Russia is trying to “empty” Donbass of people and peace talks are in danger of collapsing, said the Ukrainian president.
Speaking in his night address, Vladimir Zelensky accused Moscow of carrying out “constant brutal bombings” of buildings and residential areas in the eastern region of his country.
He compared the barrage of attacks to the situation in Mariupol, a key port city that was largely destroyed after almost daily strikes since the start of the Russian invasion in February.
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“If the Russian invaders manage to realize their plans even partially, then they have enough artillery and planes to turn the whole Donbass into stone. As they did with Mariupol, “Zelenski said.
Key developments:
- Russia is using a missile attack with a submarine for the first time against Ukraine
- The wounded Briton was captured by Russian forces and paraded on television
- The UK says it is sending experts to help Ukraine gather evidence and prosecute war crimes.
- Two British aid workers reportedly captured by Russian forces in Ukraine
- The US official said the country did not believe there was a threat from Russia to use nuclear weapons
He added that the southeastern city had been turned into a “Russian concentration camp among the ruins”.
Inside Mariupol, a battle is being fought at the Azovstal steel plant, which has become the last fortress in the region.
Ukrainian troops have so far fought successfully with Russian forces, but Mariupol Mayor Vadim Boychenko said the situation was dire and citizens were “begging to be saved”.
“It’s not a matter of days, it’s hours,” he said.
Russian troops turned their focus to eastern and southern Ukraine as they advanced to the second phase of their invasion after failing to capture the capital, Kyiv.
Image: “Russian concentration camp among the ruins”
Read more: The wounded Briton was captured by Russian forces and paraded on television
Peace talks with Russia could fail, Ukraine warns
Ukraine has warned that as the attacks continue, peace talks with Russia could fail.
The two sides have not met for private talks since March 29, and the atmosphere has worsened over accusations by Ukraine that Russian troops committed atrocities while withdrawing from areas near Kyiv.
Commenting to journalists in Poland, Mr Zelenski said: “The risks of the negotiations ending are great because of what they (the Russians) have left behind, the impression that they have a book about killing people.”
But the Russian foreign minister said the country was “in favor of continuing negotiations, although difficult.”
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4:08 Can Russia be pushed out of Ukraine?
Read more: The city stares at the barrel of Putin’s military machine as the battle for Donbass intensifies
“Currently, the Russian and Ukrainian delegations are actually discussing the draft of a possible agreement via video conference on a daily basis,” Sergei Lavrov said in a comment to the official Chinese Xinhua news agency, published on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website.
“The agenda of the talks includes, among other things, issues of denazification, recognition of new geopolitical realities, lifting of sanctions, the status of the Russian language,” he added.
He also accused Western countries, including the United Kingdom, of sabotaging the talks, saying Kyiv had changed its position following orders from the United States and Britain.
Mr Lavrov went on to explain that more than a million people had been evacuated from Ukraine to Russia since the start of the war.
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3:58 Donbass: Ukrainian troops are digging
1.02 million includes 120,000 foreigners and people evacuated from Russian-backed breakaway regions of Ukraine.
However, Ukraine claims that Moscow has forcibly deported thousands of people to Russia and that efforts to evacuate civilians from the besieged areas have failed many times.
US accuses Russia of “debauchery of innocent people”
The United States, meanwhile, said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was “the coldest brutality.”
Speaking to reporters, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby condemned the actions of the Kremlin leader in Ukraine and said it was “difficult to see” what Putin was doing to the country.
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He said: “I do not think we have fully appreciated the extent to which he will visit this kind of violence and cruelty and, as I said, the corruption, on innocent people, on non-combatants, on civilians, with such complete disregard for life he took. “
Mr Kirby seemed emotional as he spoke about the scenes coming out of Ukraine, saying: “It’s hard to look at some of the images and imagine that any well-meaning, serious mature leader would do that. I can’t talk to his psychology, but I think we can all talk about his corruption. “
He also said that “it is not entirely clear how accurate the information is that the Russian leader is receiving”, but there are “indications that he does not have to get an accurate picture”.
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