Moscow once again demands the capitulation of Ukraine, gives a new ultimatum to the defenders of Mariupol and confirms that the “next phase” of its “special operation” has already begun
The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, confirmed today what was announced yesterday by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, that is, that Russia has already begun the second stage of its “special operation” against Ukraine and it will be carried out on its part this , in Donbass. “The next phase of the special military operation in Ukraine begins,” Lavrov told the India Today news portal.
“The operation in eastern Ukraine is aimed, as announced from the very beginning, at the complete liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics. This operation will continue. The next phase of it is starting now. I’m sure it will be a very important moment,” the Russian foreign minister said.
He further reiterated his recent assertions that the military intervention against Ukraine has been caused by “the hegemonic desire of the United States and the West to lead the world (…) they created a platform against us on our borders,” alluding to Ukraine. Lavrov also deplored the fact that Washington and his allies are engaged in sending weapons to the kyiv troops.
But this great Russian offensive, which, for the moment, is being carried out almost exclusively through air raids, artillery fire and missile attacks, is not confined to Donbass alone. The Russian Defense Ministry explained today in a statement that last morning there were dozens of bombardments against the part of Donbass under Ukrainian control, but also against targets in the Mykolaiv, Zaporizhia and Dnipro regions. Lviv, in the extreme west of the country, was also bombed yesterday.
Despite these devastating attacks that have caused new casualties and destruction of infrastructure, progress on the ground by Russian troops and rebel forces in Donetsk and Luhansk has been minimal. They have only managed to enter Kreminna, northwest of Severodonetsk, where fierce street fighting is taking place with the Ukrainian Army, whose forces continue to hold off the adversary in the rest of that part of the front: in Severodonetsk, Rubizhne, Lisichansk and Popasna. . The Russian Army is also failing to clear the path from Izium towards Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
In this context, the Russian Defense Ministry today urged the Ukrainian Army to lay down its arms and surrender. “Do not test your luck, make the right decision, to end military actions and lay down your arms,” reads the Russian military note. At the same time, the head of the Russian National Defense Control Center, Colonel Mikhail Mizintsev, issued a new ultimatum to the forces of the last stronghold of resistance in Mariupol, the Azovstal steel mill, to lay down their arms, but it has not worked. nor did he do so on Sunday in another attempt to achieve his surrender.
So Azovstal, where in addition to the Ukrainian military, nationalist units and the mercenary battalion there are more than a thousand civilians, according to the Ukrainian authorities, has just begun to be bombed, according to CNN reports. Previously, the spokesman for the Donetsk militias, Eduard Basurin, assured that “the assault groups selected to assault this place – the metallurgical plant – have begun their work.” He further indicated that “Russia is helping a lot in this with aviation and artillery.” In his words, “in the near future, these pseudo-Ukrainian people’s defenders will surrender and the population will be able to breathe a sigh of relief.”
On the other hand and due to the continuous attacks, the Ukrainian authorities decided today, for the third consecutive day, not to open corridors to evacuate civilians. This was announced by the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister, Irina Vereshuk, who referred to “intense artillery attacks in Donbass” and “lack of agreement with the Russian side” to establish the routes of humanitarian corridors.
#Russia #launches #massive #bombardments #Donbas #advances #troops