Ceasefire attempt in Ukraine fails amid Russian shelling

An elderly woman is assisted while crossing the Irpin river, under a bridge that was destroyed by a Russian airstrike, as civilians flee the town of Irpin (Vadim Ghirda/AP)

Russian president Vladimir Putin warned Saturday that Ukrainian statehood is in jeopardy and likened the West’s sanctions on Russia to “declaring war,” while a promised ceasefire in the port city of Mariupol collapsed amid scenes of terror in the besieged town.

With the Kremlin’s rhetoric growing fiercer and a reprieve from fighting dissolving, Russian troops continued to shell encircled cities and the number of Ukrainians forced from their country grew to 1.4 million.