Russia Vows Again To Release Ukrainians From 'apocalyptic' Siege

The White House announced a ban on oil imports from Russia
The situation in Mariupol is “apocalyptic”, says the Red Cross
Previous attempts to evacuate besieged cities were unsuccessful.

LVIV, Ukraine, March 9 – Russia announced a new ceasefire in Ukraine Wednesday to allow civilians to leave besieged cities after days of broken promises that have left hundreds of thousands trapped without access to medicine or fresh water. water.

Wednesday’s “silence” announcement was similar to Tuesday’s announcement promising safe passage from the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Mariupol. So far, only one corridor from Sumy is open on Tuesday.

Ukraine said it had also agreed to a ceasefire from 09:00 to 21:00 (07:00-19:00 GMT) to allow civilians to leave besieged cities along six corridors. In a televised address, Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk called on Moscow to observe local ceasefire regimes.

The greatest alarm is being sounded in Mariupol, a southern port completely surrounded by Russian troops for more than a week, where the Red Cross called the situation faced by civilians “apocalyptic.”

Residents there took refuge underground from the incessant bombardment, unable to evacuate their wounded and without access to food, water, electricity or heat.

A series of local truces to allow them to leave have failed since Saturday. Kyiv said 30 buses and eight trucks carrying supplies were unable to reach it on Tuesday after they came under fire from Russia in violation of the ceasefire. Moscow accused Kyiv of failing to stop the fire.

In Ukraine’s two largest cities, Kyiv and Kharkov, Russia’s offer of safe passage would force civilians into Russia itself or its ally Belarus. Kyiv rejected these proposals.

More than 2 million people have fled Ukraine since President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion nearly two weeks ago. Moscow calls its actions a “special military operation” to disarm its neighbor and oust leaders it calls “neo-Nazis.” Kyiv and its Western allies dismiss this as an unfounded pretext for an unprovoked war against a democratic country of 44 million.

‘INSULATION’

The war quickly threw Russia into an economic isolation never seen before in such a large economy. The United States said Wednesday it is banning Russian oil imports, a major policy change after the energy industry was previously exempted from sanctions.

Western companies have mostly left the Russian market. In a stark symbol, McDonalds said on Tuesday it was closing nearly 850 of its restaurants in Russia. The first of these, which opened in 1990 and lined up huge queues at Pushkinskaya Square in Moscow, has become a symbol of the end of the Cold War. Similar announcements were made by Starbucks (SBUX.O), Coca-Cola (KO.N), Pepsi (PEP.O) and others.

Russia said on Wednesday that it is preparing a quick response to sanctions that will affect the most sensitive areas of the West. More

The expulsion of Russia, the world’s largest exporter of mixed oil and gas, is sending shock waves to the global economy at a time when supply chains are already stretched and inflation in the developed world is at levels not seen since the 1980s. Retail prices for fuel pumps have risen to record highs.

Both Ukraine and Russia are also major global exporters of food and metals. Prices for grains and edible oils soared around the world, hurting poor countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Trading in nickel, which is critical to the production of electric vehicles, was canceled on Tuesday in London after the price more than doubled. More

Natasha, 83, who witnessed World War II, looks out from a shuttle bus after crossing the border between Ukraine and Poland after fleeing Mykolaiv following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, at a border checkpoint in Medyka, Poland, March 8, 2022. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Ukraine said on Wednesday it was banning the export of rye, barley, buckwheat, millet, sugar, salt and meat until the end of the year.

‘WAR MACHINE’

US President Joe Biden acknowledged that American bills would rise, but said it was necessary to limit Russia’s ability to wage war. More

“The American people will strike another powerful blow against Putin’s war machine,” he said.

The UK has said it will stop importing Russian oil and petroleum products by the end of 2022, and the European Union has published plans to cut its dependence on Russian gas by two-thirds this year. According to him, now he has enough gas until the end of winter. More

China, which signed a friendship pact with Russia three weeks before the invasion, has yet to join the West in condemning Moscow or imposing sanctions. Washington raised the possibility of taking action against Chinese firms selling Russian technology.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told the New York Times that Washington could “virtually shut down” Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (0981.HK) or any Chinese companies that continued to ship chips or other cutting-edge technology to Russia.

US intelligence chiefs told lawmakers on Tuesday that China appeared to be concerned about the difficulties Russia is facing in Ukraine and the strength of the West’s response. More

Sustained high oil prices driven by Russia’s invasion could cut the growth of major emerging oil importers such as China, Indonesia, South Africa and Turkey by as much as a percentage point, according to a World Bank official.

OUR GOAL

Western countries believe that two weeks ago, Moscow sought to quickly overthrow the Kiev government with a lightning strike, and now it is forced to reconsider its military campaign, underestimating Ukrainian resistance.

It has captured significant territory in the south, but it has yet to capture any of the major cities in northern or eastern Ukraine, and its main strike force has been stuck on the highway north of Kyiv for more than a week.

Russia desperately needs some sort of victory in cities like Mariupol and Kyiv before starting peace talks, Vadim Denisenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, wrote on Facebook Wednesday. “Therefore, our task is to survive the next 7-10 days,” he said.

As Russian forces continue their offensive in the south, Ukrainians fear Odessa, Ukraine’s main port on the Black Sea, will be the next big target. Residents are preparing to defend the historic city of a million people, a multilingual cultural center with a wide resonance for both Ukrainians and Russians. A giant blue-and-yellow banner reading “Odessa-Ukraine” was draped over sandbags in the nearly deserted city center.

“We did not give Odessa to Hitler and we will not give it to anyone else,” said Galina Zitser, director of the Odessa Philharmonic, which on Tuesday gave its first performance since the crisis began. More

Reporting by Reuters Writing by Peter Graff Editing by Tomasz Janowski

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