The fighting raged on several fronts in Ukraine on Saturday with intense fighting in the besieged port of Mariupol, where some of the greatest suffering of the war takes place. Ukrainian officials indicated that their forces are fighting with the Russians for the Azovstal steel plant, one of the largest in Europe.
The war has already started its fourth week. During the night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the Kremlin of deliberately creating “a humanitarian catastrophe,” but he also appealed to President Vladimir Putin to meet with him to talk directly.
The UN migration agency said that the combat has displaced nearly 6.5 million people inside Ukraine, in addition to the 3.2 million refugees who have already fled the country.
Ukraine claims that thousands of people have died.
Here are some key aspects of the conflict:
WHAT IS HAPPENING ON THE GROUND?
In several cities in Ukraine, hospitals, schools and buildings where people sought refuge have been attacked.
The Ukrainians announced on Saturday that they agreed with the Russians 10 humanitarian corridors: one in Mariupol, several in the Kiev region and several more in the Lugansk region. Humanitarian support deliveries are also planned in Kherson, currently under Russian control.
In Mariupol, Ukrainian troops lose control over the now-damaged and heavily disputed key Azovstal steel plant, according to comments from an adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Minister.
“Now there is a fight for Azovstal,” Vadym Denysenko said Saturday in televised commentaries. “I can say that we have lost this economic giant. In fact, one of the largest metallurgical plants in Europe is currently being destroyed.”
Dozens of civilians were killed or injured by attacks in the last 24 hours in the Donetsk region, Ukrainian police reported Saturday. At least 37 residential buildings and infrastructure facilities were damaged in the attacks on eight cities and villages using aviation, rockets and heavy artillery.
The Russian army reported on Saturday that it used its most recent hypersonic missile for the first time in combat. A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, said that Kinzhal missiles destroyed an underground hold with Ukrainian missiles and aviation ammunition in the Ivano-Frankivsk region of Ukraine.
MEANWHILE, IN SPACE...
Three Russian cosmonauts arrived on Friday at the International Space Station and when entering zero gravity, they were wearing bright yellow flight suits with blue touches, the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
Afterwards, the cosmonauts were able to talk to their family on Earth and Oleg Artemyev was asked about the costumes. He said that each crew chooses their own suit and “in fact, we have accumulated a lot of yellow fabric so we had to wear it. That's why we turned yellow.”
Since the war began, many people have begun to use the Ukrainian flag to show solidarity with the country. At the moment, it was not clear what the message was, if any, of the yellow uniforms.
WHAT DO WORLD LEADERS DO?
US President Joe Biden and China's Xi Jinping held a video call on Friday for nearly two hours as the United States tries to dissuade Beijing from providing military or economic support for the invasion of Russia.
Biden described the consequences that the Chinese would face of confronting the United States if they provide such support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
For his part, Xi urged the United States and Russia to negotiate and blamed the United States for the crisis.
But on Saturday, China's deputy foreign minister reiterated that NATO was responsible for the war and criticized sanctions against Russia. Le Yucheng said that NATO was a “remnant of the Cold War” and that its expansion could have “repercussions too terrible to behold” from a power as large as Russia.
French President Emmanuel Macron lobbied for an immediate ceasefire in a phone call with Putin on Friday. The French presidency said Putin blamed Ukraine. German Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz also called on Putin for a ceasefire in a conversation on Friday.
WHERE ARE THE TALKS BETWEEN RUSSIA AND UKRAINE?
The leader of the Russian delegation in talks with Ukrainian officials said that the parties are closer to reaching an agreement on a neutral state for Ukraine, one of Russia's key demands as its attack continues. Vladimir Medinsky said on Friday that the parties have also narrowed their differences over Ukraine's desist from joining NATO.
However, Mikhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Zelenskyy, tweeted: “Our positions have not changed. Guarantees of ceasefire, withdrawal of troops and solid security with concrete formulas”.
HOW MANY CIVILIANS HAVE DIED IN THE WAR?
The UN human rights office said it has recorded a total of 816 civilians killed and 1,333 injured since the Russian invasion began on February 24, although it only reports what it can verify. He thinks that number is well below the real figure. Ukrainian officials claim that thousands of people have died.
HOW DOES THE WORLD RESPOND TO WAR?
The United States and its allies imposed a series of sanctions aimed at deteriorating the Russian economy. Hundreds of international companies have announced that they are restricting their operations in Russia and those who continue there are under pressure to leave.
Pope Francis on Friday denounced the “perverse abuse of power” demonstrated by Russia in its war in Ukraine and called for help for Ukrainians who, he said, have been attacked in their identity, history and tradition.