The British intelligence services reported that Ukrainian forces had already repulsed several Russian attacks in the east. Russian forces have also been pushing for control of the southern port city of Mariupol, the beacon between Russian-controlled areas west and east and already devastated by weeks of siege and bombing. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register “There are tens of thousands dead, but even so, the Russians are not stopping their attack,” Zelensky told the South Korean parliament via video link. Reuters could not verify the accuracy of his estimate. Zelensky also called on Seoul to provide military assistance to his country to step up its fight against the Russian aggression. The invasion – which Russia calls a “special military operation” – has left a mark of disaster that has drawn condemnation from Western countries and raised concerns about Putin’s broader ambitions. About a quarter of Ukraine’s 44 million people have been forced to flee their homes, cities have been reduced to rubble and thousands have been killed or injured – many of them civilians. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said the Kremlin will not suspend any new round of peace talks, accusing Kyiv of failing to respond to previous meetings. Lavrov told state television he saw no reason not to resume talks. However, although Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered a halt to military action during the first round in February, Moscow’s position changed, he said. “It has been decided that in the next round of talks, there will be no pause (in military action) unless a final agreement is reached,” Lavrov said. Austrian leader Carl Nehammer was due to meet with Putin in Moscow on Monday and was expected to call for an end to the conflict. It would be Putin’s first face-to-face meeting with a European Union leader since the Russian invasion began on February 24. read more “It has to stop!” Nehammer wrote on Twitter. For now at least, Russian forces have abandoned their attempt to occupy the capital Kyiv, but are doubling their efforts to the east. The British Ministry of Defense stated that the Russian bombing continues in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. However, Ukrainian forces had repulsed several attacks and destroyed Russian tanks, vehicles and artillery equipment, it said in its regular bulletin. “WE WILL ANSWER” Zelensky continued his campaign to build international support and rally his countrymen. Addressing the South Korean parliament, he said Russia was gathering tens of thousands of troops for the next attack. He asked Seoul for any military assistance he could provide. Since Russia invaded, Zelensky has called on Western powers to provide more defense assistance and to punish Moscow with tougher sanctions, including an embargo on its energy exports. Zelensky also said that Mariupol had been destroyed. Reuters reporters on Sunday saw several Russian tanks heading for a highway in the direction of the city. Russia’s Defense Ministry says Russian missiles fired from the sea destroyed the S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems supplied to Ukraine by a European country on Sunday. The systems were hidden in a shed on the outskirts of Dnipro in central Ukraine, he said. Reuters could not confirm this. CITIZENS URGE YOU TO LEAVE The growing civilian casualties have sparked widespread international condemnation and new sanctions. Luhansk Governor Serhi Gaidai, speaking on Ukrainian television on Monday, said bombings in the area were increasing day by day. “The most difficult situation is in (the cities of) Rubizhne and Popasna. They are constantly bombarded around the clock,” Gaidai said. He called on all citizens to leave. “Those who wanted to leave have already left, while now many have remained in bomb shelters that may be afraid to leave the shelters or are afraid of losing their belongings.” Moscow has denied allegations of war crimes by Ukraine and Western countries. It has repeatedly denied targeting civilians, saying its goal is to demilitarize and uproot dangerous nationalists in its southern neighbor. Ukraine and Western nations have dismissed it as an unfounded pretext for war. German Foreign Minister Annalena Bayerbock, speaking ahead of a meeting of European ministers in Luxembourg, said Berlin was seeing “huge signs” of war crimes in Ukraine. FINANCIAL COST French bank Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) became the last company to leave Russia, agreeing to sell its stake in Rosbank and the Russian lender’s insurance subsidiaries to Interros Capital, a company linked to billionaire Vladimir Potanin. The Russian invasion has sparked a barrage of financial sanctions from the United States, Europe and Britain, forcing Western companies to sell their Russian assets. Several EU ministers said Monday that the bloc’s executive branch was working on proposals to impose an oil embargo on Russia, although no agreement had yet been reached on banning Russian crude. read more The World Bank predicted that the war would cause a 45% collapse in Ukraine’s economic output this year, with half of its operations shut down, grain exports cut mainly by Russia’s naval blockade and disaster making economic activity impossible. many areas. read more The bank predicted that Russia’s GDP would shrink by 11.2% this year due to Western sanctions. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report from the offices of Reuters and Lidia Kelly in Melbourne. Written by Lincoln Feast and Angus MacSwan, edited by Stephen Coates and Nick Macfie Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
