How it goes now depends on the course of the war – and the talks that would be held with Turkey’s help. Griffiths says he will then travel to Turkey to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. When it comes to new negotiating opportunities, the Turks are “closer,” said Griffiths, who recently spoke with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Griffiths was tasked by UN chief Antonio Guterres with exploring the possibility of a “humanitarian truce” in Ukraine. From the beginning, however, there were not high hopes that the mission would be successful, even for Guterres. Indeed, a ceasefire does not seem possible in Ukraine at the moment, as the UN chief told a news conference on Wednesday.
APA/AFP/Ronaldo Schemidt Kiev: Russian offensive in the east has begun
Kiev: offensive started in the east
The latest developments in the theaters of war in Ukraine also speak against an imminent ceasefire. According to information from Kiev, Russian troops launched a major attack in the east of the country on Monday. After more than seven weeks of war, an offensive in the east had been expected for days. According to Moscow, Russian troops withdrew from the Kiev metropolitan area.
The Ukrainian Army General Staff reported on Monday night “signs of the start of the offensive”, especially in the areas around the main cities of Kharkiv and Donetsk. There was also intense fighting in the Luhansk region.
Major Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine
Six people died in attacks in the Ukrainian city of Lviv. Other major cities were also targeted by Russian attacks: according to information from Kiev, a major offensive in eastern Ukraine, which had been expected for days, had apparently begun.
According to Ukrainian governor Serhiy Hajdaj, Russian forces have taken control of the small town of Kreminna. There are street fights, an evacuation is no longer possible. “The situation is getting worse by the hour.” In Kreminna, of the 18,000 inhabitants before the war, about 4,000 are resisting.
Mariupol continued to be contested
Fighting also continued in Mariupol, a city that once had a population of over 400,000. The Ukrainian General Staff reported rocket and bomb attacks. Tu-22M3 supersonic bombers would also be used. The Ukrainians did not heed the call to surrender. Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal announced a fight “to the end” on American broadcaster ABC. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba accused Russia of wanting to raze Mariupol. There, several thousand Ukrainian fighters are said to have holed up in a steel mill – and there are many civilians too.
Reuters/Alexander Ermochenko In Mariupol, the last Ukrainian units barricaded themselves in a steel mill
Killed in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv
However, the target of the attacks is also the west: according to the authorities, there were deaths from Russian rockets for the first time in the city of Lviv – at least six. In addition to the dead, the rocket attack on the city of 720,000 people injured several people, including a child, according to the mayor.
Four or five strikes were reported. Civilian buildings such as a tire service and a hotel were also hit. Lviv’s Old Town is a World Heritage Site. Moscow confirmed the nighttime attacks. A logistics center was also destroyed with Western weapons.
EU: “Indiscriminate” attacks on civilian targets
The attacks on Lviv and other cities in western Ukraine made it clear “that no part of the country is free from the senseless attacks by the Kremlin,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in Brussels.
Reuters/Roman Baluk Borrell after Lviv attack: “No part of the country is safe from senseless attacks”.
Major cities, including Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, “continue to be attacked indiscriminately”. This leads to “destruction of civilian life and civilian infrastructure”, according to Borrell, who again accuses Russia of “arbitrary” attacks against civilian installations. “War crimes must not go unpunished,” Borrell said. “Russia must immediately and unconditionally cease hostilities and withdraw all its armed forces and military equipment from Ukraine.”
Putin honors ‘Boch Brigade’
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has bestowed an honorary title on the brigade believed to be behind the war crimes in the city of Bucha. Putin signed a decree on Monday giving the 64th Motorized Infantry Brigade the honorary title of “Guards”, according to the Kremlin. The award is justified by the “heroism and bravery, determination and courage” of the members.
The Kremlin did not provide information on where the brigade members are currently located or where they were stationed. No further details were given about their functions.
Hundreds of bodies examined
Ukraine has accused the Russian army and especially the 64th Brigade of having carried out a massacre of civilians in the town of Bucha, near Kiev. After the Russian troops left, dead men in civilian clothes, some with their hands tied, were found in the streets of Bucha. According to regional authorities, more than 400 dead have been recovered in Butscha.
Several bodies were also found in the town of Irpin, which was also recaptured from Ukraine after Russian soldiers left. Ukrainian investigators have examined 269 bodies in Irpin so far, a police officer told reporters on Monday, according to the Guardian.
The city, which had a population of around 62,000 before the war, was one of the main battlegrounds for Russian troops before they withdrew from Ukraine’s northern regions to step up their offensive in the east.