Ukraine tells its people to flee homes in the east before Russia attacks
April 7, 2022, 3:40 am

Ukraine tells its people to flee homes in the east before Russia attacks

National Guard of Ukraine (File photo: Euromaidan Press)

The Arab News reported, citing news agencies, Ukraine on Wednesday (6 Apr) urged its citizens in the east of the country to flee their homes before Russia began a major new offensive in the region.

Russian forces in northern Ukraine have been driven back after failing to capture the capital, Kyiv, but are now thought to be regrouping before a redeployment in Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk.

Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk urged people there to leave immediately and seek refuge in safer areas to the west. She said: “It has to be done now because later people will be under fire and face the threat of death."

It said, Ukraine’s military said Russian forces were continuing preparations for an eastern offensive to take full control of Donetsk and Luhansk. The main focus was Donetsk, where Russian troops were still trying to seize all of Mariupol.

Ukraine on Wednesday (6 Apr) urged its citizens in the east of the country to flee their homes before Russia began a major new offensive in the region (File photo: Euromaidan Press)

Tens of thousands of people remain trapped in the southern port city without food, water or power. “The humanitarian situation in the city is worsening,” British military intelligence said. The Red Cross said its team had led a convoy of buses and private cars with more than 500 Mariupol residents to nearby Zaporizhzhia after the civilians fled on their own.

As Russian artillery bombarded other key Ukrainian cities on Wednesday, the US imposed new sanctions, including penalties targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s daughters, and more evidence emerged that Russian troops murdered Ukrainian civilians in the town of Bucha before it was recaptured from the invaders.

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Pope Francis described the killings as a “massacre” and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the West needed to do more to rein in Russia. “I can’t tolerate any indecisiveness after everything that Russian troops have done,” Zelensky said. Some Western leaders “still think that war and war crimes are not something as horrific as financial losses.”

The US imposed a new round of sanctions targeting Russian banks and Kremlin officials, and banning Americans from investing in Russia. The sanctions hit Sberbank, which holds a third of Russia’s banking assets, and Alfabank, the country’s fourth-largest financial institution.

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Washington also imposed sanctions on Putin’s two adult daughters, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s wife and daughter, and members of Russia’s security council. President Joe Biden said: “I made clear that Russia would pay a severe and immediate price for its atrocities in Bucha."

Britain also froze Sberbank’s assets, and said it would ban imports of Russian coal by the end of the year.

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Russia edged closer to defaulting on its international debt as it paid dollar bondholders in roubles and said it would continue to do so while its foreign exchange reserves were blocked by sanctions.

Source: arabnews

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.