An elderly woman walks through an apartment building destroyed by Russian bombing of Borodyanka, Ukraine, on Wednesday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of using hunger as a weapon of war, deliberately targeting Ukraine’s basic food supplies. In a speech to Irish lawmakers Wednesday, Zelensky said Russian forces were “destroying livelihoods,” including food storage depots, blocking ports so Ukraine could not export food and “put out food.” in the fields”. “For them, hunger is also a weapon, a weapon against us ordinary people,” he said, accusing Russia of “deliberately provoking a food crisis” in Ukraine, a major global producer of commodities such as wheat and sunflower oil. He said it would have an international impact, because “there will be food shortages and prices will go up, and that is the reality for the millions of hungry people and it will be harder for them to feed their families. ” Zelensky spoke via video at a joint meeting of the two Irish parliaments, the last of a series of international speeches he used to rally support for Ukraine. MOSCOW – Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov says talks with Ukraine are continuing despite allegations of war crimes against civilians in Kiev’s Bukha suburb. Peshkov said on Wednesday that talks with Ukraine had continued, but that Boutsa’s revelations – which he described as “directing” – had hampered the talks and that there was “a long way to go”. “The work process continues, but it is much more difficult than we would like. “Of course we would like to see more dynamism on the Ukrainian side, but the process has not stopped and is continuing,” Peshkov said. Russia withdrew from areas around Kyiv and the northern cities of Chernihiv and Sumy after talks with Ukraine in Turkey last week. Ukrainian troops entering the area found evidence of widespread civilian killings. Russia denies any wrongdoing and claims that Ukraine has fabricated the facts. Following the talks in Turkey, the Russian and Ukrainian delegations resumed talks via video link. BRUSSELS – A senior European Union official says bloc member states should consider ways to offer asylum to Russian soldiers who want to leave Ukraine’s battlefields. European Council President Charles Michel on Wednesday expressed “outrage at the crimes against humanity committed against innocent civilians in Bucha and many other cities”. He called on Russian soldiers not to obey orders. “If you do not want to get involved in the murder of your Ukrainian brothers and sisters, if you do not want to become a criminal, lay down your arms, stop fighting, leave the battlefield,” said Michel, who represents the bloc’s governments. , in a speech to the European Parliament Supporting an idea that has been circulated in the past by some EU lawmakers, Michel added that granting asylum to Russian deserters is “a valuable idea that should be pursued”. BERLIN – Germany’s foreign minister has accused Russia of spreading misinformation to justify the war in Ukraine. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Wednesday that “as Russian tanks destroy Ukrainian cities, the Kremlin’s propaganda machine censors the news, restricts social media, spreads misinformation and punishes those who dare to lie.” He said the goal was “both clear and cynical: to discourage the courageous people of Ukraine while the Russians remain in the dark.” Bayerbok spoke in a videotaped message at a ministry-sponsored misinformation conference, in which participants also cited examples of Russian efforts to provoke resentment in Europe against Ukrainian refugees. LONDON – Intel says it is suspending all business in Russia, making it the last foreign company to leave because of the Moscow war in Ukraine. “With immediate effect, we have suspended all business in Russia,” the US chip maker said late Wednesday. The company had already suspended shipments to customers in Russia and neighboring Belarus after the outbreak of war. Intel said it was working to support its 1,200 employees in Russia and had implemented “business continuity measures” to reduce disruption to its global operations, although it did not provide details. “Intel continues to join the global community in condemning Russia’s war on Ukraine and calling for a speedy return to peace,” it said in a statement. BEIJING (Reuters) – China says reports and images of civilian deaths in the Ukrainian city of Butsa are “deeply disturbing” and called for an investigation. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Wednesday that China supports all initiatives and measures “that help alleviate the humanitarian crisis” in the country and “is ready to continue to work with the international community to prevent any harm to civilians.” ». The Bucha assassinations could be used to further pressure Beijing on its largely pro-Russian stance and its efforts to guide public opinion on the war. China has called for talks but has refused to criticize Russia for its invasion. He opposes economic sanctions on Moscow and accuses Washington and NATO of provoking the war and provoking the conflict by sending weapons to Ukraine. Zhao’s remarks echo those of the previous day’s Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Joon, who called for an investigation, describing reports and images of civilian deaths in Bhutto as “deeply disturbing.” VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis kissed a battered Ukrainian flag brought to him from the Ukrainian city of Bukha and called for an end to the war again. Francis welcomed half a dozen Ukrainian children to the stage of the Vatican Auditorium at the end of his general audience on Wednesday and gave each of them a giant chocolate Easter egg. He urged them to pray for them and for all Ukrainians. “Recent news of the war in Ukraine, instead of bringing relief and hope, has brought witness to new atrocities, such as the Bucha massacre, even more horrific atrocities against civilians, defenseless women and children,” the pope said. they are victims whose innocent blood cries out to heaven and begs for this war to stop and for their weapons to be silenced. “Stop spreading war and destruction.” He told the crowd: “These children had to leave to get to a safe place. That’s the fruit of the war. “ The pope was holding a dirty Ukrainian flag that he said had arrived the previous day at the Vatican from Bukha, where evidence emerged of deliberate killings of civilians during the occupation of the city by Russian troops. Kissing him, he said: “This flag comes from the war, from that martyr city of Bucha … Let us not forget them. “Let us not forget the people of Ukraine.” RUSSIA – The governor of Russia’s Kursk region on the border with Ukraine said on Wednesday that Russian border guards had been shot dead on Tuesday. Governor Roman Starovoit told the Telegram messaging service that the border guards responded to the fire and that there were no “losses or damage” from the Russian side as a result of the incident. The Ukrainian military has not yet commented on the allegation and could not be independently verified. LONDON – British defense officials say 160,000 people remain trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol, where Russian airstrikes and heavy fighting continue. The Ministry of Defense said in a briefing on Wednesday that those in the city “have no light, no communication, no medicine, no heat or water.” He accused the Russian forces of deliberately blocking access to humanitarian aid, “possibly forcing the defenders to surrender”. Repeated attempts by the International Committee of the Red Cross to transport a humanitarian convoy to the southern port city failed. Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk said that Russian forces stopped buses accompanied by Red Cross workers traveling to Mariupol, which had a population of about 400,000 before the war. He said Russian troops had allowed 1,496 civilians to leave the Sea of Azov port on Tuesday. LVIV, Ukraine – Russian forces overnight hit a fuel depot and a factory in the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine and the death toll remains unclear, regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said in a Telegram message on Wednesday. “The night was worrying and difficult. The enemy attacked our area from the air and hit the oil depot and one of the factories. The oil depot with fuel was destroyed. Rescuers continue to extinguish the flames in the factory. “There is a strong fire,” Reznichenko wrote. In the eastern region of Luhansk, the bombing of the city of Rubizhne on Tuesday killed one and wounded five others, Governor Serhiy Haidai told the Telegram on Wednesday. The Russian military continues to focus its efforts on preparing for an attack in eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian General Staff said Wednesday morning, with the aim of “consolidating full control over the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.” Parts of the two regions have been under the control of Russian-backed rebels since 2014 and are recognized by Moscow as independent states.
