Russia’s attack on eastern Ukraine intensified on Thursday as the UN chief studied the devastation in cities outside Kyiv that experienced some of the worst atrocities of the first war. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the atrocities he visited in cities such as Bhutan, where evidence of mass killings of civilians was found following Russia’s withdrawal from the region in the face of tougher-than-expected Ukrainian resistance. Forced to regroup after failing to capture the capital, Russia has shifted its focus to the vital eastern industrial heart, where fighting is now accelerating. The Ukrainian military said several areas in Donbass had come under heavy fire in the past day and satellite images showed new damage from the bombings in the last known enclave of the Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol. Ukrainian authorities have warned that civilians still in the southeastern port city are facing dangerous unhealthy conditions, while many of those killed in a two-month siege remain unburied. “Where there is war, the highest price is paid by civilians,” Guterres said as he visited the bombed-out suburb of Irpin in Kiev. He tried to bring the catastrophe home, saying he imagined his family had to get away from the bombs falling on their home, and reiterated how important it was to investigate alleged war crimes. “But when we talk about war crimes, we can not forget that the worst of the crimes is the war itself,” he added, referring to Boutsa. The revelation of the mass killings around Kyiv has helped boost support for Ukraine in the West, which has imposed sanctions on Russia and sent weapons to Ukraine. Bulgarian Prime Minister Kirill Petkov has promised that his country will join others in providing military assistance as he touches another scene of atrocities outside Kyiv, Borodyanka. “We can not be indifferent. “We can not say that this is a Ukrainian problem, we can not say that some people are dying, but we are not interested in that,” he said. “This is not just a battle for Ukraine, it is a matter of culture to choose which side to take.” Bulgaria, under a new liberal government that took office last autumn, has severed many of its old ties with Moscow and backed sanctions against the Kremlin. The Bulgarian leader’s visit comes a day after Russia abruptly cut off gas supplies to its country and NATO member Poland in what was seen as an attempt to punish and divide the West over its support for Ukraine in the face of a potentially critical battle in the eastern industrial area of Donbass. As Russia pressures this attack, civilians are once again carrying the brunt. “It’s not just scary. “It’s when your stomach cramps in pain,” said Tatiana Pirogova, a resident of the northeastern city of Kharkiv. “When they shoot during the day, it’s still okay, but when night comes, I can not describe how scary it is.” The General Staff of the Ukrainian Army stated that the Russian forces are “firing heavily” in many places in Donbas. He said that in the last 24 hours, Ukrainian forces repulsed six attacks in the area. The most intense action was around Donetsk and near Kharkiv, which is outside Donbass but is considered key to Russia’s apparent attempt to encircle Ukrainian troops there. The governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Haidai, said the Russian army had also bombed heavily populated areas in its area, also in Donbas, saying four civilians had been killed and four others wounded in the past day. Satellite images analyzed by the Associated Press also showed evidence of heavy Russian fire in Mariupol in recent days. The images show how the concentrated attacks have largely destroyed a central facility at the Azovstal steel plant, the last redoubt of Ukrainian fighters on the city-hub battlefield. An estimated 1,000 civilians are sheltered along with about 2,000 Ukrainian fighters at the steel plant, a huge Soviet-era complex with a number of underground facilities built to withstand air raids. Hundreds of thousands of Mariupol residents fled, but city council said on Thursday that the remaining 100,000 were at “mortal risk” of contracting diseases such as cholera and dysentery due to the city’s deeply unhealthy conditions in greatly reduced in the ruins of the siege of Russia. “Deadly epidemics could break out in the city due to the lack of central water supply and sewerage,” the council said in a Telegram messaging app. He added that the corpses were decomposing under the rubble and that there was a “catastrophic” shortage of drinking water and food. Russia, meanwhile, says a city under its control in the south has come under fire. In a Ukrainian counterattack, a series of explosions erupted near the television tower late Wednesday in Kherson, which has been occupied by Russian forces since the beginning of the war. The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of a crowd of protesters, according to Ukrainian and Russian news agencies. Ukraine has urged its allies to send even more military equipment so it can continue its fight. