Russian offensive intensifies in Ukraine despite negotiations

The Russian offensive against Ukraine was intensified by a series of bombings in Kiev, despite negotiations and major concessions from the President of Ukraine on Tuesday, and he said he was willing to abandon his intention to join NATO.

A rescue service in Kiev said that four people were killed by shelling a 15-storey building in the western district of Sviatoshin.

“Everything trembled strongly. When I got up, my daughter ran and asked. 'Are you alive? “But since I couldn't take my son-in-law and grandson out of one of the rooms, I was able to break the door and go out.” Lyubov Gura, 73 years old, who lived on the 11th floor, told AFP.

In the district of Podil (north-west), which is closer to the city center, another 9-storey building was hit, and one building was injured.

Pierre Zakrzewski, a cameraman of Fox News, was killed and his colleague Benjamin Hall was injured at the northwestern border of the capital the day before, the US network reported on Tuesday.

According to Kirilo Tymoshenko, deputy director of the presidential administration, about 29,000 people were evacuated from various besieged cities across Ukraine only on Tuesday.

According to local authorities, evacuation from the besieged port city of Mariupol (southern Ukraine) was accelerated, and since the invasion of Russia began on February 24, more than 2,100 people were killed.

“Today, about 20,000 people have left Mariupol in private vehicles using humanitarian corridors. About 4,000 cars have left the city.” He said.

- Kyiv curfew -

Vitali Klichko, the mayor of Kiev, declared a curfew of 35 hours for a particularly “dangerous” moment in which the capital lives, from 8 pm (18:00 GMT) on Tuesday, where more than half of the population has already fled.

In the metropolitan Dnipró in the east, the airport was bombed on Tuesday, causing “massive destruction”, according to a mayor who has not been relatively damaged until now and has not mentioned casualties for the time being.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in the midst of nearly three weeks of conflict, more than 3 million people have escaped Ukraine to Poland for the most part. According to UNICEF, 1.4 million children are “almost one child per second.”

Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky reported that 97 children have been killed in the bombing of “schools, hospitals, homes” in Russia since the beginning of the invasion.

On Tuesday, in rebellion against the attack, Polish Prime Minister Mateus Moravički, Petr Piala from the Czech Republic, and Slovenian Yanez Jansa arrived by train to meet Zelensky and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal (Denys Shmygal).

“We are bombing everywhere, not only in Kiev, but also in the western regions, Zelenski told them, according to a video posted on his Telegram account.

Mateusz Morawiecki, head of the Polish government, told Facebook: “We must stop the tragedy that unfolds in the East as soon as possible.

(Poland) Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said in Kiev on Tuesday night that Poland is calling for a NATO “peace mission” “protected by the army” to help Ukraine.

- Negotiations will continue on Wednesday -

The visit coincides with the resumption of the fourth round of Russian-Ukrainian talks, which began on Monday and will continue on Wednesday.

“It's a complicated and very laborious negotiation process. There are profound contradictions, but of course, compromises are possible.” Mykhailo Podoliak, negotiator and adviser of Zelenski, said on Twitter.

The talks will take place via videoconference after three face-to-face rounds in neighboring Belarus and a meeting of Russian and Ukrainian diplomatic heads in Turkey on Thursday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyif Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will go to Ukraine after visiting Russia on Tuesday to participate in talks seeking a ceasefire.

The Kremlin considered the “forecast” early, after the presidential counselor of Ukraine considered a possible peace agreement before the “end of May”.

- Will Zelensky give up NATO? -

However, on Tuesday, the situation seemed to have developed significantly after President Zelenski seemed to have made important concessions, saying that Ukraine is not going to join NATO.

“For several years we have heard that the door is open, but we have also heard that we cannot get together. That is the truth and we need to recognize it.” The president said in a video conference with military officials.

Putin partially justified the invasion of Ukraine because of fear that this former Soviet republic would join the Western military alliance.

- The accusations of Russia -

In Russia, a court ordered a woman to pay a fine for breaking into government news reports in order to condemn the offensive in Ukraine.

Marina Ovsiannikova was convicted of “administrative offenses” and was forced to pay a fine of 30,000 rubles (about 275 dollars at the current exchange rate), but was not imprisoned.

At the same time, the West continues to tighten sanctions against Russia through a fourth series of European Union measures, including blockades against luxury goods and access to international financial institutions.

The US Treasury Department announced new sanctions against corruption and human rights violations against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and his wife.

Russia adopted anti-sanctions for the first time on Tuesday against US President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and several members of the government.

At the same time, as part of the closure of space on European territory, Russia announced the launch of the “exit procedure” of the Council of Europe, a human rights organization to which Russia and Ukraine belong.

At the request of Moscow on Thursday, the UN Security Council plans to vote on a “humanitarian” resolution related to Russia's “special military operations” in Ukraine, which seems to have not been approved for the time being.

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