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Separatists threaten Mariupol with more bombings ahead of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine

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While the expectation revolves around the second round of negotiations between the Russians and Ukrainians, this Thursday (3), pro-Moscow separatists in Mariupol threaten the strategic port city with new bombings.

“We need to wait a few days for the situation to be resolved. The special operation showed that targeted attacks are possible,” separatist spokesman Eduard Basurin said, according to Interfax news agency. “The civilian population will not be harmed, but the enemy within the city will be demoralized and begin to surrender.”

The use of “special military operation”, a euphemism for “war”, has become mandatory for Russian media, now banned from mentioning the words “invasion” or “aggression”.

The British Defense Ministry, in its latest bulletin, said Mariupol remains under Ukrainian control despite constant bombing and Russian troops surrounding the city. Mayor Vadim Boichenko reported that the city is without electricity, water or heating.

At another strategic point on the coast, reports are still conflicting at Kherson – which the Russians say is under their command. Mayor Igor Kolikhaiev said in a Facebook post that Vladimir Putin’s troops had taken over the city’s central administration building. The British portfolio, in turn, reports that the military situation is unclear.

The capture of the two cities, combined with the pro-Russian separatists’ extended control of the historic areas of the so-called Donbass, would establish a land bridge linking Crimea with Russia’s east Ukraine.

Moscow’s offensive is also continuing in two other major cities. In the capital Kiev, there are reports of bombings overnight, and the Russian Defense Ministry said it hit a television and radio centre.

Already close to Kharkiv, the second largest city in the country that has been under heavy bombing in the last two days, Russia claims to have taken Balaklia, 90 km away. Also in the region, six adults and two children died after an attack on a residential building in Izium. An Orthodox church in Kharkiv was damaged, but there were no casualties. There were also bombings in Chernihiv.

Despite the tense situation, the British Ministry of Defense maintains its report that Russian troops have made little progress in the last three days in the capital and that the convoy remains 30 km from Kiev.

With threats to strategic cities, the Ukrainian negotiators leave for the second round of negotiations with the Russians. A Moscow representative said on Wednesday that he hoped to reach a ceasefire – a step up from the last meeting, when the Kremlin did not release its agenda.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation worsens. An adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky made an appeal on Twitter to international organizations, citing the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe). “Cities where Russian troops are stationed immediately become places of looting, robbery and murder,” wrote Mikhailo Podoliak. “We need humanitarian corridors – food, medicine, ambulance, evacuation. We need active help from international organizations, including OSCE. Enough talking.”

In its latest survey, the UNHCR (UN refugee agency) reported that, in a week of conflict, one million people have already left Ukraine. “For many millions more within Ukraine, it is time for guns to be silenced so that life-saving humanitarian assistance can be provided,” the agency’s head Filippo Grandi wrote on Twitter.

EuropeKievNATORussiasheetUkraineVladimir PutinWar in Ukraine

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