Thursday marks 50 days since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and there has been a remarkable change in Moscow’s approach. Ukrainian officials have warned for days that they expect a major offensive by Russian forces in the eastern part of Donbass.
The United States and the European Union have pledged a total of $ 1.3 billion in additional military aid to Ukraine as Russia prepares to launch an eastern offensive.
Meanwhile, organizations such as the United Nations have warned that the protracted war in Ukraine could lead to more problems in an already troubled global economy with food insecurity as a major concern.
The following are the latest developments:
War casualties: As of April 12, the death toll in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24 has risen to 1,932, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHR) said on Thursday. He warned that “the actual figures are significantly higher”.
Global Impact: The UN Secretary-General has warned that the world is on the brink of a “perfect storm” as the war in Ukraine worsens an already troubled global economy. In a press release Wednesday, the United Nations said the war could lead to a “three-dimensional” food, energy and economic crisis – areas already hit hard by Covid-19 and climate change. “We are now facing a perfect storm that threatens to destroy the economies of developing countries,” said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “The people of Ukraine can not stand the violence. “to do collateral damage in another disaster for which they bear no responsibility,” he said.
Major damage to Russian warship: One of the Russian Navy’s most important warships suffered severe damage in the Black Sea, a huge blow to an army fighting the Ukrainian resistance 50 days after Russia’s invasion of its neighbor. Russian sailors evacuated the Moskva cruiser with guided missiles, the flagship of its fleet in the Black Sea, after a fire that triggered ammunition on the ship, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced. The Operational Administration of Southern Ukraine claimed on Thursday that Moskva had begun to sink after the Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles struck. Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday that Moskva was “still alive” and that measures were being taken to tow it to the port. The ministry said the crew had been evacuated to other ships of the Black Sea Fleet in the area. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told CNN’s Briana Kaylar that there was an “explosion” in Moscow, but said the United States could not say at this time whether the ship had been hit by a rocket. Whatever the cause of the fire, analysts say it severely damages the heart of the Russian navy as well as national pride, comparable to the U.S. Navy that lost a battleship during World War II or an aircraft carrier today.
Ukraine’s National Security Adviser Oleksiy Danilov told CNN on Thursday that the alleged attack on the cruiser was a very important mission for his country’s army and promised that more such dramatic actions would take place. “It’s a very important mission for us. “Moskva was near the island of snakes and was hit yesterday by two powerful Ukrainian-made missiles,” Danilov told CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen in an interview. “[Putin] came to kill our children, our women, our citizens. This is our gift to him. And that’s just the beginning. “There will be more than one Moscow.” more weapons. “We are, first of all, grateful for what we have already been given,” he said. “We need helicopters, planes, powerful weapons, shells; we need a lot.”
Possible meeting between Zelenski and Putin: Turkey is still working to arrange a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşo Nlu told Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşko on Thursday. “We know that critical issues will be decided by the leader. “We will therefore try to bring leaders together,” he said. Tsavousoglu said Turkey continues to approach the negotiations with “cautious optimism”, especially after the recent events of alleged war crimes in Bhutan and Irpin, which “negatively affected the process”.
A precondition for a possible meeting between Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky is a document of agreement ready for the two leaders to sign, the Kremlin announced on Thursday. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Zelensky has repeatedly called for talks with the Russian president, but there have been no talks at the highest level so far.
Russian Opposition Urges West to Organize Social Media Against Putin’s Regime: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has issued a series of tweets urging a new “truth and free information” front against Russian President Vladimir Putin. from the Kremlin. ”
Navalny, who is serving a nine-year sentence in a Russian penal colony after being convicted of fraud last month, tweeted that “truth and free information hit Putin’s insane regime as hard as the Javelins,” his anti-tank weapons. USA. used by Ukrainian forces against Russian armor.
Increased international defense assistance to Ukraine: The Pentagon is working to transfer weapons, ammunition and other $ 800 million worth of security assistance to Ukraine that US President Joe Biden announced yesterday in Ukraine as soon as possible, a senior defense official told the Pentagon. . “We have no illusions about the size and scale of this thing. But we also pay attention to the clock. We know that time is not our friend. “And we will do our best to move it, to move these missions as fast as we can,” the official told reporters during an off-camera briefing.
The European Union (EU) approved an additional 500m euros (US $ 544m) in military equipment for the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Wednesday, according to a European Union Council of Europe press release.
“The coming weeks will be crucial. “As Russia prepares for an attack on eastern Ukraine, it is important that we continue and intensify our military support for Ukraine in order to defend its territory and population and prevent further suffering,” said Josep Borrell, High Representative of the Union for European and Eurasian Affairs. Union Abroad. Affairs and Security Policy.
