SCHOOLCHILDREN at a school in Herefordshire have shown their support to Ukraine this week.

Year two pupils from Colwall CE Primary School, near Ledbury, all wrote poems based on the theme "what is Ukraine?".

The class agreed Ukraine "is not war or something to be destroyed" and looked through a picture book about Ukraine to decide what it really is.

Hereford Times: Some of the work by Colwall pupils Some of the work by Colwall pupils

One of the poems reads: "I hope they end the war. I hope Ukraine and Russia end the war and agree to talk."

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In a post on Facebook, a school spokesperson said: "We’ve all been shocked and saddened by the current events in Ukraine.

Hereford Times: Some of the work by Colwall pupils Some of the work by Colwall pupils

"Year two have chosen to look at the beauty of Ukraine and have written these poems entitled ‘What is Ukraine?’

"We agreed as a class that Ukraine isn’t war nor is it something to be destroyed.

"We looked through a picture book of Ukraine to decide what it really is.

Hereford Times: Some of the work by Colwall pupils Some of the work by Colwall pupils

"If these 6-year-olds are the future then I think our future is in very safe hands.

"You’ve made Mr Paynter and Miss Lancett so proud."

One of the latest developments in the war is that Moscow has announced limited ceasefires and the creation of humanitarian escape routes out of Ukraine.

But that has been called "cynical beyond words” because it would only allow refugees to head to Russia and Belarus.

Foreign Office minister James Cleverly said the routes set up were “nonsense” because they would take fleeing Ukrainians “into the arms of the country that is currently destroying yours”.

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In London, Boris Johnson was beginning a week of intense diplomatic efforts with foreign leaders to build a united front against Vladimir Putin, hosting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at Downing Street.

Russian forces continued their bombardment of Ukraine’s towns and cities despite the announcement of limited local ceasefires.

Previous attempts to create humanitarian corridors have ended with civilians being shelled as they tried to flee to safety.

A Russian task force said a ceasefire would start Monday morning, the 12th day of the war, for civilians from capital Kyiv, second city Kharkiv, the southern port of Mariupol and Sumy.

But evacuation routes published by Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency showed that civilians will only be able to leave to Russia and Belarus.

Mr Cleverly told the BBC: “It appears cynical beyond belief. There is a view that Vladimir Putin believed there was a widespread desire of Ukrainians to be closer to Russia, to be more Russian. I think that has been proven to be a complete nonsense by the circumstances we are seeing.

“Providing evacuation routes into the arms of the country that is currently destroying yours is a nonsense.”

He added that “ultimately the most humanitarian thing the Russians could do is end this completely illegal, completely unjustified invasion of Ukraine”.

Meanwhile ministers were scrambling to go “faster and harder” with sanctions levelled against the Kremlin.

The Prime Minister is expected to put more pressure on international leaders to take further action to remove Russia from the Swift payment system, while pushing them to back his six-point plan to tackle Russian aggression.