More than 400 people protesting against the Russian occupation have been arrested by Russian forces in the Ukrainian peninsula, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Citizens in Kherson - the only Ukrainian city under Russian occupation, according to Kyiv - took to the streets again, without fear of the presence of the Russian army and asking them to leave their city.
According to Ukrainian professor and former Finance Minister Timofy Milovanov, Russian soldiers hit a protester and fired gunshots into the air.
According to Reuters, citing a top military representative of Ukraine, members of the Russian forces arrested more than 400 people in Kherson.
"Due to the fierce resistance of the people of Hersonissos, the occupiers are trying to introduce an administrative-police regime," she said in a statement.
Day 14. Good morning. Video: Kherson - the only regional capital that has fallen. Ukrainian crowd of protestors gets angry after Russian troop start beating up a protestor. Russians open fire (in the air) and that does not stop but mobilize protestors. Pure anger and no fear pic.twitter.com/MQQJwyyVju
— Tymofiy Mylovanov (@Mylovanov) March 9, 2022
Zakharova: Russia is not trying to overthrow the Ukrainian government
Russia will achieve its goal of securing a neutral status in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier.
She stressed that it would be better if Russia's goals in Ukraine were achieved through dialogue and spoke of "some progress" in the talks.
According to the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow's goals do not include the overthrow of the Kyiv government.
She hoped that more progress would be made in the next round of talks with Ukraine, adding that Russia's "military operation" was continuing under the plan.
She also said that 140,000 Ukrainian citizens have fled to Russia.
New attempt to evacuate civilians
Ukraine will try to evacuate civilians today through six "humanitarian corridors" that have been set up, including in besieged Mariupol, Deputy Prime Minister Irina Verestsuk said this morning.
She stressed, according to Reuters, that the Ukrainian armed forces agreed to a ceasefire in these areas from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. (local time and Greek time) and called on the Russian forces to keep their commitment to local ceasefires.
For his part, the mayor of Sumy said that civilians in private cars began to leave the city in the morning, after the creation of a "humanitarian corridor" for the second consecutive day.
Ukrainian official: 10 killed in Russian attack in Severodonetsk
At least 10 people were killed in an attack by Russian forces in the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, according to a local official quoted by AFP.
With information from REUTERS, AFP
