Ukrainian troops moved cautiously to retake territory north of the country's capital on Saturday, using cables to pull the bodies of civilians off streets of one town out of fear that Russian forces may have left them booby-trapped.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that departing Russian troops were creating a "catastrophic" situation for civilians by leaving mines around homes, abandoned equipment and "even the bodies of those killed." His claims could not be independently verified.
Associated Press journalists in Bucha, a suburb northwest of Kyiv, watched as Ukrainian soldiers backed by a column of tanks and other armored vehicles used cables to drag bodies off of a street from a distance. Locals said the dead -- the AP counted at least six -- were civilians killed without provocation by departing Russian soldiers.
"Those people were just walking and they shot them without any reason. Bang," said a Bucha resident who declined to give his name citing safety reasons. "In the next neighborhood, Stekolka, it was even worse. They would shoot without asking any question."
Ukraine and its Western allies reported mounting evidence of Russia withdrawing its forces from around Kyiv and building its troop strength in eastern Ukraine.
The visible shift did not mean the country faced a reprieve from more than five weeks of war or that the more than 4 million refugees who have fled Ukraine will return soon. Zelenskyy said he expects departed towns to endure missile and rocket strikes from afar and for the battle in the east to be intense.
In his nightly video address Saturday, the Ukrainian leader said the country's troops were not allowing the Russians to retreat without a fight: "They are shelling them. They are destroying everyone they can."
Russia, Zelenskyy said, has ample forces to put more pressure on Ukraine's east and south.
"What is the goal of the Russian troops? They want to seize the Donbas and the south of Ukraine," he said. "What is our goal? To defend ourselves, our freedom, our land and our people."
Moscow's focus on eastern Ukraine also kept the besieged southeastern city of Mariupol in the crosshairs. The port city on the Sea of Azov is located in the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region, where Moscow-backed separatists have fought Ukrainian troops for eight years. Military analysts think Russian President Vladimir Putin is determined to capture the region after his forces failed to secure Kyiv and other major cities.
The International Committee of the Red Cross had hoped to evacuate Mariupol residents Saturday but had not yet reached the city. A day earlier, local authorities said the Red Cross was blocked by Russian forces.
An adviser to Zelenskyy, Oleksiy Arestovych, said in an interview with Russian lawyer and activist Mark Feygin that Russia and Ukraine had reached an agreement to allow 45 buses to drive to Mariupol to evacuate residents "in coming days."
The Mariupol city council said earlier Saturday that 10 empty buses were headed to Berdyansk, a city 84 kilometers (52.2 miles) west of Mariupol, to pick up people who managed to get there on their own. About 2,000 made it out of Mariupol on Friday, some on buses and some in their own vehicles, city officials said.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, said 765 Mariupol residents on Saturday used private vehicles to reach Zaporizhzhia, a city still under Ukrainian control that has served as the destination for other planned evacuations.
Among those escaping was Tamila Mazurenko, who said she fled Mariupol on Monday, made it to Berdyansk that night and then took a bus to Zaporizhzhia. Mazurenko said she waited for a bus until Friday, spending one night sleeping in a field.
"I have only one question: Why?" she said of her city's ordeal. "We only lived as normal people. And our normal life was destroyed. And we lost everything. I don't have any job, I can't find my son."
Mariupol has been surrounded by Russian forces for more than a month and suffered some of the war's worst attacks, including on a maternity hospital and a theater that was sheltering civilians. Around 100,000 people are believed to remain in the city, down from a prewar population of 430,000, and they face dire shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine.
Zelenskyy said a significant number of Russian troops were tied up in Mariupol, giving Ukraine "invaluable time ... that is allowing us to foil the enemy's tactics and weaken its capabilities."
The city's capture would give Moscow an unbroken land bridge from Russia to Crimea, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014. But its resistance also has taken on symbolic significance during Russia's invasion, said Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Ukrainian think tank Penta.
"Mariupol has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance, and without its conquest, Putin cannot sit down at the negotiating table," Fesenko said.
About 500 refugees from eastern Ukraine, including 99 children and 12 people with disabilities, arrived in the Russian city of Kazan by train overnight. Asked if he saw a chance to return home, Mariupol resident Artur Kirillov answered, "That's unlikely, there is no city anymore."
