The Russian military said on Tuesday that it had Significantly reduced its military activity Near the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and the northern city of Chernihiv, where talks with Ukraine aimed at ending the war have entered the “practical” phase.
Russia and Ukraine began face-to-face talks on Tuesday in Turkey as the United Nations pressed for a ceasefire over Russia’s brutal invasion. The Russian Tass news agency reported that the talks took place at the Turkish presidential office in Istanbul and lasted more than three hours.
Alexander Fomin, Russia’s deputy defense minister, said the military cuts were aimed at improving conditions for the talks. Fomin said that “a decision was made to significantly reduce military activity on the approach to Kyiv and Chernihiv.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday launched an initiative to explore a “humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine,” echoing Ukraine’s urgent appeals. Guterres said he had asked Under-Secretary-General Martin Griffiths, the head of UN humanitarian operations worldwide, to consider a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukrainian news outlet Suspline News On Monday, I reported that Ukrainian officials had hoped to agree to a ceasefire to allow aid deliveries to Ukraine and pave the way for political negotiations to end the war.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the warring countries had a “historic responsibility” to stop the fighting.
“We believe that there will be no losers in a just peace. Prolonging the conflict is not in anyone’s interest,” Erdogan said as the talks began in Istanbul.
Latest moves:Mapping and tracing the Russian invasion of Ukraine
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The latest developments
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, on Tuesday, that seven people were killed when a Russian missile hit a nine-storey government building in Mykolaiv. He added that 22 people were injured.
President Joe Biden said Monday he was expressing his “moral outrage” and not a change in US policy, with his statement last weekend that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot stay in power.”
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said the Pentagon is sending six naval aircraft specialized in suppressing enemy air defense to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank.
Less than five weeks since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, more than 3.9 million refugees have been forced to flee the country, making the refugee crisis the fastest growing since World War II, according to United Nations refugee agency.
Ukraine’s defense strategy can increase the danger to civilians
Experts told the Washington Post that Ukraine’s defense against Russian attacks may increase the risks to civilians in the war-torn country. Most of the neighborhoods in Ukrainian cities have become “military,” the newspaper says, making them potential targets for Russian forces. Russia was bombing some cities, and the Ukrainians responded by deploying air defense systems, heavy weapons, soldiers, and volunteers in residential areas. All are rich targets for Russian missiles.
“I am very reluctant to suggest that Ukraine is responsible for civilian casualties because Ukraine is fighting to defend its country from an aggressor,” William Schabas, a professor of international law at Middlesex University in London, told the newspaper. “But to the extent that Ukraine is moving the battlefield into civilian neighbourhoods, it increases the danger to civilians.”
Ukraine takes back Irvine
The Ukrainian forces were continuing their efforts to regain the lands swept by the Russian offensive. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said late Monday that the Ukrainian army had recaptured Irbin, northwest of Kyiv, from Russian forces, who were regrouping to retake the region.
We still have to fight, and we have to endure,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address to the nation. “We can’t express our feelings now. We can’t raise expectations, simply so we don’t get burned.”
The Ukrainian government said it was operating three humanitarian corridors on Tuesday to transport civilians from the besieged port of Mariupol and two Russian-occupied cities in the south.
Cyber attack hits Ukraine’s national telecom provider
A “massive” cyberattack caused Ukraine’s national telecom provider Ukrtelecom to almost completely shut down on Monday morning, and the blackout lasted into the evening. Network monitors said this was the most serious outage since Russia invaded Ukraine more than a month ago. The head of the Ukrainian State Service for Special Communications, Yuri Shehul, said that most Ukrainian customers have been cut off so that the Ukrainian military can continue to use them.
Schehol blamed “the enemy” for the cyber attack, and declined to name Russia specifically.
– Selena Tibor
Many in the Middle East see hypocrisy in the West’s embrace of Ukraine
Within days of the Russian invasion, Western countries turned to international law, imposed harsh sanctions, began welcoming refugees with open arms, and cheered the Ukrainian armed resistance.
The response sparked outrage across the Middle East, where many see a stark double standard in how the West responds to international conflicts.
“We have seen all the means that we have been told that cannot be activated for more than 70 years have been deployed in less than seven days,” Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said at a security forum in Turkey earlier this month.
“Amazing hypocrisy,” he said.
The Biden administration said Wednesday that the United States has assessed that Russian forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine and will work with others to prosecute the perpetrators. But the United States is not a member of the International Criminal Court and strongly opposes any international investigation into its behavior or that of its ally, Israel.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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