Volodymyr Zelenskyy extends olive branch to Putin as he demands stronger Western support in face of an invasion threat.
It has dismissed western claims of an invasion plan as “hysteria”. Russia on Saturday said at least two shells fired from a government-held part of eastern Ukraine landed across the border, but Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba dismissed that claim as “a fake statement.” “There has been reported from the intelligence agency here in Ukraine saying that they have had information that units from the Wagner mercenary group have been brought in to Donetsk,” said Al Jazeera’s Andrew Simmons, reporting from Kyiv. Volodymyr Zelenskyy extends olive branch to Putin as he demands stronger Western support in face of Russian aggression. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he wants new security guarantees to fix the “almost broken” global security architecture, as he urged the West to impose sanctions on Moscow amid escalating tensions in the country’s east. Volodymyr Zelenskyy extends olive branch to Putin as he demands stronger Western support in face of Russian aggression.
Kyiv dismissed the call-up and moves to evacuate civilian residents of Russian-held Donetsk and Luhansk areas as a provocation.
Speaking next to a crater caused by one of the shells in the courtyard of the Stanytsia Luhanska kindergarten, Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and minister for the reintegration of occupied territories, said Moscow sought to create panic in Russian-held parts of Donetsk and Luhansk by spreading false plans of an alleged Ukrainian offensive and staging explosions there. Ukrainian officials say that the shelling, which has increased all along the front lines as tensions with Moscow have worsened, is mostly exploratory, with Russian-backed forces seeking to provoke counterstrikes by Ukrainian units. —Ann M. Simmons in Moscow and Laurence Norman in Berlin contributed to this article. Mr. Monastyrskiy, citing Ukrainian intelligence, said Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group have arrived in Donetsk and Luhansk with orders to blow up critical infrastructure and pin the blame on Kyiv. The claim couldn’t be independently confirmed. Russian military exercises that involve some 30,000 troops in Belarus are slated to end on Sunday. Russia has repeatedly said it intends to pull back these troops. They are trying to provoke us to shoot back, so that they could say that the temporarily occupied areas are being assaulted,” Col. Vukolov said. Shelling could be heard throughout Saturday in Stanytsia Luhanska, the Ukrainian-controlled town where the only crossing point between Russian-held areas and Ukrainian parts of Donbas—as the Donetsk and Luhansk regions are collectively known—operates daily. “But we stand ready to respond to everything.” Until last week shelling and firing incidents along the front line averaged five to six a day, but that number has surged more than 10-fold in the last three days, said Lt. Gen. Oleksandr Pavliuk, the commander of Ukrainian forces in Donbas. “The enemy artillery is shooting from behind civilians,” he said. “And, in accordance with our principles, we do not fire back at civilians.” Washington and Kyiv have warned that Moscow is looking to use fighting in Donetsk and Luhansk, where roughly 14,000 people have died since Russia fomented an uprising in 2014, as a pretext for a broader military operation against Ukraine. Russian officials said Saturday that two artillery shells fell inside Russia near the border, causing no damage. “I appeal to all the men of the Republic, who are able to hold weapons in their hands, to stand up for their families, their children, wives, mothers,” Mr. Pushilin said in a televised address. head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, ordered the general mobilization of men between 18 and 55 years old, including reservists, telling them to report to enlistment offices. The escalation followed Western warnings that Moscow is about to launch an all-out invasion of Ukraine.
Invasion 'must be seen to fail', says Boris Johnson, as western allies hold secret talks about how to give military backing to Kyiv.
The west would not wish to be seen to be fomenting a futile and bloody resistance that was risking a wider conflict between Nato and Russia. Ukraine’s pro-western government said it was committed to dialogue and had no intention of launching an attack, or carrying out acts of sabotage in the Donbas region. Steps have also been taken to protect Nato’s eastern flank, principally in Poland, Romania and the Baltics. Ukrainian officials in the town said there had been frequent bursts of incoming fire over the past few days. The Ukrainian capital was also a possible target, it indicated. Civilians living close to the frontline with separatist-controlled territory experienced another day of intense shelling and bombardment.
