Equal Fierce fighting took place over much of Ukraine on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin Raise your psychological warfare game.
Russian state media have warned in an unsubstantiated report that Ukraine has prepared a “dirty bomb nuclear weapon based on plutonium” at the abandoned Chernobyl nuclear plant now in Russian hands, according to Russian state media. Reuters.
War analysts immediately called the claim an “excuse”, warning to the contrary that Russia may indeed be erecting a “false flag” to pave the way for the use of its nuclear arsenal. its own person. Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate, with Ukrainians pointing to the so-called ceasefire in the besieged city of Mariupol once again being breached by Russian attacks.
Russian news agencies TASS, RIA and Interfax published reports on Sunday morning, claiming “representatives of an authoritative body” in Russia said Ukraine had studied a “dirty bomb” inside the house Chernobyl nuclear plant that the Russian military is currently occupying. No actual evidence has been provided to support the claims, which are disputed by Ukrainian officials who say they have never sought to produce nuclear weapons, and until the Independent and external media agencies are increasingly leaving the country or facing persecution. British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab told SKY News on Sunday in response: “I think its rhetoric and ingenuity. “He has a track record of as long as he has the arm of anyone providing disinformation and propaganda…. This is a distraction from the real problem at hand – it’s a fight. illegal invasion and it didn’t go as planned.”
The Russian military has so far occupied Chernobyl north of the capital Kyiv and the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine, which caught fire on Friday, raising fears that Putin’s gratuitous invasion could lead to the nuclear disaster in Europe.
Reports from Ukrainian sources say that employees inside the plant – which has been decommissioned but has been operated since 2000 – have not been allowed to change shifts since the Russian occupation began on 24 February. , raising concerns that burnout staff could inadvertently compromise the site’s already vulnerable status. Chernobyl was the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster, the worst nuclear accident in history.
In a call with US Congressional lawmakers, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russian military had currently closing the Yuzhnoukrainsk plant near Kyiv. They are about 20 miles from the plant – the second largest in Europe after Zaporizhzhya, prompting US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield to warn that the “imminent danger continues”.
Putin also lashed out that the heavy sanctions that have crippled his country’s economy were a “like a declaration of war” by the West on Saturday, adding, “thank God it wasn’t to the extent there.”
Zelensky scorned NATO for refusing to impose a no-fly zone on his country, another move Putin has threatened to lead to a bigger war.
As the body count grows, diplomats continue to build a record of war crimes against Putin, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken telling CNN he is concerned. “We have seen very credible reports of deliberate attacks on civilians, which would constitute war crimes,” Blinken told State of the Union. “We have seen very credible reports of the use of certain types of weapons.”
Attempts to create a humanitarian corridor that would allow civilians to escape heavily bombarded Mariupol were unsuccessful on Saturday and again on Sunday, when Ukraine announced Russian troops were continuing to attack the area. Water and electricity were cut off in the city of 430,000 people, where the dead piled up in the streets without anyone being able to collect or bury them, according to CNN.
Jedrzej Nowicki / Agencja Wyborcza.pl/Reuters
As the bombardment continued into its 11th day, more than 1.5 million people had to be displaced to neighboring countries, in what UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi called “the national refugee crisis”. fastest growing in Europe since World War II.” An 11-year-old boy with a backpack travels to Slovakia alone. The Slovak Interior Ministry posted on its Facebook page: “He won over everyone with his smile, fearlessness and determination worthy of a true hero.”
The World Health Organization also issued a call for help on Sunday to help evacuate the sick in Ukraine after citing “several attacks on health care”. [centers] in Ukraine, causing many deaths and injuries”. A WHO representative told the BBC on Sunday that at least six attacks on healthcare facilities have been reported, resulting in the deaths of patients and healthcare workers.
In the Ukrainian coastal city of Odessa, a million residents are bracing themselves for what they believe is an impending attack, perhaps by warships visible offshore. follow a Washington Post report. People there are using sand from popular beaches to fill sandbags and build glass structures and create road blocks. Zelensky on Sunday reiterated the warning in a Facebook post, telling residents to prepare for an attack.
On Sunday, Russian troops continued to advance into the capital Kyiv by land and air as residents desperately tried to escape the city. “The enemy continues to bombard all residential areas in Bucha mercilessly: every day is a struggle for survival,” the city council said on Facebook Sunday, referring to the suburbs. Kyiv faces some heaviest fighting. “There is no electricity, heat, communication, internet. Unable to provide humanitarian aid: the community is under siege. We need support to survive! Help us to save the community! ”