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that “to date, NATO allies have pledged and provided at least $ 8 billion in military support to Ukraine. “And we see the importance of further strengthening our support for Ukraine.” While Russia’s initial blitz was stagnant – and suffered the humiliating loss of a huge warship – the British Ministry of Defense said the Russian navy still had the ability to hit offshore targets in Ukraine. In a briefing released Thursday morning, the ministry said about 20 Russian naval vessels, including submarines, were currently operating in the Black Sea zone. However, the ministry said Russia was unable to replace the Moskva cruiser with guided missiles, which sank in the Black Sea earlier this month because the Bosphorus Strait remains closed to all non-Turkish warships. Russia also lost the Saratov disembarkation ship, which was destroyed by explosions and fire on March 24. In addition to its maneuvers on the battlefield, Moscow has also accumulated pressure by leveraging its critical energy exports. European leaders have described the decision to cut off Poland and Bulgaria as “blackmail”, saying the Kremlin’s move and warning that it might suspend missions to other countries was a failed attempt to divide the West over its support for Ukraine. The tactics against the two EU countries could eventually force the targeted nations to worry about gas and deal another blow to economies suffering from rising prices. At the same time, it could deprive Russia of much-needed revenue to fund its war effort. The gas cuts do not immediately put the two countries in serious trouble. Poland, in particular, has been working for many years to line up other suppliers, and the continent is heading in the summer, making gas less necessary for households. Gazprom said it had closed the two countries because they refused to pay in rubles, as President Vladimir Putin had demanded from “unfriendly” nations. European countries have challenged Russia’s demand for rubles. Moscow has since proposed a system that it says meets its demand – but that Europeans say means they still pay in euros or dollars. “Europe (and) Germany will make payments in euros and others can pay in dollars, not rubles,” German Economy Minister Robert Hubeck said on Wednesday. “The conversion, once the payments have been made, is a matter for Gazprom. We have discussed this with the European Union. We will continue on this path “. —— Keyton reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Associated Press reporters Jon Gambrell and Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Mstyslav Chernov in Kharkiv, Yesica Fisch in Sloviansk and AP staff around the world contributed to this report.
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title: “Ukraine Russian Offensive In The East Intensifies Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-19” author: “Hector Verity”
Moscow’s attack on eastern Ukraine intensified as several areas came under heavy bombardment on Thursday amid suspicions that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to be a major success on the battlefield in time for Victory Day, one of Russia’s proudest holidays. , on May 9. Ukrainian authorities have reported heavy Russian fire in Donbas – the eastern industrial heart the Kremlin wants to seize – and near Kharkiv, a northeastern city outside Donbas that is considered key to the attack. In the devastated southern port city of Mariupol, Ukrainian fighters were huddled in the steel plant representing the last pocket of the resistance, saying concentrated overnight bombings killed and injured more people. Authorities also warned that a lack of safe drinking water in the city could lead to deadly diseases. The new attacks came as the head of the United Nations met in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and examined the devastation in small towns outside the capital that saw some of the worst atrocities of the first war. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the atrocities committed in cities such as Bucha, where evidence of mass killings of civilians has been found following Russia’s retreat in the face of unexpectedly fierce resistance. He said Ukraine had become “a hotbed of unbearable pain and suffering”. “Where there is war, the highest price is paid by civilians,” Guterres said, reiterating the importance of investigating alleged war crimes. Separately, Ukraine’s prosecutor has accused 10 Russian soldiers, including a general, of being “involved in the torture of peaceful people” in Bhutan. Attorney General Iryna Venediktova did not say that her office had filed criminal charges and called on the public to help gather evidence. Russia denies targeting civilians. “During the occupation of Bucha, they took hostage unarmed civilians, killed them out of hunger and thirst, kept them on their knees with their hands tied and their eyes tied with tape, made fun of them and beat them,” Venediktova said. Shortly after the press conference between Zelensky and Guterres, explosions rocked Kyiv and flames erupted from windows in at least two buildings in the capital, which have been relatively unharmed in recent weeks. Rich smoke was visible over the city. There was no immediate word on casualties, but Guterres and his team were safe, a spokesman said. The blasts, which appear to be one of the deadliest attacks in Kyiv since Russian forces withdrew from the capital weeks ago, came as Kiev residents increasingly returned to the city. Cafes and other businesses have reopened, and a growing number of people are circulating outside, enjoying the spring weather. It was difficult to get a complete picture of the unfolding battle in the east, because airstrikes and artillery barricades have made the movement of journalists extremely dangerous. Several journalists have been killed