Ukraine tells Russia: Return the prisoners if you want your main ally back

LVIV, Ukraine, April 13 (Reuters) – Ukraine has told Russia to release prisoners of war if it wants to release the Kremlin’s highest-profile ally in the country, as the United States is expected to send more weapons after the Russia’s strongest signal yet that the war will continue. Grind.

US President Joe Biden referred to Russia’s attack on Ukraine as genocide for the first time, saying “we’ll let the lawyers decide internationally whether it qualifies or not, but it sure looks that way to me.” read more

Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilians and has said the Ukrainian and Western war crimes allegations were fabricated to discredit Russian forces.

Ukraine announced on Tuesday that Viktor Medvedchuk, leader of the Opposition Platform – For Life party, had been detained. read more In February, authorities said he had escaped house arrest after a treason case was opened.

The pro-Russian figure, who says President Vladimir Putin is his daughter’s godfather, has denied any wrongdoing. A spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

“I propose to the Russian Federation: exchange this boy of yours for our boys and girls who are now in Russian captivity,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a morning address on Wednesday.

Alongside a photo of Medvedchuk in handcuffs, the head of Ukraine’s security service, Ivan Bakanov, said on Facebook that officers “carried out this dangerous and fast multi-level special operation” to arrest him.

The Tass news agency quoted a Kremlin spokesman as saying he had seen the photo and could not say whether it was genuine.

Hours earlier, Putin used his first public comments on the conflict in more than a week to insist Russia would continue its operation “rhythmically and calmly,” saying he was confident its goals, including on security, would be achieved.

Zelenskiy mocked Putin in his speech: “How could a plan come about that would see the death of tens of thousands of your own soldiers in just over a month of war?”

Putin said the intermittent peace talks “have again returned to a no-win situation for us.”

During his comments on Tuesday, he frequently seemed to ramble or stutter.

Only occasionally did he adopt the icy, confident demeanor that has been his trademark in public appearances for more than 22 years as Russia’s leader.

Putin, who had been ubiquitous on Russian television in the early days of the war, had largely withdrawn from the public eye since Russia’s withdrawal from northern Ukraine two weeks ago.

And with the battle about to drag on, the United States is expected to announce a further $750 million in military assistance, two officials told Reuters, likely including heavy ground artillery systems for Ukraine, including howitzers. read more

“We urgently need more heavy weapons to prevent further Russian atrocities,” Zelenskiy wrote on Twitter while praising Biden’s comments on genocide.

MARIUPOL

The nearly seven-week Moscow raid, the largest attack on a European state since 1945, has sent more than 4.6 million people fleeing abroad, killed or injured thousands and led to Russia’s near-total isolation. on the world stage.

Russia says it launched what it calls a “special military operation” on February 24 to demilitarize and “denazify” Ukraine. kyiv and its Western allies dismiss it as a false pretext.

Many of the towns Russia withdrew from in northern Ukraine were littered with the bodies of civilians killed in what kyiv says was a campaign of murder, torture and rape.

Moscow denies the accusations.

Russia says it now intends to capture more territory on behalf of separatists in two eastern provinces, known as Donbas. It includes the port of Mariupol, which has been reduced to a wasteland under the Russian siege.

Ukraine says tens of thousands of civilians have been trapped inside the city with no way to bring food or water, and accuses Russia of blocking aid convoys.

The Ukrainian marines took refuge in the Azovstal industrial district on Tuesday. Reuters journalists accompanying the Russian-backed separatists saw flames pouring out of the Azovstal district.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the eastern Donetsk region, which includes Mariupol, said he had seen reports of incidents of possible use of chemical weapons in the city but could not confirm them.

Ukraine said its forces in the east had repulsed six Russian strikes, destroying two vehicles and three artillery systems, as well as shooting down a helicopter and two drones. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

The United States and Britain have said they were trying to verify reports that Russia had used chemical weapons.

On Wednesday, Zelenskiy said it was not possible to draw 100% firm conclusions about whether they had been used in Mariupol, due to the inability to conduct a proper investigation.

The production, use and stockpiling of chemical weapons are prohibited by the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention.

The Russian Defense Ministry has not responded to a Reuters request for comment. Russian-backed separatist forces in the east denied using chemical weapons in Mariupol, the Interfax news agency reported.

As Russia redoubles its efforts in the east, Lugansk regional governor Serhiy Gaidai has urged residents to evacuate.

“It’s much scarier to stay and get burned in your sleep by a Russian shell,” he wrote on social media.

Reuters bureau reports; Written by Costas Pitas; Edited by Grant McCool

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