MOSCOW — The manufactured war scare mounted by Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine — using potentially 700,000 people as props — unraveled quickly.
One group assembled at a local school in Donetsk, according to video sent by a local journalist who was on the scene. Almost as soon as the evacuation announcement was made, the narrative of a massive Ukrainian attack began to fray. The shelled wall faced separatist territory — but that did not stop an online disinformation campaign by pro-Moscow figures who circulated images of the kindergarten with construction machinery added digitally to suggest the machine punched the hole. Several people interviewed said that those who left were motivated by a 10,000-ruble payment on arrival in Russia, about $130, that the Russian government announced Friday. There is no panic in the city. And traffic apps showed light traffic on the roads from the separatist regions to Rostov. RBK media, an independent Russian outlet, reported 3,384 people leaving the separatist zones by midday Saturday.
Leaders of self-proclaimed breakaway republics in eastern Ukraine announce plan to evacuate residents to Russia.
Ukraine said Russia was planning staged attacks, including a faked video of a raid on a chemical plant, and falsely accusing it of provocations in the separatist areas. Russia has said it has no intention to attack Ukraine and accused the West of irresponsible fear-mongering. Millions of civilians are believed to live in the two rebel-held regions of eastern Ukraine; most are Russian speakers and many have already been granted Russian citizenship. Leaders of self-proclaimed breakaway republics in eastern Ukraine announce plan to evacuate hundreds of thousands of residents to Russia. Warning sirens blared in Donetsk after it and the other self-proclaimed “People’s Republic”, Luhansk, announced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people to Russia, with women, children and the elderly going first. Leaders of self-proclaimed breakaway republics in eastern Ukraine announce plan to evacuate hundreds of thousands of residents to Russia.
Follow live coverage on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, just as diplomats at ...
The fate of Ukraine has enormous implications for the rest of the continent, the health of the global economy and even America’s place in the world. It could also raise fuel prices across the world. In the coming days, many others far from the field of battle maybe find themselves buffeted by ripple effects.
As fears grow of a Russian invasion of his country, the Ukrainian president offered to meet with his Russian counterpart. The U.S. warned of swift sanctions ...
On Saturday, The Associated Press and Reuters reported that top Ukrainian officials were fired at in a conflict zone in eastern Ukraine and had to flee to a bomb shelter. "When our soldiers are being killed, we know we need to respond, but we understand who is killing us, what these military groups are." "We will target Russia's financial institutions and key industries. "If Russia further invades your country, as I mentioned earlier today, we will impose swift and severe economic sanctions." Pick the platform that you like," Zelenskyy said. "We are ready to sit down and speak.
A Russian-backed separatist leader in eastern Ukraine announced an evacuation to Russia, alleging the Ukrainian military was preparing an offensive in the ...
"Announcements like these are further attempts to obscure through lies and disinformation that Russia is the aggressor in this conflict," a State Department official said on condition of anonymity. A Russian-backed separatist leader in eastern Ukraine announced an emergency evacuation to Russia, alleging that Ukraine built up its military presence for an offensive in the area. The announcement came as the U. S. and NATO allies pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin to pull his troops back from Ukraine. Russia denies planning an invasion of Ukraine and says it sent some of its troops back to their regular barracks. Russia raised further alarm Saturday with ballistic and cruise missile tests. Pushilin alleged a Ukrainian buildup of forces and weaponry, including U. S.-provided advanced weapons like Javelin antitank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, was the reason for the evacuation. "The armed forces of the enemy are in combat formations and are ready for the forceful capture of Donbas. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy will soon issue a decree to the military to go on the offensive and implement a plan for the invasion of the territory," he said.
Pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine's breakaway states have ordered the evacuation of civilians to Russia accusing Ukraine of launching a large military ...
according to the Associated Presswas rushed to the hospital but could not be saved.The lifeless body of a 6-year-old girl, who according to the Associated Press was killed by Russian shelling in a residential area, lies on a medical cart at a hospital in Mariupol on February 27. According to the Washington Post, he was a member of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces, which is comprised mostly of volunteers.People crowd on a platform as they try to board a westbound train in Kyiv on March 4.A bullet-ridden bus is seen after an ambush in Kyiv on March 4.People take shelter on the floor of a hospital during shelling in Mariupol on March 4.A member of the Ukrainian military gives instructions to civilians in Irpin on March 4. The building was destroyed by shelling.A woman reads a story to children while they take shelter in a subway station in Kyiv on March 2.A member of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces inspects damage in the backyard of a house in Gorenka on March 2.A Ukrainian woman takes her children over the border in Siret, Romania, on March 2. She gave birth a day earlier, and she and her husband haven't yet decided on names for the twins.A member of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces sits with a weapon in Kyiv on March 2.Paramedics treat an elderly woman wounded by shelling before transferring her to a hospital in Mariupol on March 2.Residents of Zhytomyr, Ukraine, work in the remains of a residential building on March 2. according to the Associated Presswas rushed to the hospital but could not be saved.The lifeless body of a 6-year-old girl, who according to the Associated Press was killed by Russian shelling in a residential area, lies on a medical cart at a hospital in Mariupol on February 27. He urged people to remain calm.Police officers inspect the remains of a missile that landed in Kyiv on February 24.A staff member of a Kyiv hotel talks on the phone on February 24.Smoke rises from an air defense base after an apparent Russian strike in Mariupol on February 24. The moment drew comparisons to the iconic "Tank Man" of Tiananmen Square. People in Kyiv board a train heading to the west of the country on February 26. According to the Washington Post, he was a member of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces, which is comprised mostly of volunteers.People crowd on a platform as they try to board a westbound train in Kyiv on March 4.A bullet-ridden bus is seen after an ambush in Kyiv on March 4.People take shelter on the floor of a hospital during shelling in Mariupol on March 4.A member of the Ukrainian military gives instructions to civilians in Irpin on March 4. The building was destroyed by shelling.A woman reads a story to children while they take shelter in a subway station in Kyiv on March 2.A member of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces inspects damage in the backyard of a house in Gorenka on March 2.A Ukrainian woman takes her children over the border in Siret, Romania, on March 2. She gave birth a day earlier, and she and her husband haven't yet decided on names for the twins.A member of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces sits with a weapon in Kyiv on March 2.Paramedics treat an elderly woman wounded by shelling before transferring her to a hospital in Mariupol on March 2.Residents of Zhytomyr, Ukraine, work in the remains of a residential building on March 2. He urged people to remain calm.Police officers inspect the remains of a missile that landed in Kyiv on February 24.A staff member of a Kyiv hotel talks on the phone on February 24.Smoke rises from an air defense base after an apparent Russian strike in Mariupol on February 24. The moment drew comparisons to the iconic "Tank Man" of Tiananmen Square. People in Kyiv board a train heading to the west of the country on February 26.
Historically, at least compared to the Soviet era during the Cold War, Russia's force is small, Boston said, but it's “essentially an invasion force.” The ...
They have an understanding of how to operate in that terrain. They’re probably enjoying the weather on the trip through the [Mediterranean Sea] compared to December north of the Arctic Circle. But they came a long ways to hold exercises. It sounds like what you’re saying is that once you start a war, the idea that it can be a contained thing is not realistic. It might be a while before we start to see the cellphone videos, or people getting text messages or phone calls, out of areas where the Russians have entered. I don’t even want to think about that — the fact that they’re going to be waving this around. Russia has a lot of control over how many people they have to manage, because they can decide how much terrain they want to conquer. Russia’s army is 20 percent of the size of the Soviet Army. That has implications because — although I think there is good reason to believe they have substantial advantages in a high-intensity conventional war against Ukrainian forces — they do not have unlimited soldiers. As I mentioned, all of the armies in Europe are smaller than they used to be. If they wanted to start with an air and missile and cyber campaign, for example, to go after Ukrainian leadership targets and high-priority military targets, if they wanted to do that before they launched the land operation, they could have done that. That ambiguity, however, comes from the fact that they have a great many things that they could do. In a historical sense, all of the armies in Europe are a shadow of their Cold War selves. “They don’t have to do a lot else to prepare militarily.”