Zelensky calls for a new round of “even stronger” EU sanctions against Russia. The Ukrainians in the occupied southern regions handed over Russian passports. Nearly 800 children have been killed or injured in the war, Ukraine says. A civilian was killed in an explosion on the beach of Odessa amid growing mine concerns.
Ukraine continues to control the Azot chemical plant in the eastern city of Severodonetsk – where hundreds of civilians are taking refuge amid heavy fighting – the regional governor said on Saturday after a Russian-backed separatist claimed that 300 to 400 Ukrainian fighters had also been trapped. there. Weeks of fighting over Sheverodonetsk, a small town in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region, has pulverized parts of the city and is one of the bloodiest since Moscow began its invasion on February 24. Luhansk and neighboring Donetsk are Donbass, an area that has become the focus of Russia’s advance into eastern Ukraine. “The information about the closure of the Azot plant is a lie,” Luhansk Governor Serhiy Gaidai told the Telegram messaging app. “Our forces are holding an industrial zone in Sheverodonetsk and destroying the Russian army in the city.” Ukraine said about 800 people were hiding in several bomb shelters under the Azot plant, including about 200 employees and 600 residents of Severodonetsk. Smoke rises from the Severodonetsk Azot plant in this static image taken from a video brochure released Thursday. (Luhansk District Police / Reuters) Rodion Mirosnik, a spokesman for the Russian-backed Luhansk self-proclaimed People’s Republic, said late Saturday that some civilians had begun to flee and that Ukrainian forces could “hold” several hundred civilians hostage. Earlier, he said 300 to 400 Ukrainian fighters had been detained on the factory grounds along with civilians. Gaidai had earlier said that Russian forces controlled most of the city, although Ukraine controlled the Azot plant. In a short video speech late Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that while “fierce street fighting continues in Severodonetsk,” the Ukrainian army was gradually liberating territory further west in the Kherson region and had some success in Zaporizhzhia. “We will definitely prevail in this war that Russia has started,” he told a video conference in Singapore earlier that day. “It is on the battlefields in Ukraine that the future rules of this world are being decided.” Reuters could not independently verify the reports on the battlefield. The battle for Sheverodonetsk is reminiscent of weeks of bombing in the southern port city of Mariupol, which was razed to the ground before Russian forces took control last month. Moscow has turned its attention to expanding control of the eastern Donbass region, where pro-Russian separatists have already held some ground since 2014, when it was forced to limit its initial more sweeping campaign targets. He called its actions a “special military operation” for the disarmament and “deprivation” of Ukraine. Kyiv and its allies call it an unprovoked offensive to seize territory.
Zelensky is pushing for more EU sanctions on Russia
During a visit by a senior European Union official to Kyiv, Zelensky called for a new round of “even stronger” EU sanctions against Russia. Zelensky called for the new sanctions to target more Russian officials, including judges, and to block the activities of all Russian banks, including gas giant Gazprom, as well as all Russian companies that help Moscow “in any way.” He spoke during a brief press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the heavily guarded presidential office in the Ukrainian capital. Von der Leyen was on her second visit to Ukraine since Russia invaded her neighbor. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, right, appears with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Kyiv on Saturday. (Natacha Pisarenko / The Associated Press) The couple discussed Ukraine’s aspirations for EU membership. Zelensky, speaking through a translator, said Ukraine would “do everything” to join the bloc. “Russia wants to divide Europe, it wants to weaken Europe,” he said. Von der Leyen said the EU executive arm “works day and night” to assess Ukraine’s eligibility as an EU candidate. next week. Zelensky and some EU supporters want Ukraine to join soon. Von der Leyen described the accession process as “a value-based process” and called on Ukraine to strengthen the rule of law, fight corruption and modernize its institutions. He praised Ukraine’s “strength and resilience” in the face of Russia’s “horrible and horrible” invasion and said the EU would help rebuild the country.
Russia sets up company to sell Ukrainian grain
Officials based in Russia in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region have set up a company to buy local cereals and resell them on behalf of Moscow, a local spokesman told the Interfax news agency on Saturday. Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of stealing Ukraine’s grain and causing a global food crisis that could lead to millions of starvation deaths. Yevgeny Balitsky, head of the pro-Russian interim administration in Zaporizhzhia, said the new state-owned grain company had taken control of several facilities. Anti-tank obstacles appear in a wheat field in southern Mykolaiv, Ukraine on Saturday. (Genya Savilov / AFP / Getty Images) He said “the wheat will be Russian” and “we do not care who the buyer will be”. It was not clear whether farmers whose grains were sold by Russia were paid. Balicki said his government would not seize power by force or force grain producers to sell it. The head of Ukraine’s presidential office accused the Russian army of bombing and burning grain fields before the harvest. Andriy Yermak claimed that Moscow was “trying to repeat” a Soviet-era famine that claimed the lives of more than three million Ukrainians in 1932-33. CLOCKS Ukraine’s grain exports blocked by Russian invasion:
Ukraine’s grain exports were hampered by the Russian invasion
More than 20 million tons of Ukrainian cereals have been stuck inside the country due to the blockade of major ports by Russia. “Our soldiers are putting out the fires, but [Russia’s] “” Food terrorism must stop, “Germak wrote in the Telegram on Saturday. The accuracy of his and Balicki’s claims could not be independently verified.
Russian passports for residents of Ukraine
Russian forces occupying parts of southern Ukraine began issuing Russian passports to locals on Saturday. In the Kherson region, 23 residents received Russian passports, including the new governor who settled in Moscow, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported. “For me, this is a truly historic moment. I have always believed that we are one country and one people,” the news agency quoted Governor Volodymyr Saldo as saying. CLOCKS The inhabitants of Hersonissos describe strict terms:
Residents of the Russian-controlled city of Cherson describe strict conditions
Tens of thousands of residents of the Russian-controlled city of Kherson in southern Ukraine have fled since the beginning of the Moscow invasion. Those who remain say there are consequences for defaming Russia. Russian forces also began issuing passports in the occupied city of Melitopol, according to Russia’s state-run TASS news agency. A post in the TASS Telegram cited a local official based in Russia as the original source of the information. He did not specify how many residents had applied for or obtained Russian citizenship. Melitopol is located outside the Donbas in the Zaporizhzhia region, which is still partly occupied by Ukraine.
Report of dead children
Nearly 800 children have been killed or injured in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, Ukrainian authorities said on Saturday. According to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, at least 287 children died as a result of military activity, while at least 492 others were injured. The statement said the data was not conclusive and that it was based on investigations by juvenile prosecutors. The agency said children in Ukraine’s Donetsk region suffered the most, with 217 dead or injured, compared with 132 and 116 in Kharkiv and Kyiv, respectively.
Civilian dead in explosion on the beach
Officials in the city of Odessa said on Saturday that a man was killed in an explosion while visiting a beach on the Black Sea, where landmines are a growing concern. The city council said via Telegram that the man was there with his wife and son, despite warnings to stay away from the area’s beaches. He was testing the temperature and depth of the water when the explosion occurred. Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for landmines in the Black Sea.
