The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has warned that the Russian invasion of his country is just the beginning and that Moscow has plans to seize foreign power, after a Russian general said he wanted to take full control of Southern Ukraine”. All nations that believe in the victory of life and death like us must fight against us. They must help us because we are the first in lineand who will follow?” Zelenskiy said in a video address late Friday.
Deputy military commander quoted
RustamMinnekayev, Russia’s deputy military commander in central Russia, has been quoted by Russian state media as saying that “full control of southern Ukraine” would give him access to Transnistria, Russia’s rebel-held western Moldova. That would cut through the entire coast of Ukraine and mean Russian troops pushing hundreds of miles west of the current lines, passing through the Ukrainian coastal cities Mykolaiv and Odesa. This statement was one of the most comprehensive details about Moscow’s ambitions in Ukraine and suggests that Russia does not plan to end its invasion anytime soon.
On Twitter, the Ministry of Defense in Ukraine said Minnekayev’s comments showed that Russia no longer hides its intentions.Moscow, it said, had now “agreed that the goal of a ‘second phase’ of war was not to defeat the mythical Nazis, but simply to occupy eastern and southern UkraineImperialism as it is.”
Russia says it is running a “special military campaign” to overthrow Ukraine and free its people from dangerous nationalists. Ukraine and its Western allies called for an attack on Russia in Feb. 24 as an unjust war of wrath.
The Moldovan Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the Moscow ambassador on Friday to express “deep concern” about the general’s comments. Moldova was neutral. Moldova last month applied to join the European Union, forming a Pro-Western course accelerated by the Russian invasion. US State spokeswoman Jalina Porter said Washington strongly supported the Moldovan sovereignty.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment when asked whether Russia has increased its terms of reference and how Moscow sees a political future in southern Ukraine.
US Secretary met Ukrainian Prime Minister
As US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Washington, Zelenskiy said the allies had finally delivered the weapons Kyiv had requested. President Joe Biden said on Thursday he had approved another $ 800 million in military aid to Ukraine, including heavy artillery, ammunition, and drones. Canada said on Friday it had provided Ukraine with more heavy weapons.
EU official said in the next few weeks it was likely to take a decision. “We are likely to see a dramatic increase in attacks by Russian troops in the east (and along the coast),” he told reporters.The Ukrainian military said Russian troops had intensified their attacks in the eastern part of the country and were trying to attack the Kharkiv region, north of their main target, the Donbas.Ukrainian troops in the south and east say they have called off 11 Russian attacks, killing 130 soldiers and destroying 12 tanks and 27 other vehicles, Russia’s defense ministry said. It also reported that it had hit a number of goals in the Donetsk and Kharkiv areas on Friday.
RamzanKadyrov, Russia’s Chechnya regional leader who often describes himself as Putin’s “foot soldier”, wrote in his Telegram account late Friday that Chechnya was sending hundreds of volunteers to fight for Russia in Ukraine. In Geneva, a United Nations human rights office said there was growing evidence of Russian war crimes, including indiscriminate bombings and short-lived assassinations. He said Ukraine also appeared to be using weapons with impartial results.
Russia denies targeting civilians and says that, without evidence, the atrocities perpetrated by its troops were carried out. Ukraine has said it will punish any soldiers found guilty of war crimes. Russia has said it has “safely detained” thousands of Ukrainian soldiers trapped in metal in Mariupol, the vast port of Donbas, a day after President Vladimir Putin said troops would not bother to eliminate them.
Putin declared victory
Putin has declared victory in the city after a two-month siege. In a Russian-led operation in Mariupol, residents who looked stunned came out this week and went after burnt buildings and collapsed cars. Volunteers dressed in white sumat suits and masks roamed the ruins, collecting corpses from houses and loading them onto a truck marked “Z”, a symbol of the Russian offensive.
Ukraine estimates tens of thousands of civilians who died during the Russian siege of the city and says 100,000 civilians are still alive and need to be evacuated.Deputy Prime Minister IrynaVereshchuk on Friday said it was “possible” that the relief center from Mariupol could be reopened on Saturday.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will visit Moscow on Tuesday to meet with Putin and hold urgent talks to bring peace to Ukraine, a spokesman said, adding that Guterres would be heading to Kyiv to meet with Zelenskiy.
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