Don’t return yet, Kyiv mayor tells residents who fled

The mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko on Monday called on the residents of the Ukrainian capital who fled the conflict in the city not to return for “at least another week”.

“First, there is a round-the-clock curfew in several districts of Kyiv region. Also in the cities near the capital, where the fighting continued, a large number of explosive devices were found – which can pose a great threat,” he said.

“We do not rule out the possibility of rocket fire. Yes, our air defence forces are working perfectly. But, anything can happen. So I ask people to wait a bit and not to come back,” he added.

Ukraine and Western powers have cast doubt on Russia’s pledge to reduce military activity around Chernigiv and the capital Kyiv, made during face-to-face talks in Istanbul on Tuesday.

Ukraine’s military has also warned the withdrawal of Russian troops around Kyiv and Chernigiv “is probably a rotation of individual units and aims to mislead”.

Global outrage at accusations of Russian war crimes in Ukraine has mounted with the discovery of mass graves and corpses in streets near Kyiv, as President Volodymyr Zelensky directly blamed leaders in Moscow for the “torture” and “killings” of civilians.