Russian military forces fired rockets into southern and eastern Ukraine on Saturday, according to Kyiv. On the other hand, Moscow today reported the death of civilians from shelling by the Ukrainian army in villages of Kherson. Meanwhile, in Mariupol, the first women and children were removed from Azovstal steel plantwhere Ukrainian soldiers and civilians remain trapped for days.
Moscow has concentrated its military operations in the south and east of Ukraine, after failed to occupy the capital Kyiv in the attack it has unleashed for the past nine weeks, leveling cities, causing thousands of deaths and forcing more than 5 million people to seek refuge abroad.
The Russian military has occupied Kherson, about 100 kilometers north of the annexed Crimean peninsula, and controls most of Mariupol, a strategically important port city in the Sea of Azov.
Russia announced the capture of Mariupol on April 21, while hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians took refuge in the huge Azovstal steel plant. The United Nations has called for an agreement to evacuate the plant through a “humanitarian corridor”. On Saturday, it became known by a Ukrainian commander of the Azov Order that 20 women and children managed to leave the steel plant.
“We are removing civilians from the rubble using ropes – They are the elderly, women and children,” said Sviatoslav Palamar, describing the scene of the disaster at the plant, which spans four square kilometers.
According to him, both the Russian and Ukrainian sides respect the ceasefire in the region. He expressed hope that the civilians who left the factory would be relocated to Zaporizhia, located in the northwest.
There was no official statement from either the Kremlin or the UN. Hundreds of Ukrainians remain trapped in the steel plant, according to Ukrainian officials.
Attack on Odessa
A Russian rocket fired from Crimea destroyed the runway of Odessa airport, said the governor of the region Maxim Martchenko, who stressed that there were no casualties.
The airport can no longer operate, according to the Ukrainian army. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to rebuild it, stressing in a videotaped message late Saturday that “Odessa will never forget Russia’s attitude towards it.”
There has been no official response to the attack from Moscow, whose forces have launched sporadic attacks on Ukraine’s third largest city, where eight people were recently killed in one of them, according to Kyiv.
The goal of the Russian army in the Ukrainian south is to create a “land bridge” with Crimea, while intensifying its efforts in the east to gain full control of Donbass, where the supporters of the Moscow separatists already control most of Luhansk and Donetsk.
In his latest message, Zelensky said Russia was “gathering additional forces to (launch) new attacks against our army in the east of the country” and “is trying to increase pressure on Donbas.”
Russia calls the invasion of its neighbor a “special military operation” aimed at “demilitarizing” and “de-Naziizing” Ukraine. In contrast, Ukraine and the West accuse Moscow of launching an unprovoked war.
Despite weeks of peace talks, the gap between the Russian and Ukrainian sides seems to remain bridging.
Ukraine accuses the Russian military of committing atrocities in areas near Kyiv in early April, but Moscow denies the allegations. The last time the delegations of the two countries met in person was on March 29, since then consultations have been held only through teleconferences.
Images of destruction
The United States and their European allies have imposed sweeping sanctions on Moscow, while supporting Ukraine with weapons and humanitarian aid.
US President Joe Biden aspires to release another $ 33 billion to Ukraine, 20 of which will go to military aid.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday that his country would continue to “provide the Ukrainians with the equipment they need to defend themselves.”
In the Donetsk community of Donetsk, the shock wave from Saturday’s bombardment shattered the windows of an apartment and left a large crater in the courtyard. The locals are trying to save what is left of their property.
Russia has again denounced Ukrainian attacks on its territory by officials in Bryansk regionwhich borders Ukraine and Belarus, reported that the anti-aircraft defense repulsed a Ukrainian aircraft, but an oil installation was hit.
South of Bryansk, in Kursk, shells were fired from Ukraine at a Russian outpost, according to regional governor Roman Starovit, but without any casualties or damage.
Ukraine has not officially acknowledged responsibility for the attacks, but on Wednesday described the blasts in southern Russia as “retaliation” and “karma” for the Russian invasion.
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