At this point in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the civilian death toll is growing, with several cities in need of supplies after Russian troops abandoned their promise to maintain evacuation corridors.
Just in case you missed it, here is the most recent: A warning from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was released on Monday. Zelensky appeared in a video taken in his Kyiv office to praise the military’s actions and say he would continue to pursue talks with Russia. The battle will not end in Ukraine, Zelensky warned in a separate interview with ABC World News Tonight’s David Muir on Monday.
It’s a common misconception that we’re a long way from North America or Canada, according to him. “No, we’ve arrived to a place of total liberation. We need you to stand up for us when the boundaries of our rights and liberties are being crossed. Due to the fact we’ll come out on top, You’ll be a distant second. A beast’s appetite grows exponentially with the amount it consumes.”
Many attempts to evacuate civilians during brief periods of calm were unsuccessful, and Western leaders blamed Russian forces for continuing to fire on designated evacuation routes. On Sunday, a Russian airstrike killed eight civilians, including two children, at an evacuation crossing point outside of Kyiv.
It was “appalling” that Russian troops opened fire on people after both countries had designated particular highways to be used as evacuation corridors, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United Nations said on Monday.
As a result of Russia’s planned exit routes from Ukraine, Ukraine’s government branded them as undesirable. Five Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv and Chernihiv, have been temporarily halted by Russia in order to allow for the evacuation of residents. Until now, Ukraine has not issued a public response to the allegations.
According to a senior US defense official, Russia’s bombardment on Monday intensified, but the major Russian offensive into the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv remains “stalled.” According to the official, a massive Russian military convoy is still a long way from the city core of Kyiv.
From a senior US defense official, Russia has already committed “almost 100 percent” of the combat power that had been stationed on the border of Ukraine and Belarus. An additional 500 US troops will be deployed to Europe, including Poland, Romania, Germany, and Greece, as part of NATO’s flank reinforcements, the United States stated on Monday. According to US authorities, these are aimed to supplement US personnel already stationed in Europe. The Biden administration has made it clear that it does not intend to send US troops into the fray.
Over 1,200 civilian casualties and at least 406 deaths have been confirmed in Ukraine, United Nations officials claim; they believe it is difficult to verify the exact number of deaths and injuries. This information is unverified by CNN. Since the beginning of the conflict, more than 1.7 million people have fled Ukraine, and the UN has warned that this number might rise to five million.