English daily published in Bengaluru & Doha
Ukraine Prez welcomes offers to moderate talks with Russia
Kyiv (Ukraine): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is welcoming efforts to open talks with Russia. In a video message Saturday, Zelenskyy said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev offered to help organise talks and that “we can only welcome that.” Diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed have so far faltered.
Zelenskyy offered Friday to negotiate a key Russian demand: that Ukraine declare itself neutral and abandon its ambition of joining NATO. But movement to actually advance any diplomacy has appeared to sputter. Earlier, Kyiv residents braced Saturday for another night sheltering underground, as Russian troops closed in on Ukraine’s capital and skirmishes were reported on the outskirts. Ukraine’s leader, meanwhile, vowed to continue fighting the Russian assault as he appealed for more outside help. “The real fighting for Kyiv is ongoing,” Zelenskyy had said in a video message in which he accused Russia of hitting infrastructure and civilian targets.
“We will win,” he said. Central Kyiv appeared quiet on Saturday, though sporadic gunfire could be heard. And fighting on the city’s outskirts suggested that small Russian units were trying to clear a path for the main forces. Britain and the US said the bulk of Russian forces were 30 kilometers from the centre of the city. — AP
Kyiv residents braced Saturday for another night sheltering underground, as Russian troops closed in on Ukraine’s capital and skirmishes were reported on the outskirts. As Russian troops pressed their offensive with small groups of troops reported inside Kyiv, the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, extended an overnight curfew to run from 5 p.m. Saturday until 8 a.m. on Monday, saying any civilians out past curfew “will be considered members of the enemy’s sabotage and reconnaissance groups.”
Russia claims its assault on Ukraine is aimed only at military targets, but bridges, schools and residential neighbourhoods have been hit since the invasion began Thursday with air and missile strikes and Russian troops entering Ukraine from the north, east and south. Ukraine’s health minister reported Saturday that 198 people, including three children, had been killed and more than 1,000 others had been wounded during Europe’s largest land war since World War II.
