The Russians gave Ukrainian troops stationed in the port city of Mariupol a new ultimatum to surrender (REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko)
Russian troops today increased their presence and the geography of attacks on the Donetsk and Luhansk frontsin eastern Ukraine and issued a new ultimatum to Ukrainian troops resisting in the port city of Mariupol for them to give up.
“The Russian occupiers continue to shell the front lines and look for weak points in the defenses along the entire line of contact,” according to part of the Ukrainian general staff.
According to the Ukrainian military, Russian troops launched a new offensive against the town of Lyman in the Donetsk region as part of Russian attempts to control the entire Donbass and beyond Moscow this week considered the start of the second phase of the military campaign in Ukraine.
Lymana major rail hub in the region was one of the top Russian targets at the time, according to the Ukrainian high command, while attacks also intensified in another Donetsk city, Marinka.
Increased military presence
The British secret service in turn reported this increased Russian military presence on Ukraine’s eastern border and the intensification of fighting in different parts of the Donbass, while Russian forces try to break through the Ukrainian defenses.
According to the latest part of the secret service The Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities show their intention to disrupt the movement of Ukrainian reinforcements and weapons to the east of the country.
British intelligence reported on the increased Russian military presence on Ukraine’s eastern border (Alexander NEMENOV / AFP)
Moscow has repeatedly criticized foreign arms deliveries, which Russia says are intended to prolong the conflict in Ukraine.
The Russian Foreign Ministry today denounced that the weapons delivered to Kyiv are being used to “attack peaceful cities of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics”.which Moscow recognized as independent.
Additionally, accused Ukraine of harboring more than 7,000 foreign mercenaries from 63 countries around the world.
For its part, Kyiv replied that the refusal to supply arms to Ukraine de facto implied support for “Russian aggression”.
new ultimatum
The clear goal of the Russian troops remains “conquest” Mariupol and gain full control of the southern Kherson region, according to the Ukrainian military command.
As the siege of the strategic city continues, Russia today gave its defenders a new ultimatum to surrender and save their livesalthough the soldiers have so far shown no sign of laying down their arms.
Yesterday, Tuesday, Moscow issued an ultimatum to the Azov Battalion fighters and Ukrainian soldiers to surrender and evacuate the civilians seeking refuge in and around the Azovstal Metallurgical Plant.
According to the Ukrainian authorities there are at least a thousand civilians, most of them women and childrena number that doubts Russia, which also accuses Ukraine’s armed forces of using these citizens as a “human shield.”
The pro-Russian Donetsk militia said today that five Ukrainian soldiers laid down their arms and left the Azovstal steel plant yesterday, a number that has not been confirmed by Russia. Pro-Russian separatists also claimed to have evacuated more than 140 civilians from around the steel mill.
Russia today issued a new ultimatum to its defenders to surrender and thus save their lives (Alexander NEMENOV / AFP)
At the same time, Kyiv reported that in the midst of the emergency situation in Mariupol, an agreement was reached to open a humanitarian corridor today, allowing about 6,000 children, women and the elderly to leave for Zaporizhia.
In the last three days Neither in Mariupol nor in other parts of eastern Ukraine was a humanitarian corridor opened due to the fighting.
bargain offer
At the diplomatic level, calls for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine continued Moscow said it had submitted a negotiation proposal to Kyiv and was awaiting Ukrainian response.
“We submitted our draft document to the Ukrainian side, which contains absolutely clear and elaborate wording. The ball is yours, we are waiting for an answer,” the Kremlin said.
Foreign Affairs stated that the Russian proposal was presented on the 15th and that no response has been received so far.
For its part, Kyiv reported that as part of the negotiations in Istanbul late last month, Ukraine made security proposals to Russia and then received its counter-proposal, which is currently under consideration.
That is what Ukraine’s chief negotiator said on Tuesday It is difficult to predict when peace talks between the parties might resume.
The Secretary General of the UN António Guterres yesterday, Tuesday, asked Russia and Ukraine for a four-day truce in their fighting to coincide with the Orthodox Easter. that is, from tomorrow, Thursday, and until next Sunday.
The head of separatist Donetsk commented on the initiative, Denis Pushílin explained that during the eight-year conflict in the east of the country between the pro-Russian regions and the Ukrainian army there had been more than 20 ceasefires and “all failed on the Ukrainian side”.
While Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry released a statement calling for a “humanitarian pause” in the coming days to evacuate thousands of civilians from combat zones.
(With information from EFE)
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