A senior Russian defence ministry official said on Saturday that the humanitarian situation in Ukraine continued to decline rapidly and blamed the actions of Ukrainian fighters, the RIA news agency reported.
Russian troops have encircled several Ukrainian cities and eyewitnesses report heavy shelling. Ukraine has complained repeatedly that Russian forces do not always respect ceasefires so civilians can leave through evacuation corridors.
"The humanitarian situation in Ukraine, unfortunately, continues to rapidly worsen, and in some cities has reached catastrophic proportions," RIA quoted Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Defence Control Centre, as saying.
Mizintsev, who said Russian forces were observing ceasefires, said Ukrainian forces had mined residential neighbourhoods and destroyed bridges and roads.
Russian officials have previously accused Ukrainian forces of shelling their own people and then seeking to blame Moscow, allegations that Kyiv and Western nations dismissed.
Reuters
