A convoy of 160 civilian vehicles left Mariupol, an encircled port, along a designated humanitarian route. This was a rare glimmer in hope, just a week and a quarter into the deadly siege that has decimated homes and other buildings, and left many people hungry for water, food, and heat.
The fourth round of negotiations involved higher-ranking officials from both countries. This was also the first meeting in a week. After several hours of negotiations, there was no breakthrough. An aide to the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zilenskyy stated that negotiators had taken a “technical pause” and were resuming their talks on Tuesday.
In the last few days, both sides expressed optimism. Mykhailo podolyak, Zelenskyy’s aide, tweeted that negotiators would discuss peace, ceasefire, withdrawal of troops immediately, and security guarantees.
Previous talks, which were held in Belarus, did not produce any lasting humanitarian routes or agreements to stop the fighting.
Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, stated Monday at a briefing that the Biden administration supports Ukraine participating in the talks with Russia. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin must show signs of deescalating to show good faith.
She stated that she was looking for evidence that President Putin has done something to de-escalate the violence and stop it.
According to a senior U.S. defense officer who spoke under anonymity to discuss the Pentagon’s assessment, almost all Russian military offensives remain stalled despite making little progress over weekend. According to the official, Russian troops were still approximately 15 km (9 miles) away from Kyiv’s center.
According to the official, Russian forces had launched more than 900 missiles. However, Ukraine’s airspace remains contested and Russia does not have total air superiority.
Overnight, air raid alerts were sounded in several cities and towns across the country. They ranged from the Russian border in east to the Carpathian Mountains west. Fighting continued in the outskirts Kyiv. According to Ukrainian officials, Russian forces have shelled several areas of the capital.
Two people were reported to have been killed by the Russians when they attacked an aircraft factory in Kyiv. This sparked a huge fire. The Antonov factory in Ukraine is the country’s largest and most important aircraft plant. It also produces large cargo planes.
Authorities said that Russian artillery also struck a nine-story apartment block in the northern Obolonskyi area of the city. Two more people were killed.
A Russian airstrike was reported to have caused significant damage to a neighborhood in downtown Kyiv, killing one person.
Kateryna Lot claimed she was at her apartment doing homework when she heard a loud explosion. She ran for shelter.
“The child was hysterical. Our balcony and windows were broken. She said that part of the floor had fallen. It was extremely, very frightening.
Fox News’ Benjamin Hall, a reporter for Fox News, was hurt while reporting in an area just outside Kyiv. He was taken to hospital.
Officials said that a Brovary town councilor, east of Kyiv was killed in the fighting. Local authorities reported that shells were also dropped on the Kyiv suburbs Irpin, Bucha, and Hostomel. These areas have been the scene of some of the most brutal fighting in Russia’s failed attempt to seize the capital.
There were reports of airstrikes in the country’s southern cities of Mykolaiv and Chernihiv. The heat was also knocked out to large parts of the city. Overnight, explosions were heard around Kherson, a Russian-occupied Black Sea port.
According to the governor of the region, nine people were killed by a rocket attack against a TV tower in Antopol’s western village.
Firefighters rescued a four-story residential building from a blaze in Kharkiv’s eastern city. It was not clear if there were any casualties.
The city council of Mariupol didn’t give any details about the number of people in the convoy heading westward to Zaporizhzhia. This is the south city that has suffered the most from the war. It said that a cease-fire was in effect along the route.
Continued fighting thwarted previous attempts to evacuate civilians from the city of 430,000 and provide humanitarian aid.
Robert Mardini is the director-general of the International Committee of the Red Cross. He said that war has made life a “horrible nightmare” for people living in cities under siege. He pleaded for evacuation routes for civilians and humanitarian aid.
He said, “The situation can’t, cannot continue as this.” “History is looking at what’s happening in Mariupol, and other cities.”
A pregnant lady who was photographed being taken from a Mariupol bombed maternity ward last week as a symbol for the suffering of Ukraine, has now died.
Mariupol residents, including Natalia Koldash, ran to hide in a building as an unknown plane flew overhead Sunday.
Koldash stated that they have no information. We don’t know anything. It seems like we live in deep forests.”
Associated Press video shows debris from a residential building damaged and another building Dima, a young man, described as an elementary school.
He said, “There wasn’t a military at that school.” “It is not clear why it was hit.”
The Russian military said 20 civilians in the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine were killed by a ballistic missile launched by Ukrainian forces. This claim was not independently verified.
Although the U.N. believes that there have been more civilian deaths than 596 since Russia invaded Ukraine, Feb. 24, it has not yet confirmed this number. Millions more have fled their homes with more that 2.8 million attempting to cross into Poland and other countries in the U.N.’s largest refugee crisis since World War II.
After fleeing Dnipro, an industrial Ukrainian city, Alexandra Beltuygova, 33, said that she was still crying after having to leave her loved ones.
“I know that they may not be seen. She said, “I wish this war would stop.”
Russia’s military is bigger and better equipped than Ukraine’s, but its troops have faced stiffer-than-expected resistance, bolstered by arms supplied by the West.
During a meeting with a senior Chinese diplomat in Rome, U.S. security advisor Jake Sullivan warned China not to help Russia.
Two officials from the administration spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive information. They said that China had indicated to Moscow it was willing to provide military support to Ukraine and financial backing to help offset the effects of Western sanctions.
The Kremlin denied that it asked China for military equipment for use in Ukraine.
Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, stated that Russia has the potential to continue the operation and that the plan was being implemented in accordance with it. He also said that the operation would be completed on schedule and in its entirety.
The conflict grew Sunday when Russian missiles struck a Ukrainian military training base near the Polish border. This was previously a critical hub for cooperation between NATO and Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian officials, the attack claimed 35 lives and raised concerns that NATO might be drawn into conflict with Russia.
According to a senior U.S. defense official, the base was not being used as a shipping point for U.S. military supplies to Ukraine at that time.