Kyiv: Russian troops have captured the strategic Ukrainian port city Mariupol, its Mayor announced today. Moscow and Kyiv are aiming to hold a round of new talks over the weekend. Russian forces have bombarded Kyiv and other major cities.
Laying siege to Mariupol for days, the Russian Forces have cut the supply of electricity, food, water, heating and transportation in the depths of winter, prompting comparisons to the Nazi blockade of Leningrad in World War II.
“For now, we are looking for solutions to humanitarian problems and all possible ways to get Mariupol out of the blockade,” said mayor Vadim Boychenko. He is also calling for a ceasefire and a humanitarian corridor for food and medicines.
The Russian invasion has drawn condemnation and severe sanctions from Western nations, and with fear of hazardous escalations, is balancing the punishment of the Kremlin.
In the 10-Day-Long invasion, Moscow has seized two major cities Berdiansk and Kherson on Ukraine’s southern Black Sea coast. But gaining control over Mariupol, a city of about 450,000 people on the Azov Sea, will lead to representing a bigger prize for Russian forces, as it would deal a severe blow to Ukraine’s maritime access and connect troops coming from annexed Crimea and the Donbas.
Moscow was waiting for a third round of talks with Ukraine in Belarus says Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov. One of Kyiv’s negotiators said it hoped to hold them this weekend.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today for more assistance, might appeal to Washington. He will be addressing the US Senate as some lawmakers urged President Joe Biden to take tougher measures, including banning Russia’s oil imports.
“We are faced together with what is President Putin’s war of choice, unprovoked, unjustified, and a war that is having horrific, horrific consequences,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Brussels.
Since President Vladimir Putin’s army invaded on February 24, thousands of civilians have lost their lives.
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