Russian forces have taken control of a city where workers live at a non-functioning Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the governor of the Kyiv region said on Saturday, citing fighting in the streets of the besieged southern port of Mariupol. After more than four weeks of fighting, Russia has been unable to occupy any major Ukrainian cities, and on Friday Moscow indicated it was limiting its military ambitions to focus on territories claimed by Russian-backed separatists in the east. However, heavy fighting erupted in several places on Saturday, suggesting there would be no immediate cessation of the conflict, which has killed thousands, sent some 3.7 million abroad and driven more than half of Ukraine’s children out of their homes. according to the United Nations. Africans trapped in Ukrainian city of Kherson without food, water, as families abroad beg for help Russian troops have seized the town of Slavutych, near the border with Belarus, where workers at the Chernobyl plant live, said the governor of the Kiev region, Oleksandr Pavlyuk. He added that the soldiers had taken over the hospital and abducted the mayor. Reuters could not independently verify the reports. Slavutych is located just outside the so-called Chernobyl Exclusion Zone – which in 1986 was the site of the worst nuclear disaster in the world – where Ukrainian personnel continued to work even after the plant was occupied by Russian forces shortly after beginning of February. 24 invasion. On the other side of the country, in Mariupol, Mayor Vadym Boichenko said the situation in the besieged city remained critical, with street battles taking place in the center. The city has been devastated by weeks of Russian fires. In a speech Saturday at the Doha Forum in Qatar, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy compared the destruction of Mariupol to the destruction of the Syrian city of Aleppo by combined Syrian and Russian forces in the civil war. “They are destroying our ports,” Zelensky said, warning of dire consequences if his country – one of the world’s largest grain producers – could not export its food. “The absence of exports from Ukraine will hit countries around the world.” Speaking via video link, he also called on energy-producing countries to increase their production so that Russia could not use its vast oil and gas wealth to “blackmail” other nations.
New Russian goals
Zelensky pressed late Friday for further talks with Moscow, after the Russian Defense Ministry said the first phase of the operation was largely complete and would now focus on the Donbass region, which borders Russia. in favor of Moscow. The Russian-backed separatist forces have been fighting Ukrainian forces in Donbas since 2014. Rethinking Russia’s goals could make it easier for President Vladimir Putin to claim a victory that saves face, analysts said. Moscow has so far stated that its goals for what it calls a “special military operation” include the demilitarization and “rewarding” of its neighbor. Ukraine and its Western allies have called it an unfounded pretext for an unprovoked invasion. In what officials described as an important speech, US President Joe Biden on Saturday will underline the West’s commitment to supporting the people of Ukraine and holding Russia accountable for the conflict, the White House said. Biden is visiting Poland, which has welcomed many of the refugees leaving the country. The United Nations has confirmed 1,081 civilian deaths and 1,707 injuries in Ukraine since the invasion, but says the actual toll is likely to be higher. About 136 children have been killed so far during the invasion, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said on Saturday. Russia’s Defense Ministry said 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed and 3,825 wounded, Interfax news agency reported on Friday. Ukraine says 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed. Reuters could not independently verify the allegations. Footage from Mariupol, home to 400,000 people before the war, showed damaged buildings, burned vehicles and shocked survivors rushing out for water and supplies. Residents have buried the victims in makeshift graves as the ground thaws. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said an agreement had been reached on Saturday to set up 10 humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from front-line hotspots. Speaking on national television, he said that citizens trying to leave Mariupol should travel in private cars, as Russian forces do not allow buses to pass through their checkpoints. Reuters could not independently verify this information. More than 100,000 people still need to be evacuated from Mariupol, Verestsuk said. To the north, battle lines near the capital Kyiv have been frozen for weeks with two main Russian armored columns glued to the northwest and east of the city. A British intelligence report on Saturday said Russian forces were relying on indiscriminate air and artillery bombardment instead of endangering large-scale ground operations. “It is possible that Russia will continue to use its heavy firepower in urban areas as it seeks to reduce its own already significant losses, at the cost of further civilian casualties,” the latest British estimate said. (Reports by Reuters reporters in Mariupol, Gleb Garanich in Kyiv, Natalia Zinets and Maria Starkova at Lviv, Alessandra Prentice and Reuters worldwide. Written by Lincoln Feast and Crispian Balmer. Edited by William Mallard and Frances Kerry) This content is displayed as provided on The Globe by the original wired service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.
