Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia’s refusal to allow evacuation from Mariupol is ‘absolute terror’

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said 100,000 people had been evacuated in the past two days from seven affiliated cities Russian blockade in the north and center of the country, including the suburbs of Kyiv.

He said Russia’s refusal to allow evacuation from Mariupol, a port city in the south, was “utter terror.”

“They had a clear order to take Mariupol hostage, to mock it, to bomb and bomb repeatedly,” Zelensky said in his nightly address to the nation.

He said the Russians had started a tank attack on the spot where there was supposed to be a humanitarian corridor.

The city of 430,000 people was without food, water and electricity for 10 days.

Ukrainian officials say about 1,300 people have died, including three in Wednesday’s bombing of a maternity and children’s hospital.

Zelensky also raised concerns that Russia is preparing to attack the country with chemical or biological weapons.

He said the accusation that Ukraine Preparing to attack with chemical or biological weapons is a bad sign.

“It worries me a lot because we generally believe that if you want to know about Russian plans, that’s what Russia accuses others of,” he said.

Russia claims it has discovered plans to set up secret laboratories in Ukraine for the production of biological weapons.

“I am a reasonable person. President of a reasonable country and reasonable people. I am a father of two,” he said. “And no other chemicals or weapons of mass destruction have been developed on my land. The whole world knows this.”

It comes as Russia’s assault on Ukraine continues to face stiff resistance.

The British Ministry of Defense (MoD) said it was still “very unlikely” that Russia had successfully carried out its invasion plan, but it was likely to “reset the scene” for a new attack.

“Russian ground forces continue to make limited progress. The logistical problems that have impeded Russia’s advance persist, as does the strong resistance of the Ukrainians,” the MoD said in an intelligence update.

“Russia may be looking to re-establish and redeploy its forces for new offensive operations in the coming days. This will likely include operations against the capital, Kyiv. ”