SLOVIANSK, Ukraine — The evacuation of
civilians from
Sloviansk continued Wednesday as Russian troops pressed towards
the eastern Ukrainian city in their campaign to control the Donbas region, as
Ireland’s prime minister visited Kyiv to voice solidarity.
اضافة اعلان
Sloviansk has been subjected to heavy bombardment in
recent days as Russian forces push westwards on day 133 of the invasion.
AFP journalists saw rockets slam into Sloviansk’s
marketplace and surrounding streets, with firefighters scrambling to put out
the resulting blazes.
Around a third of the market in Sloviansk appeared
to have been destroyed, with locals coming to see what was left among the
charred wreckage.
The remaining part of the market was functioning,
with a trickle of shoppers coming out to buy fruit and vegetables.
Sloviansk ‘well
fortified’
Mayor Vadym Lyakh said that
around 23,000 people out of 110,000 were still in Sloviansk but claimed Russia
had been unable to surround the city.
“Since the beginning of hostilities, 17 residents of
the community have died, 67 have been injured,” he said.
“Evacuation is ongoing. We take people out every
day.” Many of the evacuees were taken by bus to the city of Dnipro, further
west.
“The city is well fortified. Russia does not manage
to advance to the city,” the mayor said.
Russians push west
The eastern
Donbas is mainly
comprised of the Lugansk region, which Russian forces have almost entirely
captured, and the Donetsk region to its southwest — the current focus of
Moscow’s attack and the location of Sloviansk.
The fall of
Lysychansk in Lugansk on Sunday, a week after the Ukrainian army also retreated
from the neighboring city of Severodonetsk, has freed up Russian troops to
advance west on Kramatorsk and Sloviansk — Donetsk’s two largest cities still
under Ukrainian control.
On Tuesday, they were first closing in on the
smaller city of Siversk — which lies between Lysychansk and Sloviansk — after
days of shelling there.
Donetsk governor
Pavlo Kyrylenko said Russian forces
killed five civilians and injured 21 in the region on Tuesday.
Lugansk governor Sergiy Gayday insisted that Russia
did not control the entire Lugansk region, saying: “Fighting still keeps going
in two villages.”
Irish PM sees ‘evil’
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin was in Ukraine on Wednesday to voice
Dublin’s solidarity and discuss how Ireland can support the country’s needs.
He visited
Borodyanka and Butcha outside Kyiv, two towns that have become symbols of the
alleged war crimes committed by Russian soldiers in this conflict.
“In the 21st
century, to see such evil — very very difficult to comprehend. This war must
stop,” he told Irish broadcaster RTE.
After talks later
with
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Martin said Moscow’s actions could
not be allowed to stand.
“Russia’s brutal
war against this beautiful democratic country is a gross violation of
international law. It is an affront to everything that Ireland stands for,” he
said.
Zelensky said
Russia was not yet thinking about peace because “they don’t feel pressure of
sanctions for the moment since some allies hesitate to activate sanctions”.
He is pressing
Western allies for upgraded anti-missile systems.
“Our priority is
sky security. We count on the arrival of powerful air defense systems. It will
allow women and kids to get back home,” Zelensky said.
Russia toughens laws
Russia’s parliament on Wednesday introduced harsh prison terms for calls
to act against national security, and for maintaining “confidential”
cooperation with foreigners and helping them to act against Russia’s interests.
Rights activists
fear the new legislation will be used to snuff out any last vestiges of
dissent.
Lawmakers also
approved legislation to create a patriotic youth movement, in a move
reminiscent of Soviet-era youth organizations.
Meanwhile former
Russian president
Dmitry Medvedev invoked the possibility of nuclear war if the
International Criminal Court moves to punish Moscow for alleged crimes in
Ukraine since the February 24 invasion.
“The idea to
punish a country that has the largest nuclear arsenal is absurd,” said Medvedev,
a close ally of President Vladimir Putin.
“And potentially
creates a threat to the existence of mankind.”
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