A total of 6,000 people were to be expelled from the city with 90 buses. Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Verechschuk accused the Russian military of failing to abide by the ceasefire agreed on the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol. In addition, Russian buses did not show up at the agreed times at transfer points where refugees were supposed to switch to Ukrainian buses and ambulances. Ukrainian authorities believe there are about 1,000 civilians at the Azovstal Power Plant, the last stronghold of Ukrainian forces in the port city.
EU Council President Charles Michel paid a surprise visit to Kiev. Russian forces are trying to breach Ukrainian defenses in eastern Ukraine, British military intelligence said in a new situation report. According to an aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian troops stopped the advance on the city of Sloviansk.
In Mariupol, Ukrainian soldiers held out despite continued attacks on the Azovstal steel plant, Zelenskyi’s adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said in a video speech. Another ultimatum issued by the Russian Defense Ministry to defenders in Mariupol expired on Wednesday. The commander of the 36th Ukrainian Marines Brigade still in the city, Major Serhiy Volyna, called for international assistance in a video. “This is our appeal to the world. It could be our last. We only have a few days or hours,” he said. You are facing an enemy that is much stronger.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Ukraine of failing to fulfill promises made during negotiations to end the fighting. The ball is in Kiev’s leadership court after Russia handed a document to the Ukrainian team. The Ukrainian negotiator said on Tuesday that it was difficult to predict when negotiations might resume. At the same time, while testing a new ballistic missile, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened that anyone threatening Russia should think twice.
Especially in view of the material battle that is now starting in eastern Ukraine, Western countries such as the US, Britain, Germany and France agreed on Tuesday to supply Ukraine with heavier weapons as well. Norway announced that it would deliver 100 Mistral anti-aircraft missiles. The weapons have already been shipped, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense said.
According to sources, US President Joe Biden will announce another military aid package for Ukraine in the coming days. It will be roughly the same size as the $800 million package released last week, according to several people familiar with the matter. The details are still being worked out, one of the sources explained. That would bring US military aid to Ukraine to more than $3 billion since the Russian invasion in February.
The European Union has already given Ukraine €1.5 billion in military aid. The announcement was made by EU Council President Michel in Kiev. The German government decided last Friday to supply Ukraine with weapons worth more than one billion euros. This should be done in three ways: selling Bundeswehr military equipment, direct industry purchases to Ukraine, and spare deliveries to Eastern European countries, which in turn are supplying Ukraine with Russian-made weapons. However, the delivery of Bundeswehr shares is coming to an end, a government spokesman said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had emphasized that the US and the Netherlands would be supported in delivering artillery, for example. Germany can take over the training and ammunition delivery, government circles said on Tuesday. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on a trip to the Baltic States that the supply of armored vehicles is not a taboo.
Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24. The Moscow government describes its actions as a special operation to demilitarize and denazify the neighboring country. She denies accusations of attacking civilians. Western states, on the other hand, speak of a war of Russian aggression and crimes against the Ukrainian civilian population. According to the United Nations, more than five million people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began.