Russian forces on Friday launched a new round of strikes on Kyiv and Lviv, striking both a residential building and a military aircraft repair base, continuing aggressive sieges outside Ukraine’s major cities. in the fourth week of his invasion.
The attack on a repair plant near Lviv was wounded, regional governor Maxim Kozitsky said, and it was the closest Russian strike to the city center just four miles away. The Western Command of the Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down two of the six missiles fired at the city from the Black Sea. Lviv, near the border with Poland, was largely saved from heavy fighting, but a strike on a training facility last weekend killed nearly three dozen people. The bus repair facility was also on Friday, Mayor Andrei Sadovy said.
In a residential building in Kiev in the Podol district, one person was killed and 19 were injured, according to the Ministry of Emergencies and Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
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Meanwhile, in an evening address to the nation on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked President Joe Biden for additional military assistance, but avoided details about fears of overthrowing Russian forces.
“This is our defense,” Zelensky said. “If the enemy does not know what to expect from us. After all, they did not know what awaited them after February 24, “- on the day of the Russian invasion. “They didn’t know what we had to defend and how we prepared for the strike.”
As a result of the fighting, more than 3 million people fled Ukraine, according to UN estimates. The death toll remains unknown, although Ukraine said thousands of civilians were killed.
Among the most doomed attacks of the Russian invasion was an airstrike last week on a maternity hospital in Mariupol that killed three people and injured 17.
The World Health Organization says it is just one of 43 confirmed attacks by Russian troops on hospitals and medical facilities since the start of the war. As a result of these attacks, 12 were killed and 34 were injured.
JOURNALIST AND REFUGEE:As one reporter helps cover the war in Ukraine, experiencing the consequences.
Recent events:
â–ºThe Ukrainian military says it has captured about a thousand Russian servicemen and an estimated 14,000 more have been killed in action.
â–ºEurope will not try to send its first rover to Mars this year due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Space Agency confirmed on Thursday. The mission took place in cooperation with Roscosmos, Russia’s state space corporation.
â–ºFormer President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko called on Europe to stop buying oil and gas from Russia: “You pay Putin $ 50 million every hour. Every hour. And this money is used to kill us Ukrainians. “
NEWS ON YOUR FINGERS:Get information about the situation in Ukraine. Register here.
Blinken: “There will be responsibility for any war crimes”
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Thursday that he agrees with President Joe Biden that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine.
“Deliberately attacking civilians is a war crime,” he told a White House briefing. “It’s hard for me to conclude that the Russians are acting differently.”
Blinken’s comments came the day after Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal.” On Thursday, Biden called Putin “a murderous dictator, a pure bandit who is waging an immoral war against the people of Ukraine.”
Describing the recent attack on Ukrainians waiting in lines for bread, and the bombing of a theater where children were sheltered, Blinken said the U.S. was helping to document potential war crimes for prosecution.
Asked what would happen to Putin if convicted, Blinken said he would not anticipate the investigation, but promised there would be consequences.
“I can say with confidence that any war crimes that are alleged to have taken place will be the responsibility,” he said.
“Morin Gropp.”
The house is moving towards further suspension of trade between Russia and Belarus
The House of Representatives voted Thursday in a two-party attempt to suspend normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus, a decision likely to be made by the Senate.
The House of Representatives, by an overwhelming majority of 424 to 8, voted to abolish “most favored nation” status for Russia. If adopted, the suspension will be largely symbolic: previous sanctions on imports of Russian oil, gas and coal have already reduced about 60% of US imports.
Thursday’s vote will make imports of some steel, aluminum and plywood products more expensive.
– Selina Tebar
China should use its influence on Russia for the better, Blinken said
China has a special responsibility to use its influence on Russia, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told reporters the day before President Joe Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
But instead of defending international rules he claims to support, Blinken said, China is instead moving in the opposite direction, refusing to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while posing as a neutral arbiter.
The United States is also concerned that China is considering direct assistance to Russia in military equipment, which both China and Russia deny.
During Friday’s call, Blinken said, Biden would make it clear to Xi that China would be responsible for any action it takes to support Russia’s aggression.
“And,” he said, “we will not hesitate to impose costs.”
“Morin Gropp.”
Contributed by: Associated Press
