In Antalya, Turkey, the meeting between the two Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers, Sergei Lavrov e Dmytro Kuleba, did not lead to the desired results. “There has been no progress towards a ceasefire” in Ukraine, in today’s talks, announced the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmytro Kuleba, who defined the meeting as “difficult” and said “we are ready to meet again. new in this format if there are prospects to find a solution. “Kuleba said he had asked for a 24-hour truce and a humanitarian corridor for the escape of civilians from Mariupol, but for the Ukrainian foreign minister his Russian counterpart” is came to Antalya to speak and not to decide ”.
The two ministers did not hold a joint press conference and Lavrov showed no willingness to make concessions, repeating Russian demands that Ukraine be disarmed and accept neutral status. Moscow stressed that “there is no alternative” to the Russian-Ukrainian talks on Belarusian territory but that Kiev continues to view with skepticism, asking instead for a direct meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky. On this, Lavrov assured that the Kremlin leader is not against it, but as long as there are “specific” issues on the table that at the moment seem difficult to outline.
Mariupol still under siege, the university also hit
Yesterday the Russian army bombed a children’s hospital in Mariupol, killing 17 civilians. To the condemnations of the international community, Moscow replied that the patients and medical personnel had long since been evacuated, and that the hospital was used as a “military base for the nationalists” of the Azov battalion. The Kremlin announced it would investigate the matter further. Meanwhile, a new air strike has targeted the port city on the Sea of Azov. Russian troops took control of “several neighborhoods”, according to the Russian defense minister, and Ukrainian authorities accused the Russian army of hitting houses, the theater and the university building. A humanitarian convoy forced to back off for the fighting. For people stranded without food, water, electricity and medicines, the situation “becomes increasingly dire and desperate,” Sasha Volkov, deputy head of the International Red Cross delegation in the Ukrainian city, said in an audio message.
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Fights also in other cities
But the city of Mariupol was not the only one to suffer from the Russian attack. The “Mykilsky” shopping center in Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, was destroyed after a night of Russian bombing. This was reported by Ukrainian military sources on the ground, posting images of the mall before and after the destruction on Facebook. According to the British broadcaster BBC, an overnight bombing hit a residential building near the city of Kharkiv causing four deaths, including two children. The state emergency services also let it be known that a 5-year-old girl was injured in the attack, rushed to the hospital, and that rescuers are continuing to search to extract the bodies from the rubble. Fighting continues on the outskirts of Kiev, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital announced that the “city is a fortress” and that soldiers have erected checkpoints and dug trenches to block the advance.
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Chernobyl, Kiev-Moscow accusation exchange
Energoatom, the Ukrainian state-owned company that manages the four nuclear power plants in the country, called the news announced by Moscow that Belarusian experts had restored the electricity supply to Chernobyl a “fake news”. Yesterday, the Ukrainian energy operator Ukrenergo, in a note released on Facebook, had made it known that the Russians had “completely disconnected the nuclear power plant from the electricity grid” which came under their control on 24 February. The International Atomic Energy Agency (Aiea) assured that this would not have any impact on security, after the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmyto Kuleba, had raised the alarm over the risk of radiation. Kuleba met with the director general of Aiea, Rafael Grossi, in Antalya to whom he told that “Russia must immediately withdraw its forces from the nuclear power plants of Chenobyl and Zaporizhzhia to avoid a disaster in Europe”. The two discussed ways to ensure the safety and security of nuclear facilities in Ukraine during the Russian invasion.
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Putin is attacking the West
Russian President Vladimir Putin returns to attack the West. “It is unleashing an economic war on our country and we will take measures to counter it,” he said during a videoconference meeting with his ministers. According to Putin, the rise in oil and gas prices is not due to Russia, but to the policies of the West. And the sanctions could cause a further increase in global food prices. “Russia and Belarus – underlined the Kremlin leader – are among the largest suppliers of mineral fertilizers in world markets. If they continue to create problems with financing, insurance, logistics, the delivery of our products, then the prices, which are already exorbitant, will rise again ”. Putin assured that Russia will find a solution to these problems together with partners who do not recognize sanctions. “The Russian economy will adapt to the new situation and strengthen the country’s independence and sovereignty,” the Kremlin leader added. “We will not isolate ourselves from anyone. We are open to working with all our foreign partners who want to do so “, he assured him.