The Ukrainian president issued the warning on Saturday morning as the humanitarian crisis in the besieged city of Mariupol deepened, with Russian forces blocking evacuation operations for a second straight day. The Kremlin, meanwhile, has accused the Ukrainians of launching a helicopter attack on a fuel depot on Russian soil. Ukraine has denied responsibility for the attack in Belgorod near the border between the two countries, but if Moscow’s claim is confirmed, it will be the first known attack in the war in which Ukrainian aircraft penetrated Russian airspace. “Certainly this is not something that can be seen as creating a comfortable environment for the talks to continue,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov, five weeks after Moscow began sending more than 150,000 troops across the border. of Ukraine. Russia has continued to withdraw some of its ground forces from areas around Kyiv after announcing earlier this week that it would reduce military activity near the Ukrainian capital and the northern city of Chernihiv. A damaged Russian tank in Chernihiv. Photo: Andrea Filigheddu / NurPhoto / REX / Shutterstock “They are mining the whole territory. “They are mining houses, mining equipment and even the bodies of people who have been killed,” Zelenski said in his usual video address to the nation. “There are a lot of travel cables, a lot of other dangers.” Amid reports of rocket attacks on the central Ukrainian cities of Poltava and Kremenchuk on Saturday morning, Zelensky said the Russians were withdrawing “slowly but surely”. However, he also urged Russian families not to let their young men enlist in the army as the Kremlin’s annual military conscription begins. “We do not need more dead people here. Save your children from becoming bad. Do not send them to the army. Do everything you can to keep them alive. “Keep them at home,” he said, adding that he believed Russia was trying to recruit conscripts from Crimea. The Ukrainian army announced on Friday that it had recaptured 29 settlements in the Kiev and Chernihiv regions. However, Ukraine and its allies have warned that the Kremlin is not de-escalating to boost confidence at the negotiating table, as it has claimed, but is instead resupplying and moving its troops to the east of the country. These moves appear to be preparing for an intense attack on the predominantly Russian-speaking Donbass region in the east of the country, which includes Mariupol. Children sleep on a bus as a convoy carrying displaced people from Mariupol and Melitopolis arrives in Zaporizhzhia. Photo: Emre Caylak / AFP / Getty Images Zelensky did not say anything about the last round of talks, which took place on Friday via video. In a round of talks earlier in the week, Ukraine said it would be willing to abandon its bid to join NATO and declare neutrality – Moscow’s main demand – in exchange for security guarantees from many other countries. The invasion has left thousands dead and has displaced more than 4 million refugees from Ukraine. Mariupol, the devastated and besieged southern port city, has seen some of the worst of the war. His arrest would be a major reward for Russian President Vladimir Putin, giving his country an unbreakable land bridge to Crimea, which was seized by Ukraine in 2014. On Friday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was unable to carry out an operation to evacuate civilians from Mariupol by bus. City officials said the Russians were blocking access to the city. “We do not see any real desire on the part of the Russians and their satellites to give the people of Mariupol the opportunity to evacuate to Ukrainian-controlled territories,” Petro Andriuschenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, wrote in a Telegram message. He said Russian forces “categorically do not allow any humanitarian cargo, even in small quantities, to enter the city.” About 100,000 people are believed to remain in the city, up from 430,000 before the war. Weeks of Russian bombing and street fighting have caused severe shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine. “We are running out of adjectives to describe the horror suffered by the people of Mariupol,” said Red Cross spokesman Juan Watson. On Thursday, Russian forces blocked a 45-bus convoy trying to evacuate people from Mariupol and seized 14 tonnes of food and medical supplies destined for the city, Ukrainian authorities said. Zelensky said more than 3,000 people had been able to leave Mariupol on Friday. “Europe has no right to remain silent about what is happening in our Mariupol,” Zelenski said. “The whole world must respond to this humanitarian catastrophe.”
The Biden government will provide additional $ 300 million in security assistance to Ukraine, which will include laser-guided missile systems, drones and commercial satellite imagery services. A senior Chinese diplomat says the government is not deliberately circumventing sanctions against Russia. Speaking on Saturday, a day after the virtual summit between China and the European Union, Wang Lutong told reporters that China is contributing to the global economy by conducting regular trade with Russia. At least three Russian ballistic missiles were fired late Friday in the Black Sea region of Odessa, said regional leader Maksim Marchenko. The Ukrainian military said the Iskander missiles did not hit the critical infrastructure they were targeting. Odessa is the largest port in Ukraine and the seat of its navy. The UK Department of Defense says the destruction of oil tanks at the Belgorod depot means a possible loss of fuel and ammunition to the invading forces. It is likely to add more pressure to Russia’s already strained supply chain. Supplies to Russian forces surrounding Kharkhiv may be particularly affected.
