A Ukrainian serviceman is seen, after Russia launched a major military operation against Ukraine, at a checkpoint in the city of Zhytomyr, Ukraine February 27, 2022.
Viacheslav Ratynskyi | Reuters
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he believes the next 24 hours will be a “critical period” for his country as the Ukrainian army – and its armed citizens – continue to fight the rebels. invading Russian forces.
Zelenskyy made the comment while speaking to his British counterpart, Boris Johnson, on Sunday night, after Johnson praised the courage of the Ukrainian people. He also commended Zelenskyy’s leadership “in the face of such adversities,” the UK government said in a statement.
Major cities of Ukraine are still being attacked by Russian forces invading from the north, east and south. Attacks are taking place both on the ground – with street fights reported in several cities – and from the air, with massive artillery attacks damaging buildings and causing damage injury and loss of life in some cases.
Overnight, explosions were heard in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv and the capital Kyiv, before the city lifted a two-day curfew on Monday morning, allowing anyone remaining in the city to go out.
Ukraine’s armed forces and volunteer fighters have fortified a solid defense against the invasion, with multiple reports saying that Russian forces have not made the progress they expected since when the attack began early last Thursday.
Belarusian factor?
However, Ukrainian resistance could soon be under pressure, due to concerns that Belarus might deploy its troops to support Russia. CNBC has reached out to the Belarusian Defense Ministry for comment.
Belarus has also signaled that it may possess Russia’s nuclear weapons after a referendum in the country on constitutional reforms would see it give up non-nuclear status. impersonal.
The move is widely seen as another step in Belarus’ backing for its ally Russia and comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin. put his country’s nuclear deterrent on high alert on Sunday amid a growing global backlash against the invasion.
Belarusian President Lukashenko warned on Sunday: “If you [the West] send nuclear weapons to Poland or Lithuania, to our border, then I will turn to Putin to return the nuclear weapons that I gave without any conditions,” Lukashenko said. speak.
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia February 18, 2022.
Mikhail Klimentyev | Sputnik | Reuters
Despite Lukashenko’s objections, the country offered to hold peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials. Although the exact timing of the discussions remains unclear, the office of the President of Ukraine on Monday announced that a delegation had arrived at Ukraine’s border with Belarus to hold talks with Russian officials.
Zelensky said in a video Sunday that he has little hope of a breakthrough in the discussions, but is willing to try: “I’ll put it bluntly, as always, I don’t really believe in it. the outcome of this meeting, but let them try.”
How is the situation in Ukraine?
It is difficult to assess the number of Ukrainian and Russian casualties in the conflict to date, given the chaotic and unpredictable nature of the skirmishes and emergency response measures. Multiple reports from Ukraine claim that hundreds of civilians have been killed, including some children. Ukraine also claimed that several thousand Russian troops were killed.
Russia did not disclose the number of casualties, but the country’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday that “some people were killed and wounded in the Russian army”, the BBC reported; Russia claims its damage is “many times less” than the number of Ukrainians “destroyed”.
The British Ministry of Defense issued an update on Monday saying that “the bulk of Putin’s ground forces are still more than 30 kilometers north of Kyiv. Their advance has been slowed by Ukrainian forces defending the airport. Hostomel, an important Russian target in the first day of the conflict. . “
It also notes that “heavy fighting continues around Chernihiv and Kharkiv yet both cities remain under Ukrainian control” and to a broader extent, “logistic failures” and Ukraine’s staunch resistance continues to hinder Russia’s advance.”
The West is increasing pressure on Russia in an attempt to stop its invasion by imposing a series of sanctions on Russia. The US, Europe and Canada on Saturday agreed to remove key Russian banks from the country’s interbank messaging system, SWIFT, and sanction the country’s central bank. UK and EU also have closed their airspace to Russian planesseek to further isolate Russia.
