- Russia is attacking the defenders of Mariupol, said a Ukrainian representative
- The missiles hit a facility in Odessa, Ukraine reported
- Zelensky announces a visit to US officials, the US does not
Kyiv, April 24 (Reuters) – US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin were due to visit Kyiv on Sunday to discuss Ukraine’s request for more powerful weapons after months of fighting Russian invading forces.
The visit, announced by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky on Saturday, will be the highest by US officials since the war began on February 24.
The White House has not confirmed any travel plans for Blinken and Austin. The State Department and the Pentagon declined to comment.
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As the war enters its third month, there is no end in sight to the battles that shocked the world, killed thousands, uprooted millions and turned cities into ruins.
“Tomorrow we will discuss this exact list of weapons that are essential to us and the pace of deliveries,” Zelenski told a dramatic Saturday night news conference at a metro station. Read more
“We would like to have … powerful heavy weapons. If we have (more weapons), if there are enough, believe me, we will immediately regain this or that territory that is temporarily occupied. “
Zelensky’s comments came as Russia resumed its attack on defenders who took last position at a giant steel plant in Mariupol, days after Moscow declared victory in the key southern port city and said its forces should not take over the plant.
The attack on Mariupol, the biggest battle in the conflict, has been raging for weeks. The conquest of the city is seen as vital to Russia’s attempts to link the eastern Donbass region with Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula conquered by Moscow in 2014.
Moscow-backed separatists have held territory for years in the Donbass region, which includes Donetsk, including Mariupol and Luhansk.
Luhansk Governor Sergei Gaidai noted that the fighting continues on Orthodox Easter.
“We used to come to our churches with Easter baskets. But now it is impossible, “Gaidai wrote in his Telegram channel. “Seven churches in the Luhansk region have been crippled by Russian artillery.
Reuters could not independently verify the report on the destroyed churches.
Ukraine estimates that tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in Mariupol and says 100,000 civilians are still there. The United Nations and the Red Cross say there are at least thousands civilian casualties.
A new attempt to evacuate civilians failed on Saturday, an aide to the mayor of Mariupol said.
Alexei Arestovich, Zelensky’s political adviser, said Ukrainian troops in the steel complex were holding out and trying to counterattack. More than 1,000 civilians are also at the plant, according to Ukrainian authorities.
The Ukrainian military said on Sunday that Russian forces were continuing their offensive in the east to establish full control of Donetsk and Luhansk and secure a land route to the annexed Crimean peninsula, adding that they were attacking both military and civilian infrastructure.
It says Russian forces have also partially blocked the northeastern city of Kharkiv and moved Iskander-M missiles about 60 km (40 miles) from the Ukrainian border. The Iskander-M system launches short-range ballistic missiles that can hit targets 500 km away.
In Donetsk and Luhansk, Ukrainian forces said they had repulsed 12 attacks on Saturday, destroying four tanks, fifteen armored vehicles and five artillery systems, among others. Reuters could not independently confirm the reports.
At least eight people have died in the Black Sea port of Odessa, Zelenski said on Saturday. Two missiles hit a military facility and two residential buildings, and two more were destroyed, the Ukrainian armed forces said.
The death toll cannot be confirmed independently. The last major strike in or near Odessa was in early April.
Zelensky said Russia had already launched most of its missile arsenal against Ukraine.
“Of course, they still have missiles. Of course, they can still continue the rocket terror against our people, “he said.
“But what they have already done is a strong enough argument for the world to finally recognize Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and the Russian army as a terrorist organization.
Russia has denied targeting civilians in its “special military operation”.
Russia’s defense ministry said it had used high-precision missiles to destroy a logistics terminal in Odessa containing weapons shipped from the United States and European countries.
Russian General Rustam Minekayev said on Friday that Moscow wants control of all of southern Ukraine, with comments from Ukraine showing that Russia has broader goals than its stated goal of demilitarizing and “denazifying” the country. Kyiv and the West call the invasion an unjustified aggressive war. Read more
The Azov Battalion, a prominent militia in Mariupol’s defense, has released a video showing women and children taking shelter in the steel complex. Reuters could not independently verify where and when the video was taken. Read more
A woman holding a small child said the food was running out, while a boy said he was desperate to get out of the bunker in two months.
“I want to see the sun because it is dark here, not like outside. When our houses are restored, we can live in peace. Let Ukraine win, because Ukraine is our home,” he said.
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Report by Pavel Polityuk and Natalia Zinets; Additional reports by Maria Starkova, Alessandra Prentis and other Reuters journalists; Writing by Patricia Zengerle and Kim Coghill; Edited by Daniel Wallis and William Mallard
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