Posted
The President of Ukraine has issued an urgent appeal to citizens around the world to protest against the Russian invasion of his country, just a month after it began and just hours before a series of summits between Western leaders in Brussels on Thursday.
March 23, 2022, in Kiev with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zhelensky.
AFP
“Go with Ukrainian symbols to protect Ukraine, to protect independence, to protect life!” Volodimir Zhelensky was introduced by video message in English from Wednesday to Thursday. “In the squares, on the street, show yourself and make yourself heard!” “Speak from your offices, homes, schools and universities, demonstrate, demonstrate in the name of peace!” Hammered the president. “The world must stop the war”.
As the Russian invasion enters its second month, three summits – NATO, the G7 and the European Union – are waiting in Brussels on the same day for Western heads of state and government. According to the White House, this will be a matter of consolidating the arsenal of sanctions already in place, avoiding attempts to evade Moscow and strengthening NATO’s position in Eastern Europe in the long run.
Jake Sullivan, National Security Adviser to US President Joe Biden, who arrived in the city on Wednesday evening, said: “We want to hear how long this shared commitment we saw last month will last. The Belgian capital and who should go to Poland on Friday.” Jack Sullivan said a set of sanctions should be announced for “and” political figures.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has announced that NATO has four new warships in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia to strengthen security against Russia in its eastern part.
Arms distribution
President Zhelensky is scheduled to speak via video conference at the Brussels summit. On Wednesday, his chief of staff called on Western nations to provide Ukraine with “weapons of attack.”
Shortly afterwards, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the supply of 6,000 additional anti-tank missiles to kyiv, praising the “extraordinary courage” of the Ukrainians. London has already supplied 4,000 of these weapons to Ukraine.
Sweden and Germany announced the supply of 5,000 and 2,000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, respectively. Ukrainian forces have already received 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 surface-to-air missile launchers from German Bundeswehr reserves.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blingen has accused Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine. “We have seen many credible reports of indiscriminate attacks and assaults and other atrocities aimed at the public,” he said in a statement, stressing that the responsibility lies with the courts.
Volodimir Zhelensky said on Wednesday that nearly 100,000 people were still trapped in the “continuous bombardment without food, water and medicine” in the ruins of the besieged city of Mariupol in the south.
Hospital candles
At Mariupol Number One Hospital, patients are being treated in a cellar by candlelight, the municipality said. “Candles are the main source of light. They try to save as much fuel as possible, so diesel generators are only used for complex operations,” the council told The Telegram, adding that 600 to 700 locals have taken refuge in the hospital.
The conflict is also deadly for Russian forces, which have already lost between 7,000 and 15,000 troops in Ukraine, especially according to a senior NATO official based on information from Ukrainian officials and intelligence services. German Chancellor Olaf Scholes said that the Russian invasion “caused all sorts of devastation day by day, but it was getting worse.”
Defensive positions
According to Washington, the Russian military’s offensive is on several fronts, especially around the capital, Que. “The Ukrainians were able to push the Russians 55 km east and northeast of Kiev,” a senior Pentagon official told reporters anonymously. “It simply came to our notice then that they were not moving forward. They are taking defensive positions, ”he added.
The Russian army, which has failed to capture major cities, continues to bomb. In Que, a new strike in the parking lot of a shopping center killed one Wednesday and injured two, Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said. Earlier, four people were injured in a bomb blast near a building.
Russian journalist Oksana Paulina was killed in a bomb blast in Kiev on Wednesday, according to The Insider, the online media outlet where she worked.
More than 3.6 million people have fled Ukraine since February 24, according to a UN report released on Wednesday. In all, about ten million people, a quarter of the country’s population, are forced out of their homes.
UN of 193 States The General Assembly is expected to adopt a new resolution on Thursday that will “demand” from Russia an “immediate” end to the war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the embassies of countries in crisis continue to be empty. Russia on Wednesday decided to expel US diplomats in retaliation for Washington’s expulsion of 12 members of the Russian embassy to the UN. Poland expels 45 Russian ambassadors suspected of spying Belarus will expel most of the Ukrainian ambassadors stationed in its territory, accusing Kiev of “unfriendly” activities and “interference” in its affairs.
In Russia, the media regulator (Roskomnadzor) has blocked access to the online service News.Google, accusing it of accessing “false” information about the war. Since the invasion began on February 24, the Russian government has significantly tightened its control over information spread on the Internet.
Many Russian and foreign media outlets, including the BBC, have been banned and the US social networking sites Facebook and Instagram have been declared “terrorists” by a Moscow court. Access to Twitter has also been banned. Last week, Roskomnadzor accused Google and its video service YouTube of “terrorist” activities, which is the first step towards a possible shutdown.
(AFP)
“Avid gamer. Social media geek. Proud troublemaker. Thinker. Travel fan. Problem solver.”