In towns and cities surrounding Kyiv, signs of fierce fighting were everywhere in the wake of the Russian redeployment. Destroyed armored vehicles from both armies lay in streets and fields along with scattered military gear.
Ukrainian troops were stationed at the entrance to Antonov Airport in suburb of Hostomel, demonstrating control of the runway that Russia tried to storm in the first days of the war.
Inside the compound, the Mriya, one of the biggest planes ever built, lay wrecked underneath a hangar pockmarked with holes from the February attack.
"The Russians couldn't make one like it so they destroyed it," said Oleksandr Merkushev, mayor of the Kyiv suburb of Irpin.
Irpin has seen some of the fiercest battles, and Merkushev said Russian troops "left behind them many bodies, many destroyed buildings, and they mined many places."
A prominent Ukrainian photojournalist who went missing last month in a combat zone near the capital was found dead Friday in the Huta Mezhyhirska village north of Kyiv, the country's prosecutor general's office announced. The prosecutor general's office attributed Maks Levin's death to two gunshots allegedly fired by the Russian military and said an investigation was underway.
Elsewhere, at least three Russian ballistic missiles were fired late Friday at the Odesa region on the Black Sea, regional leader Maksim Marchenko said. The Ukrainian military said the Iskander missiles did not hit the critical infrastructure they targeted in Odesa, Ukraine's largest port and the headquarters of its navy.
Ukraine's state nuclear agency reported a series of blasts Saturday that injured four people in Enerhodar, a southeastern city that has been under Russian control since early March along with the nearby Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Ukraine's human rights ombudsman said via Telegram that the four were badly burned when Russian troops fired light and noise grenades and mortars at a pro-Ukraine demonstration.
The head of Ukraine's delegation in talks with Russia said Moscow's negotiators informally agreed to most of a draft proposal discussed during face-to-face talks in Istanbul this week, but no written confirmation has been provided. However, Davyd Arakhamia said on Ukrainian TV that he hopes that draft is developed enough so that the two countries' presidents can meet to discuss it.
------
Karmanau reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Andrea Rosa in Irpin, Ukraine, and Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.
----
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has nominated former diplomat and U.S. congressman Pete Hoekstra to be the American ambassador to Canada.
A group of researchers say they have more evidence to suggest the COVID-19 pandemic started in a Chinese seafood market where it spread from infected animals to humans. The evidence is laid out in a recent study published in Cell, a scientific journal, nearly five years after the first known COVID-19 outbreak.
The average salary needed to buy a home keeps inching down in cities across Canada, according to the latest data.
A London father and son they’re shocked and confused after their home was riddled with bullets while young children were sleeping inside.
Police in Peru have arrested a man caught trying to leave the country with 320 tarantulas, 110 centipedes and nine bullet ants strapped to his body.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced embattled minister Randy Boissonnault is out of cabinet.
A four-month-old baby is dead after what Toronto police are calling a “suspicious incident” at a Toronto Community Housing building in the city’s midtown area on Wednesday afternoon.
A Saskatchewan woman who refused to provide a breath sample after being stopped by police in Regina did not break the law – as the officer's request was deemed not lawful given the circumstances.
The families of the victims of Paul Bernardo will be allowed to attend the serial killer’s upcoming parole hearing in person, the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) says.
A London father and son they’re shocked and confused after their home was riddled with bullets while young children were sleeping inside.
A Saskatchewan woman who refused to provide a breath sample after being stopped by police in Regina did not break the law – as the officer's request was deemed not lawful given the circumstances.
The families of the victims of Paul Bernardo will be allowed to attend the serial killer’s upcoming parole hearing in person, the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) says.
A four-month-old baby is dead after what Toronto police are calling a “suspicious incident” at a Toronto Community Housing building in the city’s midtown area on Wednesday afternoon.
Massive trees toppled onto roads, power lines and parked cars as hurricane-force winds battered the B.C. coast overnight during an intense “bomb cyclone” weather event.
A measles outbreak in New Brunswick that began last month with a single travel-related case is growing and today stands at 44 cases.
A piece of conceptual art consisting of a banana duct-taped to a wall sold for US$6.2 million at an auction in New York on Wednesday.
A Florida man was arrested Wednesday and charged with a plot to “reboot” the U.S. government by planting a bomb at the New York Stock Exchange this week and detonating it with a remote-controlled device, according to the FBI.
