The Russian army continues its offensive in Ukraine, on the 11th day of the conflict. Fighting continues on several fronts, notably near the strategic port of Mariupol, in southeastern Ukraine and close to the capital Kyiv. A new attempt to evacuate civilians from the port city of Mariupol was scheduled for Sunday. Evacuations again suspended according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The humanitarian corridor should bring civilians to the city of Zaporozhye, about a three-hour drive away.
Russian shelling left “thousands of wounded,” the mayor of Mariupol said in an interview broadcast Saturday night on YouTube. Food and medicine don’t come. There has been no electricity or communication in the city for five days. “The city of Mariupol is no more,” said Vadim Boytchenko. “I ask our American and European partners: help us, save Mariupol!”
Mariupol is no more – Mayor of the port city Vadym Boychenko
Russia appealed to the European Union and NATO with a request “stop arms supplies” to Ukraine, Saturday. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow’s Stinger anti-aircraft missiles could fall into the hands of terrorists, posing a threat to airlines.
The third negotiation meeting between Ukraine and Russia scheduled for Monday. In the meantime, Russian President Vladimir Putin is threatening to deprive Ukraine of “statehood.” He also compared international sanctions against Russia to a “declaration of war”.
Putin set to achieve his goals
Emmanuel Macron spoke to Vladimir Putin again this Sunday afternoon as 1:45 indicates the Elysee Palace. It was the 14th exchange between the two presidents since mid-December. The latest exchange took place last Thursday, after which Emmanuel Macron predicted that “the worst is yet to come.”
During this new exchange, Vladimir Putin indicated that he remained determined to achieve his goals “through negotiations or war,” according to the Elysee Palace. Emmanuel Macron found himself “very determined to achieve his goals” including “what the Russian president calls the ‘denazization’ and neutralization of Ukraine” as well as the recognition of the independence of Crimea and Donbass, demands that Paris says are “unacceptable to Ukrainians.”
The Russian President also accused the Ukrainian authorities of disrupting the humanitarian evacuation operation from Mariupol. Vladimir Putin “draws attention to the fact that Kyiv continues to ignore the agreements reached on these humanitarian issues,” adding that “Ukrainian nationalists prevented the evacuation” of Mariupol and Volnovakha on Saturday, the Kremlin said.
The two presidents also discussed the nuclear threat. The French President insisted on the need to ensure the safety of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and other nuclear facilities. According to the Elysee Palace, Vladimir Putin told Emmanuel Macron that he “does not intend” to attack nuclear power plants.
Finally, Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed his determination to achieve a ceasefire and the creation of humanitarian corridors.
From new sanctions against Moscow are under discussion between Western countries, the Élysée pointed out at the end of this interview. On Tuesday, the French President will meet with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Earlier this Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke on the phone with the Russian president, calling for an “urgent general ceasefire” in Ukraine, the Turkish president said in a press release.
In the meantime, Minister Florence Parley arrived at noon this Sunday. at the NATO air base in Constanta, in the southeast of Romania, on the Black Sea, just a two-hour drive from Ukraine. “The alliance does not threaten Russia. Europe does not threaten Russia. No one is threatening Russia,” said Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly.
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“War crimes” against civilians?
The head of US diplomacy, Anthony Blinken, assessed Sunday’s reports of “war crimes” committed by Russia in Ukraine during an interview with the American channel CNN. “We have seen very credible information about deliberate attacks on civilians that would constitute a war crime,” he said, assuring that the United States was “looking into” this information.
For his part, Vladimir Putin “denied” Emmanuel Macron “that his army is targeting civilians,” the Elysee Palace points out after an interview with the two heads of state.
But according to the Ukrainian embassy in France, “the humanitarian situation in Ukraine is becoming more and more serious.” The embassy causes “permanent attacks” in residential areas and on civilian infrastructure that “causes devastating destruction” and “makes life impossible for the civilian population”.
“Mariupol remains under blockade,” the embassy also explains. “Among the main problems: residents have no access to drinking water, there is not enough food in the city, there is no electricity and there is no electricity supply.”