title: “Russian Forces Take Chernobyl Workers Town Fighting In Centre Of Mariupol As Moscow Shifts Goals " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-13” author: “Roger Meyers”
Russian forces have taken control of a city where workers live at a non-functioning Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the governor of the Kyiv region said on Saturday, citing fighting in the streets of the besieged southern port of Mariupol. After more than four weeks of fighting, Russia has been unable to occupy any major Ukrainian cities, and on Friday Moscow indicated it was limiting its military ambitions to focus on territories claimed by Russian-backed separatists in the east. However, heavy fighting erupted in several places on Saturday, suggesting there would be no immediate cessation of the conflict, which has killed thousands, sent some 3.7 million abroad and driven more than half of Ukraine’s children out of their homes. according to the United Nations. Africans trapped in Ukrainian city of Kherson without food, water, as families abroad beg for help Russian troops have seized the town of Slavutych, near the border with Belarus, where workers at the Chernobyl plant live, said the governor of the Kiev region, Oleksandr Pavlyuk. He added that the soldiers had taken over the hospital and abducted the mayor. Reuters could not independently verify the reports. Slavutych is located just outside the so-called Chernobyl Exclusion Zone – which in 1986 was the site of the worst nuclear disaster in the world – where Ukrainian personnel continued to work even after the plant was occupied by Russian forces shortly after beginning of February. 24 invasion. On the other side of the country, in Mariupol, Mayor Vadym Boichenko said the situation in the besieged city remained critical, with street battles taking place in the center. The city has been devastated by weeks of Russian fires. In a speech Saturday at the Doha Forum in Qatar, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy compared the destruction of Mariupol to the destruction of the Syrian city of Aleppo by combined Syrian and Russian forces in the civil war. “They are destroying our ports,” Zelensky said, warning of dire consequences if his country – one of the world’s largest grain producers – could not export its food. “The absence of exports from Ukraine will hit countries around the world.” Speaking via video link, he also called on energy-producing countries to increase their production so that Russia could not use its vast oil and gas wealth to “blackmail” other nations.
New Russian goals
Zelensky pressed late Friday for further talks with Moscow, after the Russian Defense Ministry said the first phase of the operation was largely complete and would now focus on the Donbass region, which borders Russia. in favor of Moscow. The Russian-backed separatist forces have been fighting Ukrainian forces in Donbas since 2014. Rethinking Russia’s goals could make it easier for President Vladimir Putin to claim a victory that saves face, analysts said. Moscow has so far stated that its goals for what it calls a “special military operation” include the demilitarization and “rewarding” of its neighbor. Ukraine and its Western allies have called it an unfounded pretext for an unprovoked invasion. In what officials described as an important speech, US President Joe Biden on Saturday will underline the West’s commitment to supporting the people of Ukraine and holding Russia accountable for the conflict, the White House said. Biden is visiting Poland, which has welcomed many of the refugees leaving the country. The United Nations has confirmed 1,081 civilian deaths and 1,707 injuries in Ukraine since the invasion, but says the actual toll is likely to be higher. About 136 children have been killed so far during the invasion, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said on Saturday. Russia’s Defense Ministry said 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed and 3,825 wounded, Interfax news agency reported on Friday. Ukraine says 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed. Reuters could not independently verify the allegations. Footage from Mariupol, home to 400,000 people before the war, showed damaged buildings, burned vehicles and shocked survivors rushing out for water and supplies. Residents have buried the victims in makeshift graves as the ground thaws. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said an agreement had been reached on Saturday to set up 10 humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from front-line hotspots. Speaking on national television, he said that citizens trying to leave Mariupol should travel in private cars, as Russian forces do not allow buses to pass through their checkpoints. Reuters could not independently verify this information. More than 100,000 people still need to be evacuated from Mariupol, Verestsuk said. To the north, battle lines near the capital Kyiv have been frozen for weeks with two main Russian armored columns glued to the northwest and east of the city. A British intelligence report on Saturday said Russian forces were relying on indiscriminate air and artillery bombardment instead of endangering large-scale ground operations. “It is possible that Russia will continue to use its heavy firepower in urban areas as it seeks to reduce its own already significant losses, at the cost of further civilian casualties,” the latest British estimate said. (Reports by Reuters reporters in Mariupol, Gleb Garanich in Kyiv, Natalia Zinets and Maria Starkova at Lviv, Alessandra Prentice and Reuters worldwide. Written by Lincoln Feast and Crispian Balmer. Edited by William Mallard and Frances Kerry) This content is displayed as provided on The Globe by the original wired service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.