House Ethics Committee Republicans voted Wednesday against releasing the panel’s long-running investigation into U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, the top Democrat on the panel said.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Wednesday welcomed China’s President Xi Jinping for a state visit at the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia.
Donald Trump said Wednesday that he has chosen former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO, the bedrock Western alliance that the president-elect has expressed skepticism about for years.
Police in Peru have arrested a man caught trying to leave the country with 320 tarantulas, 110 centipedes and nine bullet ants strapped to his body.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced embattled minister Randy Boissonnault is out of cabinet.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says there is 'clear consensus' among premiers for separate bilateral trade deals with the U.S. and Mexico, following a phone call with all the leaders on Wednesday.
Canadian human rights advocate and former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler — who was the target of an alleged foiled assassination plot by agents of Iran — says he isn’t concerned about the alleged threats, because he has confidence in his protective detail.
A Dallas anesthesiologist was sentenced Wednesday to 190 years in prison for injecting a nerve-blocking agent and other drugs into bags of intravenous fluid at a surgical center where he worked, leading to the death of a coworker and causing cardiac emergencies for several patients.
A measles outbreak in New Brunswick that began last month with a single travel-related case is growing and today stands at 44 cases.
Raw pistachios sold by Nutworks are being recalled in Ontario due to possible Salmonella contamination.
Australia’s communications minister introduced a world-first law into Parliament on Thursday that would ban children younger than 16 from social media, saying online safety was one of parents’ toughest challenges.
President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to repeal President Joe Biden's signature artificial intelligence policy when he returns to the White House.
Giraffe populations are declining at such an alarming rate — from habitat loss, poaching, urbanization and climate change-fueled drought — that U.S. wildlife officials announced a proposal on Wednesday to help protect several of the species.
Lady Gaga is returning to the desert to mark her second appearance as the headliner for Southern California’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Liam Payne's family, friends and former bandmates have come together to pay tribute to the British singer at his funeral in England on Wednesday, just over a month after the One Direction star died aged 31 in Argentina.
Post Malone and Morgan Wallen's collaboration 'I Had Some Help' could make both men big winners at Wednesday’s night's Country Music Association Awards.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are quickly approaching, meaning many people will be looking to score a deal ahead of the holidays. There are some precautions to take before shopping online.
The union representing port supervisors in British Columbia is formally challenging the legal and constitutional authority of the federal labour minister to order them back to work.
The heat has been turned up on two Canadian frozen-potato giants who have been named in separate price-fixing lawsuits south of the border.
After driving near the water that winter day, Brian Lavery thought he saw a dog splashing in the waves – then realized it was way too cold for that.
CTVNews.ca wants to hear from digital nomads who have taken up location-independent jobs and can work from anywhere with an internet connection.
Delta Air Lines’ newest dining option for first class passengers isn’t anything fancy. In fact, it’s the exact opposite, because it’s fast food.
Major League Baseball will test robot umpires as part of a challenge system during spring training at 13 ballparks hosting 19 teams, which could lead to regular-season use in 2026.
Since 2022, Dutch-born rider Rien Schuurhuis has become the first cyclist to compete for the tiny city-state of the Vatican at an elite level.
If the latest dance sweeping the sports world is any indication, Donald Trump and the NFL might get along much better in his second term in the White House than they did the first time around.
Even though sales of electric vehicles aren't growing as fast as in past years and President-elect Donald Trump may ditch tax credits for EV buyers, automakers are moving ahead with new models that should appeal to mainstream buyers.
A Saskatchewan woman who refused to provide a breath sample after being stopped by police in Regina did not break the law – as the officer's request was deemed not lawful given the circumstances.
In Canada a car is stolen every six minutes, though some vehicles are more sought after than others.
After driving near the water that winter day, Brian Lavery thought he saw a dog splashing in the waves – then realized it was way too cold for that.
Toronto radio and podcast host Jax Irwin has recently gone viral for videos of her cute -- and at times confusing -- phone conversations.
Two young women from New Brunswick have won one of the most prestigious and sought-after academic honours in the world.
Stretching 3,000 kilometres from the tip of New Zealand to its southernmost point, with just a bicycle for transport and a tent to call home, bikepacking event Tour Aotearoa is not for the faint of heart.
