According to French sources, the Russian front line is already twenty kilometers from the center of Kiev, with little progress in recent days, but its tanks have already begun to position themselves in a densely populated area to the west of the city.
A geolocated video from CNN showed five armored vehicles and their crew a few meters from a condominium of buildings in the Irpin district, north of Kiev, a city that was brutally bombed throughout the weekend, with at least eight civilians killed. .
The Russian offensive, launched on February 24, has driven more than 1.5 million people out of Ukraine and many more have been displaced within the country or are trapped in cities bombed by Russia. In addition, the worsening of the conflict is also causing financial turmoil and a skyrocketing oil and gold prices.
The Russian army announced this Monday morning the temporary suspension of attacks in some areas “for humanitarian purposes” and the opening of humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from Kiev, Kharkiv, the besieged port of Mariupol and the town of Sumynear the Russian border.
But half of these corridors go to Russia and Belarus and the Ukrainian government has rejected the proposal outright.
“It is not an acceptable option,” said Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereschuk.
To this was added the complaint of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) that one of Mariupol’s humanitarian corridors – whose evacuation was suspended several times over the weekend due to attacks – was mined.
Quoting an ICRC team in Mariupol, he explained that “they were ready yesterday (Sunday) even though it was not entirely clear what the deal was.” But “as soon as they got to the first checkpoint, they realized that the route they had been told was in fact mined,” he added.
Ukraine reported on Monday that Russia’s offensive is focused on “surrounding Kiev, Kharkov, Chernigov, Sumy and Mykolayiv.”
Russian forces “began to accumulate resources to attack Kiev,” the Armed Forces added.
In Kiev, Ukrainian soldiers were seen preparing for a possible Russian attack. They planted explosives on what they say is the last intact bridge in the path of the Russian forces.
“The capital is preparing to defend itself,” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram app. “Kiev will resist! It will defend itself!” he added.
On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky warned that Russia was preparing to bomb Odessa, a strategic port on the Black Sea.
The missile attack on the airport Vinnytsiaabout 200 km southwest of Kiev, killed five civilians and four soldiers on Sunday, according to Ukrainian rescuers.
Hundreds of civilians have lost their lives and thousands have been injured in this war. To the dead is added a painful exodus to neighboring countries.
On Irpina small town on the outskirts of Kiev, the mayor said he saw two adults and two children killed “before his eyes” when a bomb fell on them.
“They are monsters. Irpin is at war, Irpin has not surrendered,” Oleksandr Markushyn wrote on the Telegram network, admitting however that part of the city is in Russian hands.
The United States and the European Union have imposed unprecedented sanctions against companies, banks and oligarchs to stifle the Russian economy and pressure President Vladimir Putin to stop his assault.
The United States admitted that it is considering the option of prohibiting the import of Russian oil, which caused the price of Brent crude to touch 140 dollars, very close to its historical record. The prices of aluminum and copper also registered unprecedented prices on Monday.
The price of oil, which could accentuate an already high inflation, caused the main European stock markets to register declines of more than 4% on Monday. In the meantime, European natural gas soared 60%, to more than 300 euros per megawatt-hour, in a scenario of fear over a possible cut in deliveries from Russia.
Putin likened these economic retaliation to a declaration of war, and promised that Russia will succeed in “neutralizing” Ukraine, “either by negotiation or by war.”
dissonant voice in this international context, China on Monday reiterated its “rock-solid” friendship with Russia, but said it was willing to participate in peace mediation “if necessary.”
This Monday a third round of Russian-Ukrainian talks is planned, but expectations are not good. The Russian president has set as a precondition the acceptance by Kiev of all Moscow’s demands, especially the demilitarization of Ukraine and a neutral status for the country.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) opened last week an investigation into the situation in Ukraine and the United States said it had “very credible” information about war crimes committed by Russia.
And at the beginning of the hearings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) this Monday, within a request launched by Ukraine, Russia was absent in the court based in The Hague.
Finally, the safety of the Ukrainian nuclear power plants is also causing great concern, following the Russian attack on the Zaporizhia nuclear facility, the largest in Europe. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the UN expressed on Sunday its “deep concern” about the situation of the plant, now controlled by Russia and where the management and staff would not be able to carry out their work correctly.
Source: Ambito
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