Ukraine has refused to agree to a ceasefire with Russia – and has said it will not accept any agreement with Moscow that includes a renunciation of territory.
This happened when Russia stepped up its offensive in the eastern region of Donbass and when fears of Ukrainian fighters captured at the end of the brutal three-month siege of Mariupol grew.
After weeks of resistance from the last Ukrainian fighters in the strategic southeastern city of Mariupol, Russia is now leading what appears to be a major new offensive in Luhansk, one of Donbass’s two provinces.
Russian-backed separatists already controlled parts of Luhansk and the neighboring Donetsk province before the February 24 invasion, but Moscow wants to seize the last remaining Ukrainian-controlled territory in Donbas.
Zelensky vows that Russia’s victories are “very temporary” – live updates on Ukraine
The Russians have already secured the land bridge from Crimea to Donbass, which will be difficult for Ukraine to take back.
“The situation in Donbass is extremely difficult,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an evening address.
“The Russian army was trying to attack the cities of Slavyansk and Severodonetsk, but Ukrainian forces delayed their offensive,” he added.
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
4:48 Sky’s Crawford visits Soledar, eastern Ukraine, where civilians take refuge amid intense fighting
Eyewitness: This is what hell looks like
Earlier, Zelensky told local television that as long as the fighting is bloody, the end of the war will come only through “diplomacy” and that Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian territory will be temporary.
His adviser, Mikhail Podoliak, rejected the ceasefire agreement because he said making concessions would have the opposite effect on Ukraine, as Russia would only retaliate more strongly after the cessation of hostilities.
He added that Kyiv will not accept any deal with Moscow, which involves ceding territory.
Image: Ukrainian prisoners taken from the Azovstal steel plant by the Russian military
Concerns about captured Ukrainian fighters, meanwhile, have risen after Russia took full control of the Azovstal steel plant, which was the last stronghold in Mariupol for weeks and has become a symbol of Ukrainian disobedience.
The strategic port city is now in ruins with more than 20,000 residents feared dead.
Other key events: • US President Joe Biden signs nearly $ 40 billion (£ 32 billion) more aid to Ukraine • The Kremlin updates its “stop list” with US officials and celebrities banned from entering Russia – and now includes actor Morgan Freeman
Russia’s Defense Ministry has released a video of the detention of Ukrainian soldiers after announcing that its forces had pulled the last fighters out of the steel plant’s vast underground tunnels.
Image: The gloomy images of the power of the spirit in the Azovstal steel plant
Moscow-backed separatist leaders have promised troops will face a tribunal.
“Justice must be restored”
Denis Pushilin, the pro-Kremlin leader of a Moscow-controlled separatist region in eastern Ukraine, claims 2,439 people have been arrested.
As fears of their attitude grew, family members of the steel factory fighters, who came from various military and law enforcement units, pleaded for them to be given rights as prisoners of war and eventually return to Ukraine.
Image: Symbol of resistance: Azovstal Steel Plant
Russian officials and state media have tried to characterize the fighters as neo-Nazis and criminals.
Russia’s Tass news agency quoted Mr Pushilin as saying, “I believe that justice must be restored.”
Add Comment