The last:
- Ukraine’s allies are considering reports that Russia may have used chemical weapons in Mariupol.
- Putin arrives in Russia’s Far East for talks with the Belarusian leader in Ukraine.
- Zelensky says Ukraine needs more weapons from the West.
- A UN official cited growing reports of rape and brutality against Ukrainian civilians.
Civilians fled areas of eastern Ukraine on Tuesday ahead of an expected Russian offensive, while Kyiv said it was investigating reports that Russian forces had used chemical weapons in the besieged port city of Mariupol.
The battle for Mariupol was reaching a decisive stage, with Ukrainian Marines hiding in the Azovstal industrial district.
If the Russians take over Azovstal, they will have full control of Mariupol, the stronghold between Russian-held areas to the west and east. The city is already ravaged by weeks of Russian bombing that has killed thousands of civilians.
A man hugs his wife as she gets on a train at Slavyansk Central Station in Donbass on Tuesday. Ukrainian leaders in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Donbass have demanded that civilians be evacuated to the west in response to an expected Russian offensive to take over the eastern region. (Ronaldo Shemid / AFP / Getty Images)
Deputy Defense Minister Hana Malyar said the government was checking unverified information that Russia may have used chemical weapons while besieging Mariupol.
“There is a theory that these may be phosphorus munitions,” Malyar said in television comments.
President Vladimir Zelensky said Monday night that Russia could resort to chemical weapons as it gathers troops in the eastern Donbass region for a new attack on Mariupol. He did not say whether they were really used.
U.S. and UK investigation reports
The United States and Britain have said they are trying to verify the reports. If Russia has used chemical weapons, “all options are on the table” in response, said Britain’s junior defense minister James Happy in London.
The production, use and storage of chemical weapons are banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) of 1997. Although condemned by human rights groups, white phosphorus is not banned by the CWC.
The governor of the Eastern Donetsk region, Pavlo Kirilenko, said he had seen reports of incidents of possible use of chemical weapons in Mariupol, but could not confirm them.
“We know that last night around midnight a drone detonated a hitherto unknown explosive device and the people who were in and around the metal factory in Mariupol, there were three people, began to feel bad,” he told CNN.
They have been taken to hospital and their lives are not in danger, he said.
Asked about the total death toll in Mariupol, Kirilenko said: “We are currently discussing 20-22,000 deaths,” adding that the figure should be checked very carefully.
Firefighters are working to put out a house fire after a Russian attack in Kharkov on Monday. (Felipe Dana / Associated Press)
The Russians are redoubled their efforts in the east
Russia’s Defense Ministry has not yet responded to a request for comment from Reuters. Russian-backed separatist forces in the east have denied using chemical weapons in Mariupol, Interfax reported.
But if that turns out to be the case, it would mean a dangerous new development in a war that has already left a mark of death and destruction after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops across the border on February 24.
About a quarter of Ukraine’s 44 million people have been forced to flee their homes, cities have been reduced to rubble and thousands have been killed or injured – many civilians.
A relative reacted after the exhumation of the body of a civilian from a shallow grave near the village of Andrievka on Monday. (Sergey Supinski / AFP / Getty Images)
Putin called the operation a “special military operation” to demilitarize and “denationalize” Ukraine, but drew condemnation and alarm from the West, which imposed a wide range of sanctions to put pressure on Russia’s economy.
After their troops sank in the face of Ukrainian resistance, the Russians abandoned their attempts to take the capital, Kyiv. But they redoubled their efforts in the east and Ukrainian forces dug in to face a new offensive.
Luhansk Oblast Governor Sergei Gaidai called on residents to evacuate using five humanitarian corridors agreed in the east.
“It’s far scarier to stay and burn in your sleep from a Russian shell,” he wrote in the Telegram news app. “Evacuate, the situation is getting worse with each passing day. Take your essentials and head to the collection point. ”
A total of nine humanitarian corridors were agreed for Tuesday, including one for private cars from Mariupol, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk said.
WATCH Mariupol is threatened by Russians:
Experts investigate possible war crimes in Bucha, Mariupol at risk of entering Russia
WARNING: This video contains graphics Searching the ruins of the Ukrainian city of Bucha, investigators began the difficult task of gathering evidence of possible war crimes committed by Russia. To the south, the besieged city of Mariupol is expected to fall into the hands of Russian troops within days. 2:44
Zelenski begs for more weapons
In its morning briefing on the conflict, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that in addition to trying to take control of Mariupol, Russian forces also intended to take Popasna, a city more than two hours west of Luhansk, and were set to launch an offensive. in the direction of Kurakhovo, in the Donetsk region.
The Ukrainian army said its troops had repulsed attacks in both Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts.
Zelenski called for more weapons from the West to help him end the siege of Mariupol and repel the expected Russian offensive in the east.
“Unfortunately, we are not getting as much as we need to end this war faster … in particular, to lift the blockade of Mariupol,” he said.
The departure of Russian forces from the outskirts of Kyiv has brought to light accusations of war crimes, including the execution and rape of civilians. Moscow has denied the allegations of Ukrainian and Western provocations and has also accused Ukrainian forces of sexual violence.
A man is riding a bicycle next to a truck carrying black bags with the bodies of people killed in the war with Russia and exhumed from a mass grave under investigation in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday. (Rodrigo Abd / Associated Press)
Senior UN official Sima Bacchus told the Security Council on Monday that although all allegations must be investigated independently, “the brutality shown against Ukrainian civilians has raised all red flags.”
“We hear more and more about rape and sexual violence,” she said.
Russia’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations has denied the allegations, accusing Ukraine and its allies of “clearly intending to portray Russian soldiers as sadists and rapists.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the Ukrainian government was directed by the United States to sow false evidence of Russian violence against civilians, despite what it described as “Moscow’s unprecedented measures to rescue civilians.”
Putin met with the Belarusian president
Speaking during a visit to Russia’s Vostochny space launch site in Russia’s Far East, Putin was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies that Moscow had no choice but to act to protect Russia and that a clash with Ukraine’s anti-Russian forces was inevitable. .
He said Moscow’s military operation would undoubtedly achieve its “noble” goals.
Putin’s visit to the East marked his first known trip outside Moscow since Russia launched hostilities in Ukraine on February 24. Putin toured space facilities with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
In the center, Russian President Vladimir Putin talks to workers while Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, third from the right, and Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin, second from the right, watch during a visit to the Vostochny spaceport in the Amur region on Tuesday. (Evgeny Biyatov / Sputnik / AFP / Getty Images)
Belarus is a key area for Russian forces and news agencies in Russia, and Belarus said the two leaders are meeting to discuss the situation in Ukraine and Western sanctions.
Putin said Russia had no intention of isolating itself and said foreign forces would not be able to isolate it.
He said that “it is certainly impossible to isolate anyone in today’s world, especially such a huge country as Russia.”
Putin noted that “we will work with those of our partners who want to cooperate.”
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