Russia's defence ministry said Saturday it had resumed "offensive actions" in Ukraine after announcing a ceasefire earlier in the day to allow residents of two besieged cities to evacuate.
"Due to the unwillingness of the Ukrainian side to influence nationalists or extend the ceasefire, offensive actions have been resumed at 18:00 Moscow time (1500 GMT)," defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a video briefing.
It is also been noted by Interfax news agency quoting the Defence Ministry as saying hat Russian forces are carrying out a wide-ranging offensive in Ukraine and have taken several towns and villages.
It said that in an aerial combat near Zhytomyr, about 100 km (62 miles) west of Kyiv, four Ukrainian Su-27 fighter jets had been shot down.
TASS news agency said that since the start of Russia's conflict with Ukraine on Feb. 24, Russian forces had destroyed 69 aircraft on the ground and 21 in the air.
