A man rides a bicycle in front of a destroyed apartment building in the town of Borodyanka, Ukraine, on Saturday, April 9, 2022.
Petros Giannakouris / AP
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Petros Giannakouris / AP
A man rides a bicycle in front of a destroyed apartment building in the town of Borodyanka, Ukraine, on Saturday, April 9, 2022.
Petros Giannakouris / AP
KYIV, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Russia is targeting the whole of Europe with its aggression and that stopping the invasion of Ukraine is essential for the security of all democracies.
In a late-night address to the Ukrainian people on Saturday, Zelenskyy said that Russia’s aggression is “not limited to Ukraine” and that “the whole European project is the goal of Russia.”
That is why it is not only the moral obligation of all democracies, all of Europe’s forces, to support Ukraine’s desire for peace. “In fact, this is a defensive strategy for every civilized nation.”
His speech came as civilians continue to flee eastern parts of the country ahead of an expected onslaught and firefighters search for survivors in a remote area. the northern town is no longer occupied by the Russians.
Several European leaders have made efforts to show solidarity with the war-scarred nation. Zelenskyy thanked the leaders of Britain and Austria for Saturday’s visit to Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, and pledged further support.
He also thanked the president of the European Commission and the prime minister of Canada for the global fundraising event that has brought in more than 10 billion euros ($11 billion) to Ukrainians who have fled their homes.
Zelenskyy repeated his call for a complete embargo on Russian oil and gas, which he called a source of Russia’s “confidence and impunity”.
“Freedom has no time to wait,” says Zelenskyy. “When autocracy begins to provoke aggression against everything that keeps the peace in Europe, action must be taken immediately.”
More than six weeks after the invasion began, Russia withdrew its troops from the north of the country, around Kyiv, and refocused on the Donbas region to the east. Western military analysts say an arc of territory in eastern Ukraine is under Russian control, from Kharkiv – Ukraine’s second largest city – in the north to Kherson in the south.
But counterattacks are threatening Russia’s control of Kherson, according to Western assessments, and Ukrainian forces are repelling Russian attacks elsewhere in the Donbas, an industrial region. and speak mostly Russian.
Civilians are evacuating in eastern Ukraine after a rocket attack on Friday left at least 52 people dead and more than 100 injured at a train station, where thousands fled.
Ukrainian authorities have urged civilians to get out in the face of an impending, reinforced attack by Russian forces in the east. With trains not leaving Kramatorsk on Saturday, residents panicked to board buses or find other ways to leave, fearing relentless attacks and occupation by Russian invaders bringing shortages of food. food, destroyed buildings and death for other cities.
One resident told British broadcaster Sky, recalling Friday’s attack on the train station. “For heaven’s sake, have to live through this again. No, I don’t want to.”
Ukraine’s state railway company said residents of Kramatorsk and other regions of the Donbas could flee to other train stations. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said 10 evacuation corridors were planned for Saturday.
Zelenskyy called the train station attack the latest example of war crimes by Russian forces and said it should prompt the West to do more to help his country defend itself.
Russia denied responsibility and accused the Ukrainian military of opening fire on the post, blaming Moscow for the civilian casualties. A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry detailed the trajectory of the missile and the positions of Ukrainian troops to support the argument.
Major General Igor Konashenkov accused Ukraine’s security services of preparing a “rigorously staged” media operation in Irpin, another town near Kyiv, aimed at attributing civilian casualties to Russian forces. – in his words – and to prepare for the destruction of a fake Russian intelligence group that intends to kill the witness. The claims cannot be independently verified.
Western experts and Ukrainian authorities confirmed that Russia attacked this station. The missile’s remains have the words “For Children” in Russian painted on it. This phrase seems to indicate that the missile was sent to avenge the loss or subjugation of children, although its exact meaning is unclear.
Ukrainian authorities have been working to identify victims and document possible war crimes in the north. The mayor of Bucha, a town near Kyiv where graphic evidence of the killings of civilians emerged after Russian forces withdrew, said search teams were still finding the bodies of people shot there. close range in yards, parks and city squares.
Workers exhumed 67 bodies on Friday from a mass grave near a church, according to Ukraine’s prosecutor general. Russia perjured that the scenes in Bucha were staged.
Ukrainian and Western officials have repeatedly accused Russian forces of carrying out atrocities. A total of 176 children were killed, while another 324 were injured, the Prosecutor General’s Office said on Saturday.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during an interview with the AP news agency at his office in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 9, 2022.
Evgeniy Maloletka / AP
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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during an interview with the AP news agency at his office in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 9, 2022.
Evgeniy Maloletka / AP
In an interview with The Associated Press inside his heavily guarded presidential office complex, Zelenskyy said he was committed to diplomatic negotiations to end the war despite Russia’s “torture” of Ukraine. He also acknowledged that peace may not come quickly. The negotiations so far have not involved Russian President Vladimir Putin or other senior officials.
“We must fight, but fight for life. You cannot fight for dust when there is nothing and no people. That is why it is important to stop this war,” he said. speak.
Ukrainian authorities said they expected to find more mass killings when they reached the southern port city of Mariupol, also in the Donbas and already under a month-long blockade and intense fighting. The city’s location on the Sea of Azov is crucial for establishing a land bridge from the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine eight years ago.
As journalists largely absent from the city begin to return, new images emerge of devastation from an airstrike on a theater last month that is believed to have killed hundreds of civilians. find shelter.
Ukrainian officials have begged Western powers almost daily to send more weapons and further punish Moscow with sanctions, including the exclusion of Russian banks from the global financial system and an order the EU’s total embargo on Russian gas and oil.
During a visit on Saturday, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said he expected more EU sanctions on Russia, but defended his country’s opposition so far to cutting off supply Russian gas supply.
The prime minister said that a package of sanctions imposed this week “will not be the last”, while acknowledging that “as long as people are dying, all sanctions will not be enough.” Austria is militarily neutral and is not a member of NATO.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit comes a day after the UK pledged an additional £100 million ($130 million) in funding for high-end military equipment. Johnson also confirmed further economic support, guaranteeing the World Bank an additional $500 million loan to Ukraine, bringing the total UK loan guarantee to $1 billion.
In an interview with the AP, Zelenskyy noted increased support but expressed disappointment when asked if the weapons and equipment Ukraine received from the West would be enough to change the outcome of the war.
“Not yet,” he said, turning to English for emphasis. “Of course it’s not enough.”