When he first moved to his urban neighbourhood, Barry Devonald was surprised to be welcomed by a whole flock of new neighbours.
When George Arcioni began renovating his kitchen last summer, he didn’t expect to find a stack of letters hidden in the wall behind his oven.
A Nova Scotia couple fulfilled their wildest dreams Thursday night when they got engaged at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in Toronto.
Some Calgary residents caught what appeared to be a meteor streaking across the sky early on Wednesday morning.
Four years ago, Phill Hebb started up 'Phil’s Unique Birdhouses' and since then, they’ve made their way all across Canada and into the United States.
Several thousand British Columbians remain in the dark Wednesday morning after a windstorm known as a bomb cyclone slammed coastal communities.
A UBC instructor is facing backlash following the release of a 12-minute audio file from a lecture she gave on Sept. 18.
The clean up was well underway Wednesday on Vancouver Island after a night of chaos.
A four-month-old baby is dead after what Toronto police are calling a “suspicious incident” at a Toronto Community Housing building in the city’s midtown area on Wednesday afternoon.
A Markham hockey buff who built a massive backyard ice rink without permissions or permits has reluctantly agreed to remove the sprawling surface, following a years-long dispute with the city and his neighbours.
Toronto is looking to retrofit its heavy-duty vehicles with side guards in an effort to reduce pedestrian deaths.
The Calgary Zoo says its two-year-old western lowland gorilla named Eyare died after being hit by a hydraulic door at the rear of the exhibit.
There is quite the buzz around the small southern Alberta town of Nanton over its fall stage production, and for more reasons than one.
Calgary police are seeking public assistance in relation to a Tuesday fire in Hillhurst that they believe was deliberately set.
The consortium responsible for building Ottawa's new north-south line, TransitNext, says it is ready for the City of Ottawa to begin the final phase of approvals before opening the line to the public.
Thirty-nine new photo radar cameras will be installed to keep an eye on Ottawa roads over the next 14 months, including on roads in the rural villages of Dunrobin, Manotick, Richmond and Vars.
One of Canada's premier high-end gym chains is set to open in Ottawa on Wednesday.
Facing criticism for requiring health care workers with two jobs within the public system to choose one to comply with labour laws, Santé Québec has announced a one-year extension to the transition period.
A family in Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie is facing an emotional upheaval as the STM moves forward with expropriating their home for a new mechanical ventilation station to serve the Orange Line.
A Saint-Sauveur couple was back in court on Wednesday, accused of attacking a teenager over a prank.
As we head into the holiday season, one Edmonton small business owner says she's shutting down online orders – something not all businesses may be able to do
Former prime minister Stephen Harper is the new chairman of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation, or AIMCo, which oversees more than $160 billion in funds, including pension funds and the Heritage Savings Trust Fund.
Dale McFee will retire as head of the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) on Feb. 21, the Edmonton Police Commission said in an email on Wednesday.
A school bus hit parked vehicles and pushed one into a Middle Sackville, N.S., home Wednesday afternoon.
A 19-year-old is facing charges after video of him allegedly driving close to 200 km/h while holding alcohol was shared on social media in the Yarmouth, N.S., area.
The RCMP in Nova Scotia is searching for a man wanted on a provincewide warrant following an incident in North Preston.
A Winnipeg woman is warning others to be on guard after she was nearly duped by an elaborate scam involving fake Manitoba Hydro workers, Bitcoin machines, and a “frightening” amount of her own personal information.
Illegal cigarettes in Manitoba are taking a big chunk out of the market.
A recent drop in river levels is turning back the pages of time in Winnipeg and opening the doors to a hobby that is attracting people who aren’t afraid to get their feet wet and their hands dirty with an interest in Manitoba history, also known as mudlarking.
Former Saskatchewan Party MLA Greg Lawrence has been sentenced to 12 months probation – after pleading guilty to one count of assault.
A Saskatchewan woman who refused to provide a breath sample after being stopped by police in Regina did not break the law – as the officer's request was deemed not lawful given the circumstances.
Many commuters in and outside of Regina are facing tough driving conditions Wednesday morning following a significant snowfall on Tuesday that has closed highways and snarled traffic on many of the city's main throughfares.