Anxiety around the Zaporizhzhya thermal power plant
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Sunday expressed “deep concern” over reports ofinterruption of communication with the nuclear power plant Ukrainian Zaporozhye, the largest in Europe, which Russia captured on Friday.
The IAEA, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, said in a statement that Ukraine has informed it that the management of the power plant, located in southeast Ukrainian territory, is currently under the command of Russian troops. Kyiv also said that the Russian military had shut down some mobile and internet networks and that telephone lines, mailboxes and fax machines were no longer working. According to the Ukrainian authorities, only mobile phone communication is possible there, but it is of poor quality, the IAEA said.
“I am extremely concerned about these events that I was informed about today,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi. “In order to be able to operate the plant safely, management and personnel must be allowed to carry out their vital tasks under stable conditions, without undue interference or pressure from outside.” In this regard, he said that he was “deeply concerned” about the “deterioration of the situation with vital communications between the regulatory body and the Zaporozhye NPP.” “Reliable communication between the regulator and the operator is an important part of overall nuclear safety,” he said.
France sends iodine to Ukraine
France has sent “various medical supplies” to Ukraine, including iodine, to protect against the risk of a nuclear accident while fighting the Russian army, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Sunday night.
Earlier, the French Ambassador to Ukraine announced on the air of the BFMTV channel that “2.5 million doses of iodine will be delivered in the coming days to repel any nuclear danger.”
Over 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees
The count is kept daily by the UN. The number of refugees who left Ukraine in a few days is off scale. The UN now counts more than 1.5 million refugees who have fled Ukraine after ten days of conflict, up 140,000 from the day before. Poland received the largest number of refugees arrivals since the beginning of the Russian invasion, more than every second refugee.
Since February 24, 2022, more than 1.5 million people have left Ukraine. © Visatu –Update of current battles
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Vinnitsa airport in central Ukraine was destroyed by Russian attacks. He also reports that Russia is preparing for bomb Odessa. “It would be a war crime. This will be a historic crime,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video message.
Elsewhere in the country, Ukrainian forces are “fighting fierce battles” with Russian troops for control of the cities of Mykolaiv in the south and Chernihiv in the north, the Ukrainian General Staff said in a Facebook post Sunday morning. There was also a Ukrainian military operation. in the Donetsk region (east). “The main efforts are focused on the city of Mariupol, a strategic port in the south-east of the country,” the headquarters added.
The President of Ukraine announced on Saturday that Ukrainian forces had launched a counterattack around Kharkiv (northeast), Ukraine’s second largest city (1.4 million inhabitants), the site of the heaviest bombardment since the start of the war.
According to the Ukrainian embassy in France on Sunday, the Ukrainian armed forces more than 11,000 Russian soldiers died since the beginning of the war on February 24. 985 armored vehicles, 285 tanks, 109 guns and more than 90 aircraft and helicopters were destroyed.
Up-to-date information on hostilities in Ukraine dated March 5. © VizaktuTikTok suspended in Russia
Social networking site TikTok announced on Sunday it was suspending the ability to post new videos on its platform in Russia due to a new law penalizing the dissemination of information that could “discredit” the Russian army and its invasion of Ukraine.
“In view of the new ‘false information’ law, we have no choice but to suspend live streaming and posting new content (…) while we study the possible security implications” of TikTok employees and its users. , the social network explained in a series of tweets.
Sting sings “Russians” in support of Ukrainians
He deleted this song from his repertoire for many years. This Saturday night, Sting released a video of him performing one of his biggest hits “The Russians” to show his support for the Ukrainian people and raise funds for refugees. It was written at the height of the Cold War in the face of nuclear fears. “In light of one man’s bloody and horribly misguided decision to invade a peaceful and non-threatening neighbor,” explains Sting, “the song is once again a plea for our shared humanity. tyranny, and also for the many Russians who protest against this outrage despite the threat of arrest and imprisonment.”
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