Ukraine has asked for more weapons from the West to help end the siege of Mariupol and fend off an expected Russian offensive in the east, as more reports of rape and brutality against Ukrainian civilians by Russian forces surface.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a televised speech late Monday that Russia could turn to chemical weapons as it amassed troops in the eastern Donbas region for a new assault on the port of Mariupol, where thousands of people are believed to be they died under an attack of almost seven weeks of siege.
“When it comes to the necessary weapons, we still depend on supplies, on our partners. Unfortunately, we are not getting everything we need to end this war faster… In particular, to lift the blockade of Mariupol,” he said. .
The first European Union leader to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in person since he launched what he called a “special operation,” Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said after talks in Moscow on Monday that he was ” preparing a large-scale eastern offensive”. scale.”
After suffering heavy losses and withdrawing forces from the kyiv suburbs, Russia has turned its sights on Donbas, where it is demanding that Ukraine cede control to separatist fighters. The capture of Mariupol would allow Moscow to attempt to encircle the main Ukrainian force in the east.
Delivering a regular morning overview of the conflict zone, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that in addition to trying to take control of Mariupol, Russian forces also intended to capture Popasna, a city more than two hours by car west of Luhansk, and were prepared to launch an offensive in the direction of Kurakhove, in the Donetsk region.
‘Every day the situation worsens’
The Ukrainian military said its troops had repulsed attacks in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, destroying four enemy tanks, five armored personnel carriers, 26 vehicles and eight artillery systems. He also said his forces had shot down a Russian plane, two helicopters and four drones. Reuters was unable to independently verify those figures.
Serhiy Gaidai, governor of Luhansk, urged residents to evacuate on Tuesday using five agreed humanitarian corridors for the eastern region of Ukraine.
“It’s much scarier to stay and get burned in your sleep by a Russian shell,” he wrote on the Telegram messaging app. “Evacuate, every day the situation is getting worse. Take your essential items and go to the collection point.”
In total, nine humanitarian corridors have been agreed for Tuesday, including one for private cars from Mariupol, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Monday that Britain was working with partners to verify details of reports that Russian forces may have used chemical agents in an attack on Mariupol.
“There are some things that are off limits, and the use of chemical weapons will get a response and all options are on the table as to what that response might be,” British Defense Minister James Heappey told Sky News.
The departure of Russian forces from the outskirts of kyiv has brought to light horrific allegations of war crimes, including executions and rapes of civilians. Moscow dismisses the accusations as Ukrainian and Western provocations and has also accused Ukrainian forces of sexual violence.
Senior UN official Sima Bahous told the Security Council on Monday that while all allegations must be independently investigated, “the brutality shown against Ukrainian civilians has raised all red flags.”
WARNING: This video contains graphic images | Searching through the rubble in the Ukrainian city of Bucha, investigators are beginning the difficult job of gathering evidence about possible war crimes committed by Russia. Further south, the besieged city of Mariupol is expected to fall to Russian troops within days. 2:44
“We hear more and more about rape and sexual violence,” he said.
Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN denied the accusations, accusing Ukraine and its allies of “a clear intention to portray Russian soldiers as sadists and rapists.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the United States was ordering the Ukrainian government to plant false evidence of Russian violence against civilians despite what it called “unprecedented measures to save civilians” from Moscow.
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister has accused Russia of keeping civilians, including journalists, activists and elected officials, in prisons on Russian territory. Reuters was unable to verify the allegation.
Putin to meet Belarusian President Lukashenko
Putin is scheduled to meet with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Ukraine and Western sanctions, news agencies in Russia and Belarus reported. Belarus is a key staging area for Russian forces.
The United States has tried to pressure Putin to withdraw his forces by banning Russian oil and gas and encouraging allies to do the same.
But world powers, including China and India, have refrained from sanctioning Russia. Lured by deep oil discounts, India has bought more Russian crude since the start of the February 24 invasion than it did in all of last year, data compiled by Reuters show.
In a video call, US President Joe Biden told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “very clearly it’s not in their interest” to increase reliance on Russian energy, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would not stop fighting for any new round of peace talks, which last met on April 1.
Reference-www.cbc.ca