Moscow: Russia President Vladimir Putin hailed Russian troopers fighting in Ukraine at a massive flag-waving rally in a packed Moscow stadium on Friday. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for thorough peace negotiations with Moscow, claiming that Russia would take generations to recover from the war's devastation.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian soldiers are blockading Ukraine's major cities in order to create a "humanitarian catastrophe" to persuade Ukrainians to work with them.

More than 9,000 people, he added, were able to exit besieged Mariupol in the last day, and more than 180,000 people have been allowed to travel to safety through humanitarian corridors.

He again urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet with him directly. "It's time to meet and talk," he said. "I want everyone to hear me, especially in Moscow."

Ukraine aims to make headway on its EU membership request within months, Zelenskyy said after a phone conversation with EU Executive Director Ursula von der Leyen.

As the long-running assault has reduced much of Mariupol to ruins, Ukraine's defence minister announced that the country has "temporarily" lost access to the Azov Sea, which leads to the Black Sea and would be a severe loss for Ukraine.

Ukraine's defence ministry claimed late Friday that it had lost "temporary" access to the Sea of Azov as invading Russian soldiers tightened their grip on the Sea's major port of Mariupol.

"The occupiers have largely succeeded in the Donetsk operating district, denying Ukraine access to the Sea of Azov," Ukraine's defence ministry stated in a statement. The ministry did not say whether Ukraine's soldiers had recovered access to the Sea in their statement.

Putin going downhill. Check out his right leg dragging at his hate rally today.
pic.twitter.com/GtIW3FxRDv

— Tom Joseph (@TomJChicago) March 18, 2022