A man who plead guilty to a double stabbing in 2015 will soon be out on statutory release, but he'll have to follow some strict conditions set out by the parole board.
The Waterloo Regional Police Service presented their 2025 budget, totaling $252.5 million, to the Region of Waterloo’s Strategic Planning and Budget Committee on Wednesday morning.
The families of the victims of Paul Bernardo will be allowed to attend the serial killer’s upcoming parole hearing in person, the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) says.
A 15-year-old girl who was set on fire at a Saskatoon high school earlier this fall is still recovering in hospital.
A Saskatoon teen accused of driving a car involved in a high-speed crash that killed a 16-year-old last spring has pleaded guilty to his charges.
Former Saskatchewan Party MLA Greg Lawrence has been sentenced to 12 months probation – after pleading guilty to one count of assault.
The owner at a North Bay rental home has been fined and seven people displaced after a kitchen fire Tuesday.
Next week, Sudbury city council will decide how to rehabilitate the College Street underpass, which was built in 1949.
A Canadian Taylor Swift fan has some 'Bad Blood' with the Calgary International Airport after security staff confiscated hundreds of dollars worth of beads she was going to use to make friendship bracelets.
A London father and son they’re shocked and confused after their home was riddled with bullets while young children were sleeping inside.
They were raising a glass to a new business in St. Clair Township, but now it appears the cap has to go back on the bottle.
Back in July, Nicolas Lemke plead guilty to impaired driving causing the death of Aiden Curtis, and impaired driving causing bodily harm to two other adults who were injured.
Several apparent homemade explosive devices were found inside an RV where an allegedly armed man had barricaded himself for 16 hours, forcing evacuations in the north end of Barrie, police said.
Weeks after more than a dozen mayors, including Barrie mayor Alex Nuttall, signed a letter to Premier Doug Ford asking him to consider using the notwithstanding clause as cities struggle with how to handle growing encampments, a coalition of councillors are speaking out against its potential use.
With some milder winters in recent years Barrie city councillors are exploring if there's an appetite to dine outdoors in the coldest months of the year.
*WARNING: This story contains graphic content that some may find disturbing. Reader's discretion is advised.*
Town of Essex councillors have voted not to move ahead with a hiring freeze meant to tackle a six per cent tax levy increase that is currently on the table.
A Kingsville family, who for years put up elaborate Christmas lights and decor outside their home on Marshwoods Boulevard, has instead put up a for sale sign this year.
The clean up was well underway Wednesday on Vancouver Island after a night of chaos.
Several thousand British Columbians remain in the dark Wednesday morning after a windstorm known as a bomb cyclone slammed coastal communities.
One person is unaccounted for after a fire that destroyed a home in Nanaimo's south end Wednesday morning.
Police are appealing for information on a targeted shooting that resulted in the hospitalization of a man in Kamloops.
British Columbia's independent police watchdog has cleared officers of wrongdoing in a crash where three people were killed south of Kamloops in July of last year.
A B.C. woman who stole more than $14,000 in volunteer-raised funds that were supposed to be spent on school supplies and programs – including hot meals for vulnerable kids – won't spend any time in jail.
There’s a new way to give this holiday season.
Lethbridge police say four teenagers have been arrested in connection with an autumn attack that saw a 16-year-old badly injured.
Some Lethbridge residents will be heading to the polls next month to elect their next MLA. The Government of Alberta announced the Lethbridge-West byelection will take place on Dec. 18.
Students in Sault College’s business accounting program have a new learning pathway that will ultimately give them a head start to a career.
The Transport Safety Board of Canada says the crew of a Porter Airlines flight landing in Sault Ste. Marie in April 2023 didn't realize the plane was so far down the runway.
The owner at a North Bay rental home has been fined and seven people displaced after a kitchen fire Tuesday.
An international group led by a Canadian is in Rome this week to push the Catholic Church to adopt a zero-tolerance policy on abuse by clergy.
A company hoping to build a multi-billion-dollar wind-to-hydrogen project in western Newfoundland is eyeing other options as Canada's plans to supply Europe with green energy have not yet materialized.
The four women sipping tea around an antique wooden table in rural Newfoundland said they weren't looking for much in a mate: kindness, humour, a good sense of fun and, ideally, a full set of teeth.
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.
