KYIV: Russian airstrikes and artillery fire on the Donbas and Mykolaiv areas of Ukraine continued as Ukraine rejected a ceasefire or any concessions to Moscow.
Ukraine’s attitude has hardened in recent weeks due to Russia’s military failures and the growing concern of Ukrainian authorities that they would be forced to give up land as part of a peace accord.
Andriy Yermak, Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff, tweeted Sunday that “the conflict must finish with the total restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
Andrzej Duda, the Polish president, said Sunday that the international community had to press for Russia’s total departure from Ukraine and that surrendering anything would be a “great blow” to the entire West.
The first foreign leader to address the Ukrainian parliament in person since Russia’s February 24 invasion, Duda stated, “worrisome voices have arisen, demanding that Ukraine should give in to (President Vladimir) Putin’s demands.”
Only Ukraine has the authority to make decisions regarding its own destiny.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky made a renewed call for Russia to face tougher penalties at the same parliamentary session.
There should be no half-measures used in cases when aggressive behaviour has to stop, according to him.
Following their final words, an air raid siren was heard in the city, reminding everyone that this war was far from over, even if the front lines had moved hundreds of kilometres.
Currently, Russia has launched a strong attack in Luhansk, one of two districts in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, after defeating the last remaining Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol.
Interior Ministry adviser Vadym Denysenko said Sunday that heavy combat was concentrated in the twin towns of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk.
After failing to conquer Kyiv, Russia shifted its attention to the east and south of the nation, which includes these cities, in an attempt to encircle the Ukrainian-held portion of the country.
At least three Ukrainian military bases and command centres in the Donbas and Mykolaiv regions in the south have been hit by Russian airstrikes and artillery, according to Russia’s defence ministry.
Reuters was unable to verify the accuracy of the accounts from the battlefield.
Before the invasion, Russian-backed rebels had already taken control of sections of Luhansk and Donetsk, but Moscow aims to take control of the whole of Ukraine’s territory in the area.
There will be no concessions, and there will be no truce.
Mykhailo Podolyak of Ukraine’s Zelenskiy council ruled out any territorial concessions and dismissed demands for an early ceasefire, stating that Kyiv could not allow Russian forces to stay in seized regions.
Proposals for a speedy cessation of hostilities are “quite dreadful,” Podolyak said to Reuters about the situation on Saturday. “The (Russian) military must leave.”
He argued that making concessions would be counterproductive since Russia would strengthen its military as a result of the pause in hostilities.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi have recently called for an urgent cessation of hostilities.
Even though Ukraine’s largest city, Mariupol, had been under siege for over three months, the end of the battle delivered Putin a rare win.
On Friday, Russia’s defence ministry said that the remaining Ukrainian soldiers occupying Mariupol’s Azovstal steelworks had surrendered, ending the conflict. Despite the fact that Ukraine has not acknowledged a full withdrawal, the commander of a unit at the plant said in a video that Ukraine’s military headquarters had ordered the forces there to stand down in order to protect their lives.
A road connection connecting Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 with Russia’s mainland and pro-Russian rebel areas in eastern Ukraine is now in Russia’s hands’ thanks to the control of Mariupol.
Russia restricts Finland’s gas supply
Russia’s national gas company Gazprom announced on Saturday that it has ceased gas deliveries to Finland, which has resisted Moscow’s demands to pay in roubles for Russian gas following Western sanctions over the invasion.
Finland has stated that it is prepared for the end of Russian oil and gas deliveries. On Wednesday, it and Sweden requested to join the NATO military alliance, despite the objections of NATO member Turkey.
Bulgaria and Poland were recently cut off from Moscow’s gas supplies after rejecting the terms of a new deal.
In addition to sanctions, Western countries have increased their supply of weaponry to Ukraine. When President Joe Biden signed a $40 billion military, economic, and humanitarian aid bill on Saturday, it was a significant boost for the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
Washington and its allies, according to Moscow, are waging a “proxy war” by imposing sanctions and supplying weapons to Ukraine.
To disarm Ukraine and remove anti-Russian nationalists from the country, Putin has referred to the invasion as a “special military operation.” Withdrawal from Ukraine, displacement of millions, and the devastation of entire cities have all been blamed on that pretext for the conflict.