in the war, which is in its third month. Also, both Ukraine and Moscow-backed rebels fighting in the east have imposed severe restrictions on reports from the battle zone. Western officials say the Kremlin’s apparent goal is to seize Donbass by encircling and crushing Ukrainian forces from the north, south and east. But so far, Russian troops and their allied separatist forces appear to have made only small gains, occupying several small towns as they try to move into relatively small groups against the fierce Ukrainian resistance. Russian military units were destroyed in the failed attempt to invade Kyiv and had to be reorganized and reorganized. Some analysts say the delay in launching a full-scale offensive may reflect Putin’s decision to wait until his forces are ready for a decisive battle – instead of rushing and risking another failure that could shake his dominance. through deteriorating economic conditions at home due to Western sanctions. Many observers expect Putin to try to claim a major victory in the east by Victory Day, which marks the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Putin, like many of his predecessors, often uses patriotic Russian holidays and anniversaries to make announcements, call for solidarity, or demonstrate the strength of his nation. In March, he appeared at a stadium in Moscow at a rally to celebrate the eighth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula and used the event to support the war. The discovery of mass killings around Kyiv helped mobilize support for Ukraine in the West. Bulgarian Prime Minister Kirill Petkov has vowed that his country will join others in providing military assistance as he touches another scene of atrocities outside Kyiv in Borodyanka. “We can not be indifferent. We can not say that this is a Ukrainian problem. “We can not say that some people are dying, but we are not interested in that,” he said. “This is not just a battle for Ukraine, it is a matter of culture to choose which side to take.” Bulgaria, under a new liberal government that took office last autumn, has severed many of its old ties with Moscow and backed punitive measures against the Kremlin. The Bulgarian leader’s visit comes a day after Russia cut off gas supplies to its country and NATO member Poland in what was seen as an attempt to punish and divide the West. As Russia intensifies its offensive, civilians are once again carrying the brunt. “It’s not just scary. “It’s when your stomach contracts from the pain,” said Tatiana Pirogova, a resident of Kharkiv. “When they shoot during the day, it’s still okay, but when night comes, I can not describe how scary it is.” The Ukrainian military says Russian troops have opened fire on several parts of Donbas and that Ukrainian forces have repulsed six attacks in the past 24 hours. Four civilians were killed in heavy bombardment of residential areas in the Luhansk region of Donbass, according to the governor. Columns of smoke appear to be rising at various points in the Donetsk region of Donbass, while artillery and sirens are heard and extinguished. In Zaporizhzhia, a critical landmark for tens of thousands of people fleeing Mariupol, an 11-year-old boy was among at least three people injured in a rocket attack that authorities say was the first to hit a residential area in the southern city since the war. Fragments of glass cut the boy’s leg to the bone. Vadym Vodostoyev, the boy’s father, said: “It only takes a second and you have nothing.” Satellite images analyzed by the Associated Press also showed evidence of heavy Russian fire in Mariupol in recent days. A video posted on the Internet by the Azov Constitution of Ukraine inside the steel plant shows people combing the rubble to remove the dead and help the injured. The regiment said the Russians had struck an improvised underground hospital and its operating room, killing an unspecified number of people. The video could not be verified independently. Hundreds of thousands of Mariupol residents have fled. Authorities say an estimated 100,000 remain at risk for diseases such as cholera and dysentery. “Deadly epidemics could break out in the city due to the lack of central water supply and sewerage,” the council said in a Telegram messaging app. He said the bodies were decomposing under the rubble and there was a “catastrophic” lack of drinking water and food. Russia, meanwhile, says a city under its control in the south has come under fire. In a Ukrainian counterattack, a series of explosions erupted near the television tower late Wednesday in Kherson, which has been occupied by Russian forces since the beginning of the war. The blasts at least temporarily blew up Russian channels. Strong clicks were reported in the Belgorod region of Russia bordering Ukraine, but there was no immediate explanation. In recent days, fuel and ammunition depots on Russian soil have been hit by explosions and fires, and suspicions have fallen on Ukraine. Ukraine has urged its allies to send even more military equipment to repel the Russians. US President Joe Biden plans to ask Congress for an additional $ 33 billion to help Ukraine. —— Keyton reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Associated Press reporters Jon Gambrell and Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Mstyslav Chernov in Kharkiv, Yesica Fisch in Sloviansk and AP staff around the world contributed to this report.
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