A Ukrainian soldier standing near an armored vehicle outside Kharkiv on Saturday | AP
Russian and Ukrainian troops continued to engage for a fourth consecutive day, leaving behind a trail of destruction across Ukraine. Ukrainian leaders are now preparing to discuss “peace” with their Russian counterparts at Ukraine’s border with Belarus.
The conflict has already claimed 68 civilian lives, the United Nations said Sunday. Its refugee agency says an estimated 368,000 Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
After denying any plans to invade Ukraine for weeks, Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24 ordered his troops to enter the country for a “special military operation”. By this time, Russia had already amassed nearly 200,000 boots on Ukraine’s borders.
READ: Ukraine forms ‘international brigade’ to fight Russia, Zelenskyy urges foreigners to sign up
While Putin is yet to disclose his plans for Ukraine, Western officials believe he wants to overthrow the elected government in Kyiv and install a puppet government in its place. This is being viewed in the context of Russia’s efforts to redraw the map of Europe and revive Moscow’s Cold War-era influence.
Responding to Russian aggression in Ukraine, Belgium, Finland and Canada have joined the list of countries that have shut down their airspace to Russian planes. Similar restrictions have already been announced by France, Germany, Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Luxembourg.
Now, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is set to vote to convene a rare emergency special session of the 193-member UN General Assembly (UNGA) to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Russia must be stripped from UNSC seat: Zelenskyy
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the nation on Sunday. Accusing Russia of taking the “path of evil”, Zelenskyy said the Russian Federation should be stripped of its UN Security Council seat.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaking to the nation in Kyiv on Sunday | AP
“The past night was tough – more shelling, more bombing of residential areas and civilian infrastructure. There is not a single facility in the country that the occupiers wouldn’t consider as admissible targets,” President Zelenskyy told Ukrainians.
Ukraine has also filed a suit against Russia at The International Court of Justice (ICJ). However, it is unclear on precisely what grounds the case has been brought to The Hague.
Putin puts nuclear deterrent forces on alert
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday “thanked” Russian special operations forces for carrying out his orders in Ukraine. “I want to thank the command, the personnel of the special operations forces, veterans of the special forces units for their loyalty to the oath, for their impeccable service in the name of the people of Russia and our great Motherland,” he said in a video message.
Later in the day, Putin directed his defense minister and chief of the military’s General Staff to put Russia’s nuclear deterrent forces in a “special regime of combat duty.”
Russian President Putin meeting Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his deputy Valery Gerasimov in Moscow on Sunday | AP
The announcement has not gone down well with the US and its European allies. While NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg termed the nuclear alert as “dangerous and irresponsible”, the White House accused the Russian President of “manufacturing threats” by sounding the nuclear alarm.
As per reports, the UN’s nuclear watchdog has decided to hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss the escalation.
Curfew in Kyiv, street fighting in Kharkiv
The day started with air raid sirens going off in the capital city of Kyiv, followed by a series of huge explosions. Residents have been asked by Ukrainian authorities to adhere to a curfew and remain indoors.
In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, street fighting was reported between Russian and Ukrainian forces. Oleh Sinegubov, the Governor of Kharkiv, said in a statement later that Ukraine’s army and police have “cleansed” the city of Russian troops.
An armored personnel carrier burns in Kharkiv on Sunday | AP
Russia, on the other hand, claimed it has “blocked” the cities of Kherson and Berdyansk, among others. Reports are also pouring in of Russian troops closing in on strategic ports in southern Ukraine and taking control of an airbase near Kherson and the Azov Sea city of Henichesk.
Fighting has also been reported near the cities of Odesa and Mykolaiv.
While Russia has repeatedly claimed that its forces are targeting only Ukrainian military installations, multiple reports have confirmed that bridges, schools and residential neighborhoods have been hit in the four days since the invasion began.
India’s Operation Ganga
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has initiated ‘Operation Ganga’ to evacuate Indian nationals, including students, stranded in Ukraine.
A total of 667 Indians have returned to the country on three flights from the Romanian capital of Bucharest over the last 24 hours. Another 240 Indians stranded in Ukraine were flown to Delhi from Budapest on Sunday.
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said the Government of India estimates that over 15,000 Indians are still in Ukraine, adding that border crossings to Romania and Hungary are functional.
Indians, evacuated from Ukraine, upon their arrival at Delhi’s IGI Airport on Sunday | PTI
Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Kyiv has advised Indian nationals to “move away from conflict zones to the Western region”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday chaired a meeting on the Ukraine crisis. The return of Indian nationals stranded in Ukraine was among the key issues discussed during the meeting.
إرسال تعليق