Civilians, including women and children, remain trapped inside Ukraine’s besieged city of Mariupol and a prolonged ceasefire is needed to ensure their evacuation as Russia presses on with its assault, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday.
After failing to capture the capital kyiv in the first weeks of a war that has killed thousands and leveled cities, Russia has stepped up attacks on eastern and southern Ukraine.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the eastern Donetsk region, said at least 25 civilians were injured when Russian forces shelled Kramatorsk and a town some 180 kilometers west of Luhansk.
Moscow declared victory over Mariupol on April 21 after weeks of siege and shelling, but fierce resistance from Ukrainian forces entrenched in the Azovstal steelworks prevented Russia from fully invading the city.
Mariupol is a major Russian target, as the city is key to Moscow’s efforts to cut off Ukraine from the Black Sea, vital for grain and metal exports, and link Russian-controlled territory.
The United Nations and the Red Cross evacuated hundreds of people from Mariupol and other areas this week. But some 200 civilians, as well as Ukrainian fighters, remain hidden in a network of underground bunkers at the Azovstal plant, Ukrainian officials say.
Russia has promised to halt military activity in Azovstal for the day on Thursday and the following two days to allow civilians to leave. In a morning speech, Zelenskiy said that Ukraine was ready to guarantee a ceasefire in Mariupol.
“It’s going to take time to just get people out of those basements, out of those bunkers. Under the current conditions, we are unable to use heavy equipment to remove the debris. Everything has to be done by hand,” Zelenskiy said.
Ukrainian fighters inside Azovstal are fighting “difficult and bloody battles” against Russian troops, Denis Prokopenko, commander of Ukraine’s Azov regiment, said late on Wednesday. A Ukrainian parliamentarian said Russian forces were inside the plant.
More than 300 civilians were evacuated Wednesday from Mariupol and other areas in southern Ukraine as part of a joint UN-Red Cross operation, UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine Osnat Lubrani said.
It was not clear if more UN evacuations were planned. Tetyana Trotsak, a Ukrainian evacuee who was among dozens who arrived in a Ukrainian-controlled city this week, expressed fear for those still trapped inside the steel plant.
“God forbid that more shells fall near the bunkers where the civilians are,” Trotsak said.
Intelligence
More than 5 million Ukrainians have fled abroad since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched Russia’s invasion on February 24.
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists. Ukraine and the West say that the fascist accusation is unfounded and that the war is an unprovoked act of aggression.
As Western military aid for Ukraine pours into the country, the United States has also provided crucial intelligence that has helped Ukrainian forces kill Russian generals, the New York Times reported Wednesday.
Washington has provided Ukraine with details about the location of Russia’s mobile military headquarters, allowing Ukrainian forces to attack those targets, the newspaper said, citing senior US officials.
The Pentagon and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on the report.
Ukrainian officials said they killed about 12 Russian generals on the battlefield, according to the New York Times.
Ukraine’s military said Thursday that its forces repelled 11 Russian attacks, shot down four Russian planes and destroyed more than a dozen Russian military vehicles, including tanks.
Russian missile strikes in recent days have included train stations in an attempt to intercept Western arms transfers.
oil ban
The United States and its European allies have imposed sweeping sanctions on Moscow over the invasion and provided Ukraine with billions of dollars in aid, including weapons that kyiv says have caused heavy Russian losses.
Adding pressure to Russia’s already battered $1.8 trillion economy, the European Union on Wednesday proposed to phase out imports of Russian crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of this year.
“Putin must pay a price, a high price, for his brutal aggression,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said as she applauded EU lawmakers in Strasbourg.
The plan, if agreed by all 27 EU governments, would follow US and British oil bans and be a turning point for the world’s largest trading bloc, which remains reliant on Russian energy and must find supplies. alternatives.
One source said EU envoys could reach an agreement as early as Thursday or later this week on the plan, which also targets Russia’s top bank, its broadcasters and hundreds of others.
The Kremlin said Russia was weighing various responses to the EU plan, adding that the measures would be costly for European citizens. – Reuters
Reference-www.irishtimes.com