The delegations of Russia and Ukraine meet this Monday for the third time since the Russian invasion began twelve days ago. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned the people that he believes there will be more high-intensity shelling of cities, and criticized the international community for not taking more action to stop Russia’s deadly attack.
President Volodymyr Zelensky : “The aggressor’s audacity is a clear signal to the West that the sanctions against Russia are not enough, because he did not understand, did not feel and did not see that the world is very determined to stop this war. You will not be able to ignore this reality. They will not be able to ignore the new murders in Ukraine.”
On Friday, Zelensky addressed US lawmakers, calling on them to establish a no-fly zone in Ukraine, impose tougher sanctions against Russia, such as banning the import of oil from that country, and increase military aid. The United States and NATO have rejected the idea of imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine, citing fears the move would escalate the conflict with Russia. The United States and NATO have not been directly involved in combat operations in Ukraine, but have delivered more than 17,000 anti-tank weapons, including Javelin missiles, to the country through neighboring countries.
According to Nations, the total number of civilian deaths in Ukraine has exceeded 364, although the true figure could be much higher. Zelensky warned on Sunday that Russia was preparing to attack the port city of Odessa, a key town of 1 million people in southwestern Ukraine. Missiles launched by Russia destroyed the international airport of the city of Vinnytsia, located in the center-west of the country, on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Human Rights Watch organization stated that Russia used cluster bombs in its attack on Kharkiv last week, which could be considered a war crime. A US official said on Sunday that Russia has fired 600 missiles since the invasion began and that 95% of the troops it deployed around Ukraine in the weeks leading up to the conflict are now inside the country. The city of Mariupol is under siege by Russian armed forces, and attempts to evacuate trapped civilians repeatedly failed over the weekend.
Russia has announced that it will create evacuation corridors for civilians fleeing the fighting, but Ukraine criticized the plan because it forces them to leave the country through Russia or Belarus. Thousands of people are also fleeing Zaporizhia, where the Russian military now controls the operations of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, after taking control of the facility on Friday. The number of Ukrainian refugees has already exceeded 1.5 million. These were the words expressed by a mother who fled to Poland with her children, but she had to leave her husband behind in the Ukraine.
Svitlana Zinchuk : “Now I feel safe, but I am very depressed because the war divided my family in two. I left my love in Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, a group of leading civil rights lawyers from around the world filed a complaint with the UN on behalf of African refugees who suffered racist discrimination by authorities while trying to flee Ukraine. Visit our website, democracynow.org, to see the interview we had with one of those refugees.
For their part, residents of the Ukrainian city of Kherson, which is occupied by Russia, took to the streets on Saturday to protest against the Russian armed forces.