War Still Raging in East Ukraine But “Several Long Conversations” in Peace talks
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, April 24: Even as the Ukrainian military said the Russian forces have continued to press their attacks in the east with the Russia – Ukraine war entering the third month on Sunday, Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky confirmed a news report that “several long conversations” took place on Friday with the head of Ukraine’s delegation at the peace talks between the two countries but gave no further details.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said Sunday that the Russians fired on Ukrainian positions along the entire line of contact on the war’s 60th day. It also said the Russian military intensified its offensive and assault operations in the Siverodonetsk, Kurakhiv and Popasna directions.
Russia had said it would fight to take control over all east and south of Ukraine, but Kyiv pledged to save the country, as the UN documented dozens of civilians killed in one town. Authorities in two eastern Ukrainian regions said Saturday that fighting with Russian forces was “fierce” as hope faded for a truce over Orthodox Easter weekend. But Russia’s chief negotiator confirmed that “several long conversations” took place on Friday with the head of Ukraine’s delegation at the peace talks between the two countries.
The General Staff of Ukrainian armed forces said that Russian forces have also continued to pummel the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, hitting it with airstrikes, including by long-range aircraft. The shelling comes as the Russians are pressing their offensive in a bid to gain full control over Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland called Donbas. The Russians have also shelled the Dnipro region west of Donbas, where at least one person was killed by a Russian missile, according to Dnipro regional Governor Valentyn Reznichenko.
As the war intensified, the United Nations Ukraine crisis coordinator, Amin Awad, on Sunday called for an “immediate stop” to fighting in Mariupol to allow the evacuation of trapped civilians in the battered city “today.” “The lives of tens of thousands, including women, children and older people, are at stake in Mariupol,” Awad said in a statement. “We need a pause in fighting right now to save lives. The longer we wait the more lives will be at risk. They must be allowed to safely evacuate now, today. Tomorrow could be too late.”
Ukraine on Sunday called for a truce in battered Mariupol for Orthodox Easter, celebrated in both Russia and Ukraine, as fighting rages throughout the east and south of the country. Kyiv also said Moscow was “continuously attacking” the Azovstal steel plant in besieged Mariupol, where Ukrainian forces remain holed up, and asked for special talks with Russia to free its trapped military.
“Russia is continuously attacking the Mariupol Azovstal. The place where our civilians and military are located is shelled with heavy air bombs and artillery,” presidential advisor Mikhaylo Podolyak, said on Twitter. Russian President Vladimir Putin this week ordered his forces not to attack the plant, but to lay siege to it instead.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced he would meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in Kyiv on Sunday. Zelenskyy, in a news conference, said he expected to receive specific weapons. It would be the first high-level U.S. trip to Kyiv since the war began on February 24. However, the White House has not confirmed any travel plans for Blinken and Austin. The State Department and Pentagon declined to comment.
Ukrainians marked Orthodox Easter in Kyiv with prayers for those fighting on the front lines and others trapped beyond them in places like Mariupol. St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral in Kyiv was ringed by hundreds of worshippers with baskets to be blessed. On the occasion, Zelensky highlighted the allegorical significance of the festival during his nightly address to his country’s people. “There will be a Resurrection. Life will defeat death. The truth will defeat any lies. And evil will be punished,” he said. “And Russia will have to learn these truths again, it’s only a matter of time.”
Russia has deployed Iskander-M mobile battlefield missile launchers within 60 km (40 miles) of the Ukrainian border, General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said on Sunday. “The enemy has increased the number of troops in the Belgorod region by transferring and concentrating additional units,” the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in its daily morning update. “According to available information, Iskander-M launchers have been deployed 60 km from the border with Ukraine,” it said, without providing more detail on the location of the systems.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said Ukraine had asked for “a comprehensive list of equipment” to operate its nuclear power plants, including radiation measurement devices, protective material, computer-related assistance, power supply systems and diesel generators.
The Ukrainian media based on data from the country’s armed forces claimed that Russia since the war began on February 24 has lost nearly 22,000 troops, 179 planes, 873 tanks and much more artillery. Russia’s defence ministry said its high-precision missiles struck nine Ukrainian military targets overnight, including four arms depots in the Kharkiv region where artillery weapons were stored.
A regional official in eastern Ukraine said at least eight people have been killed by the Russian shelling. Luhansk regional Governor Serhiy Haidai said that two others were wounded by the Russian barrage in the past 24 hours. It claimed Ukraine has repelled numerous Russian assaults along the line of contact in Donbas this week.
A senior U.S. official has warned China against providing “material support” to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “unprovoked” war in Ukraine, saying sanctions against Moscow would give Beijing some idea of the menu from which America could choose.
The U.S. is also discouraging India from relying on Russia, its largest defence supplier, for its defence needs, citing the crippling impact the Western sanctions will have on Russian military-industrial complexes after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, top American officials have said.
