Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Condemns Bombing As Bodies Line Mariupol Streets

LVIV/KYIV, April 18 (Reuters) – Ukrainian authorities have condemned Russian artillery attacks on cities in the northeast and the ongoing siege of the southern port city of Mariupol, which Moscow said it had taken almost total control of, after almost two months of bloody attacks. struggle.

After failing to overcome Ukrainian resistance in the north, the Russian military has refocused its ground offensive in Donbas, while launching long-distance strikes against targets elsewhere, including the capital kyiv.

Eighteen people have been killed and more than 100 wounded in shelling over the past four days in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

“This is nothing more than deliberate terror: mortars, artillery against ordinary residential neighborhoods, against ordinary civilians,” he said on Sunday night.

Russia denies targeting civilians and has rejected what Ukraine says is evidence of organized atrocities to undermine peace talks. He calls for his action a special military operation to demilitarize Ukraine and eradicate what he calls dangerous nationalists.

The West and kyiv accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of unprovoked aggression.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said troops in the pulverized port of Mariupol were still fighting on Sunday, despite a Russian demand to surrender at dawn.

“The city has not fallen yet,” he told ABC’s “This Week,” adding that Ukrainian soldiers continue to control some parts of the southeastern city.

On Saturday, Russia said it was in control of urban areas and that some Ukrainian fighters remained at the Azovstal steel mill overlooking the Sea of ​​Azov.

Capturing Mariupol, the main port in the Donbas region, would be a strategic prize for Russia, as it would link territory held by pro-Russian separatists in the east with the Crimea region that Moscow annexed in 2014.

Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of the neighboring Lugansk region, which has seen heavy fighting, repeated a call for the evacuation of the population.

“Next week is going to be tough,” he said in a post on his Facebook page. “This may be the last time we have a chance to save you.”

In the streets of Mariupol, small groups of bodies were lined up under colorful blankets, surrounded by smashed trees and charred buildings.

Residents, some pushing bicycles, pushed past tanks and destroyed civilian vehicles as Russian soldiers checked motorists’ documents.

Among them was Irina, who was evacuating with a niece injured in the bombing.

“I have a daughter in the DNR,” he said, referring to the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. “Maybe we’ll try to move there for the time being.

“I hope they will rebuild (Mariupol). The most important thing is the public service systems. The summer will pass quickly and the winter will be difficult.”

‘WAR EASTER’

Some four million Ukrainians have fled the country, cities have been shattered and thousands have died since the invasion began on February 24.

The economic damage is significant. Shmyhal said Ukraine’s budget deficit was about $5 billion a month and urged Western governments to receive more financial aid.

On Twitter, Zelenskiy said he had discussed ensuring Ukraine’s financial stability and preparations for post-war reconstruction with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, quoting her as saying support was essential to lay the groundwork for reconstruction. . read more

Ukraine continued efforts to quickly join the European Union as officials filled out a questionnaire that is a starting point for the EU to decide on membership. read more On Easter Sunday, Pope Francis implicitly criticized Russia, pleading for an end to bloodshed and lamenting the “Easter of war” in a speech in St. Peter’s Square after mass.

“Let there be peace for the war-torn Ukraine, so harshly tested by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged,” he said. read more

Information from Reuters journalists in kyiv and Lviv; Additional reporting from Reuters bureaus around the world; Written by Lincoln Feast; Edited by Clarence Fernandez

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