Ukraine blames Russia after Mariupol humanitarian corridor fails on Sunday

(Reuters) – No humanitarian routes were established out of the southeastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on Sunday, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said, blaming Russian forces for not holding their fire.

Vereshchuk said that the Ukrainian side would try again on Monday to establish safe passage out of Mariupol. She called for U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who is scheduled to travel to Moscow before visiting Kyiv next week, to demand a ceasefire and open up humanitarian corridors from Mariupol.

“This is what Guterres should talk about in Moscow, if he is preparing to talk about peace,” Vereshchuk said.

(Reporting by Natalia Zinets, writing by Max Hunder, editing by Mark Heinrich)