicine for our city."