Photo: The Canadian Press
Alexandra Kusminova caresses her cat named Mishka while sitting on a bed in a restaurant turned into a shelter for those fleeing the war from the eastern region of the country in the Dnieper, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. “Every day we pray all right, so many people and children died. For what? Why this war? ”Asks the 61-year-old woman, who left home with her daughter and granddaughter, fleeing Russian attacks in Avdeevka. The UN refugee agency says more than 5 million refugees have fled Ukraine after Russian troops invaded the country. Agency declares cornerstone of Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 (AP Photo / Leo Correa)
The relentless Russian attacks hit the last Ukrainian fortress in the besieged city of Mariupol, as the fighter, who was apparently inside, made a video begging for help, saying the defenders, hidden in a giant steel mine, “may have only a few days or hours left”.
Another attempt to evacuate trapped civilians in the sprawling port city failed on Wednesday due to ongoing fighting, with more than 5 million fleeing the country.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, said it had submitted a draft of its demands to end the war, and the West was vying to supply Ukraine with heavier weapons to counter Russia’s new bid to take over the industrial east.
With growing global tensions, Russia has announced the first successful launch of a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile, the Sarmat. President Vladimir Putin has boasted that he can overcome any missile defense system and make those who threaten Russia think twice. “
The Pentagon described the test as “routine” and said it was not considered a threat.
On the battlefield, Ukraine said Moscow continued to carry out attacks in the east, investigating weaknesses in Ukraine’s defensive lines. Russia has said it has carried out hundreds of missile and air strikes on targets involving concentrations of troops and vehicles.
The Kremlin’s stated goal is to take over Donbass, a predominantly Russian-speaking eastern region home to coal mines, metal plants and heavy equipment factories. His secession will give Putin much-needed victory two months after the end of the war, following a failed attempt to storm the capital, Kyiv.
In a nationwide video address, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said the Russians “do not abandon their attempts to achieve at least some victory by launching a new, large-scale offensive.”
The governor of Luhansk said Russian forces now control 80% of his region, which is one of the two that make up Donbass. Prior to Russia’s invasion on February 24, the Kiev government controlled 60% of the Luhansk region.
Governor Sergei Haidai said the Russians, after capturing the small town of Kremina, are now threatening the towns of Rubezhne and Popasna. He called on all residents to evacuate immediately.
“The occupiers control only parts of these cities that are unable to break through to the centers,” Haidai told the Telegram news app.
Analysts say the offensive in the east could turn into a war of attrition as Russia faces Ukraine’s most experienced, battle-hardened troops fighting pro-Moscow separatists in Donbass for eight years.
Russia has said it has presented Ukraine with a draft document outlining its demands for an end to the conflict, days after Putin said talks were deadlocked.
Zelensky said he had not seen or heard of the proposal, although one of his top advisers said the Ukrainian side was considering it.
Moscow has long urged Ukraine to withdraw any bid to join NATO. Ukraine has said it will agree to this in exchange for security guarantees from other countries. Other sources of tension include the status of both the Crimean peninsula, seized by Moscow in 2014, and eastern Ukraine, where separatists have declared independent republics recognized by Russia.
In devastated Mariupol, Ukraine said the Russians dropped heavy bombs to level off what was left of the sprawling Azovstal steel plant, believed to be the city’s last pocket of resistance.
Several thousand Ukrainian soldiers, according to Russians, remain in the plant, and its maze of tunnels and bunkers spans about 11 square kilometers (4 square miles). Zelenski said about 1,000 civilians were also trapped.
A Ukrainian who is apparently at the plant posted a video on Facebook, calling on world leaders to help evacuate people from the plant, saying: “We have more than 500 wounded soldiers and hundreds of civilians with us, including women and children.”
The officer introduced himself as Sergei Volinsky of the 36th Marine Brigade and warned: “This may be our last appeal. We may only have a few days or hours left. “The video’s authenticity cannot be verified independently.
The Russian side issued a new ultimatum to the defenders to surrender, but the Ukrainians ignored all previous demands.
It is estimated that a total of more than 100,000 people have been trapped in Mariupol with little food, water, medicine or heat. The population of the city before the war was 400,000 people.
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