Russian forces continue to increase pressure on Donbass, in eastern Ukraine, which has been turned into “hell”, as the Ukrainian president put it early today Volodymyr Zelenskywho at the same time characterized the giant package of military, financial and humanitarian aid approved in the USA investing in Western security.
The US Congress approved the package yesterday $ 40 billion to support the military effort of Ukraine, which was invaded by the Russian army on February 24. While the G7 finance ministers began to count the billions that each member state will give to Kyiv.
«For our partners it is not just about expenses or donations“, Judged Mr. Zelenski in his videotaped sermon that was downloaded in the early hours of today morning on social networking sites. «It is a contribution to their own security, because the protection of Ukraine means their own protection against the new wars and crises that Russia may cause.“, He argued.
New US aid will allow Ukraine to acquire tanks and strengthen its air defenseat a time when Russia continues to focus its efforts on the eastern and southern parts of the country.
Moscow primarily wants to take over the entire Donbass region, a Russian-speaking area controlled in part by pro-Russian separatists since 2014.
However “the Ukrainian armed forces continue to score progress in the liberation of the Kharkiv region“, while “the occupying forces seek to further increase the pressure on Donbas. The situation there is hell, and this is no exaggeration“, Said the Ukrainian president.
Russian bombings resulted in deaths 12 civilians and another 40 injured yesterday Thursday in Severodonetskin the Luhansk region, according to the head of local authorities Serhiy Haidaiwho accused the Russians of targeting mainly houses and warned that the death toll could rise further.
A team from the French Agency found that Industrial city has been transformed into a battlefield for days and pounded by Russian artillery.
Nela Kaskina, 65, a retired municipal employee, summed up by saying “I do not know how long we will be able to endure».
THE Severodonetsk and Lisichansk are the last pockets of resistance in the Lugansk region. Russian forces have surrounded the two cities, which are separated by a river, and are bombing them incessantly.
Russian troops also killed five civilians in the neighboring Daniec region on Thursday, according to local government chief Pavlo Kirilenko.
Moscow announced yesterday that others almost 800 Ukrainian military fortifications in the labyrinthine basements of the vast steel industry Azofstalin the port of Mariupol, delivered in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total to 1,730 as of Monday.
He published photos of groups of uniformed men coming out, some with bandages and crutches, after the long battle at the factory that Kyiv describes as a symbol of “resistance”. Ukrainian authorities say 90 percent of Mariupol has been destroyed and at least 20,000 people killed.
It is impossible to verify this information independently.
The military that came out of the factory, among the 80 wounded, are “prisoners of war“, Stressed the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Kyiv continues to avoid talking about surrender. «I will do my best to inform the strongest foreign powers and, as far as possible, to get involved in rescuing our heroes.“, Said Mr. Zelenski last Thursday night.
In a video that was also released yesterday, the Sviatoslav Palamar, Deputy Commander of the Azov Order of Ukrainian nationalists, he assured that he is still in the factory together with other commanders, without giving details about the “operation” that according to him is always in progress.
The fate of the prisoners remains uncertain. Kyiv wants to organize prisoner exchange. Moscow says it believes at least some of them are not soldiers, but “neo-Nazis.”
The war, which is about to end for three months on Tuesday, threatens to exacerbate the international food crisisas it has paralyzed much of agriculture and grain exports from Ukraine, the country that used to be the fourth largest exporter of corn and was going to become the third largest exporter of grain in the world.
Washington yesterday demanded that Moscow allow them exports of Ukrainian cereals. «Stop blocking ports on the Black Sea! Allow free movement of ships, trains and trucks carrying food outside Ukraine“, Demanded the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
On the other hand, blaming the West for trying to turn Russia into a scapegoat for “all the problems in the world”, Russian ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia rejected the accusation that Moscow is causing a global food crisis: it had long since stalled Its causes include rising inflation, supply chain problems and “speculation in western markets,” he argued.
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