Russian missiles reach within twenty kilometers of the European Union, and fears of a wider conflict are growing. “NATO will not allow any centimeter of Europe to be attacked by Russia,” Italian Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini said tonight.
On the thousandth dramatic day of Ukraine (here History of the eighteenth day of the war, here All articles about the crisis) There are dozens of raids in besieged cities and the kill At the Gates of Kyiv directed by Brent Reno, an American journalist who was filming the evacuation of a group of refugees.
Moscow, as we have said, is lifting the embargo as it advances its attacks to the West more and more. Today, the Yavoriv military base, a few kilometers from the Polish border, was targeted: the raid killed at least 35 people and wounded 134, according to the Ukrainian authorities. Many foreigners were also affected: according to Moscow, in fact, the base was turned into a training center for foreign fighters recruited along with Ukrainian troops: “They killed up to 180 mercenaries,” the Russian defense claims. Numbers impossible to verify and denied by the Ukrainian authorities: What is certain is that the Netherlands announces the injury of 4 Dutch nationals, and the disappearance of Portugal 4 citizens.
The target building is located about 50 kilometers from Lviv, the “capital” of the West that is believed to be safe, where many Western embassies have moved and where today – for the first time in 18 days – sirens. And it does not end there: “We will continue to eliminate foreign mercenaries,” he threatens Moscow.
Cities under siege Not only in the West, Putin’s war continues to hit every besieged area for days. The city of Mykolaiv, northwest of Kherson, the city already captured by the Russians, was bombed several times: a school was bombed, at least 11 casualties. Odessa is also targeted, through which Moscow aims to weld the breakaway republics of Donbass with Crimea, thereby blocking Ukraine’s access to the Sea of Azov.
Raids are also continuing on the outskirts of Kyiv, where the Russian presence is becoming more and more threatening. And while NATO warnings about the consequences of the possible use of chemical weapons are growing, the head of the Ukrainian police in Popasna in the Lugansk region, Oleksiy Beluchitsky, accused the enemy army of striking the city with phosphorous bombs, denouncing it.
The humanitarian situation is increasingly tragic. And the United Nations talks about 596 victims, including 43 children, and 1,067 wounded. But the authorities of Mariupol alone, the city that Putin brought to his knees, speak of the deaths of 2,187 civilians and at least 22 bombing of civilian targets within 24 hours. About a million people remained under siege without gas and heating.
Italians – Instead, there are currently 400 Italians in Ukraine, in the beginning 2000, explains Ambassador Pier Francesco Zazzo, who was interviewed at Che tempo che fa regarding from Lviv: “Many of them would like to stay, here they live their lives, their wives and children. But unfortunately some Trapped and unable to leave the country.”
Negotiations – Some flashes can be seen on the negotiating front. Kyiv’s chief negotiator Mikhailo Podolak, whose delegation is scheduled to hold a new online meeting with the Russian delegation on Monday, said Kyiv expects “concrete results” in the coming days.
He said that Moscow “became more sensitive to the Ukrainian situation and began to speak constructively”, emphasizing the timid initiatives that President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke about on Saturday. Podolyak added that Kyiv’s requests are mainly related to a ceasefire and the withdrawal of invading forces.
It also shows cautious optimism from Moscow: a member of the Russian delegation, Leonid Slutsky, spoke of “great progress”, hoping that “they will become a common position of both delegations and a document that will be signed”.
But the negotiations require the presence of an international guarantor and mediator, and the two outstanding candidates at the moment are Israel and Turkey. Ankara, via Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, is talking about “serious discussions” underway between Moscow and Kiev, saying that it is convinced that their positions “have become somewhat closer”.
Among the main issues addressed is Ukraine’s future neutrality, a point on which the rapprochement can be more easily recorded, given the concessions Zelensky made at least orally. Some concessions may also reach Donbass and recognition of Crimea, but the biggest obstacle is instead the demilitarization of Ukraine.
Moscow asks for help in Beijing – The latest rumors come in chronological order of the day from the Financial Times, which wrote, citing US sources, that Russia had asked China for military assistance to support the invasion of Ukraine. Moscow has reportedly requested military equipment and other military aid from Beijing since the beginning of the invasion.
The request sparked concerns inside the White House, and the United States prepared “to warn allies about the situation in light of indications that China could help Russia.”
(Unioneonline / L)
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