Kyiv: As the Russian offensive continues in Ukraine, two what is called ‘super-powerful bombs’ rocked the port city of Mariupol on Tuesday when Ukrainian authorities were making fresh attempts to rescue civilians from the besieged port city which has suffered relentless shelling since Russia’s invasion began.
Reports suggest that more than 200,000 people are trapped in the city described by those who managed to escape as a “freezing hellscape riddled with dead bodies and destroyed buildings”, Human Rights Watch said, quoting figures provided by a local official.
“We know that there will not be enough space for everyone” on Tuesday, but “we will try to carry out the evacuation until we have gotten all the inhabitants of Mariupol out,” vowed Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk in a video address.
Two “super powerful bombs” slammed into the city even as rescue efforts were ongoing, said Mariupol local authorities, without giving an immediate count of fatalities.
NEGOTIATIONS
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy and discussed the terms of a potential ceasefire in Ukraine. However, both Putin and Zelenskyy reached ‘no agreement’.
ZELENSKYY TO ADDRESS NATO SUMMIT
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been invited to virtually address the NATO summit set to take place on Thursday discussing the Russian invasion of his country. A meeting of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) at the level of Heads of State and Government will take place on Thursday. The meeting will be in person and will be chaired by the NATO Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg.
On February 24, Russia began a special military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics requested help in defending themselves. What followed the military operation was a slew of sanctions imposed by the western countries targeting the Russian economy.