The Austrian chancellor is scheduled to meet with Vladimir Putin on Monday, the Russian president’s first personal meeting with an EU leader since the order to invade Ukraine, amid warnings of a new offensive and shelling in the east.
Karl Nechamer said the meeting would take place in Moscow and that Austria had a “clear position on Russia’s aggression war”, calling for humanitarian corridors, a ceasefire and a full investigation into war crimes.
The UK Ministry of Defense warned on Monday morning that Russian forces could resort to the use of phosphate weapons in Mariupol as fighting for the city intensifies. it cites previous use of ammunition by Russian soldiers in Donetsk.
Russian forces struck targets in eastern Ukraine with missiles and artillery on Sunday, and Ramzan Kadyrov, the powerful head of the Chechen Russian republic, said there would be an offensive not only against the besieged southern port of Mariupol, but also against Kyiv and other Ukrainians. cities. “Luhansk and Donetsk – in the first place we will liberate completely … and then we will take over Kyiv and all other cities,” Kadyrov said in a video published on his channel in the Telegram.
The United States has warned that the appointment of a new general to command Russia’s military campaign is likely to lead to a new round of “crime and brutality” against civilians. Alexander Dvornikov, 60, became known as the head of Russian forces in Syria in 2015-16, when there were particularly brutal bombings of rebel-held areas, including civilians, in Aleppo.
Jake Sullivan, a national security adviser in Washington, said: “This particular general has a summary that includes brutality against civilians in other theaters – in Syria – and we can expect more from the same thing” in Ukraine.
Nehamer met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in Kyiv on Saturday, the same day as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who promised to give Ukraine 120 armored vehicles and anti-ship missile systems. Washington has also promised to give Ukraine “the weapons it needs” to protect itself from a new Russian offensive.
Russia has failed to capture any major cities, but Ukraine says it is gathering strength in the east for a major assault and has called for people to flee.
Russian forces fired rockets at Ukrainian Luhansk and Dnepropetrovsk on Sunday, officials said. The missiles completely destroyed the airport in the city of Dnipro, said Valentin Reznichenko, governor of the central Dnipropetrovsk region.
Russia’s Defense Ministry says high-precision missiles have destroyed the headquarters of the Ukrainian Dnieper Battalion in the town of Zvonetsky. Reuters could not immediately confirm the reports.
In other developments:
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Ukrainian authorities said on Sunday that the death toll from a rocket attack on a train station in the Kramatorsk city of Donetsk on Friday had risen to 57 and injured 109. The station was full of people trying to escape the area. Russia has denied responsibility, saying the missiles used in the attack were used only by the Ukrainian army.
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Joe Biden will hold a virtual meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, as the US president is expected to pressure India not to increase its imports of Russian crude oil. Biden had previously accused India of being the only “somewhat volatile” country in the Quad group of nations – which also includes Japan and Australia – over Ukraine. So far, he has not imposed any sanctions on Russia.
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The World Bank predicts that Ukraine’s GDP will shrink by about 45% this year as the Russian invasion and the impact of the “deep humanitarian crisis” pay off. It says Russia will also fall into recession and many countries around Ukraine will face serious difficulties.
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Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk said 2,824 people were evacuated on Sunday along humanitarian corridors, including 213 from Mariupol, which has been under siege for weeks.
Following Russia’s invasion, Zelensky called on Western powers to provide more defense assistance and punish Moscow with tougher sanctions, including an embargo on Russian energy exports.
In a 60-minute CBS interview, Zelenski said he trusted his own armed forces, but “unfortunately I’m not sure we’ll get everything we need” from the United States.
“They must deliver weapons to Ukraine, as if defending themselves and their own people,” Zelensky added. “It simply came to our notice then. If they do not accelerate, it will be very difficult for us to resist this pressure. “
Sullivan told ABC News: “We will give Ukraine the weapons it needs to repel the Russians to stop them from taking over more cities.
Zelenski said earlier on Twitter that he had spoken by phone with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about additional sanctions, as well as more defense and financial support for his country, and welcomed Germany’s more favorable position on Ukraine.
The EU on Friday banned imports of Russian coal, among other products, but has not yet touched on oil and gas imports from Russia.
Rising civilian casualties have sparked widespread international condemnation and new sanctions.
A grave with at least two civilian bodies has been found in the village of Buzova near Kyiv, said Taras Didic, head of the Dmitrovka community, which includes the village, the latest such discovery since Russian forces withdrew from areas north of the capital.
Moscow has repeatedly denied targeting civilians in what it calls a “special operation” to demilitarize and “denationalize” its southern neighbor. Ukraine and Western countries have dismissed this as an unfounded pretext for war.
The Russian invasion forced about a quarter of Ukraine’s 44 million people to flee their homes, turning cities into ruins and killing or wounding thousands.
Some cities in eastern Ukraine have come under heavy fire, with tens of thousands unable to evacuate.
With Reuters
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