Russia is also likely to have attacked in western Ukraine on Tuesday. Eyewitnesses and the mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadowyi, reported several explosions in the city in the evening. At the same time, in Mariupol in the south-east, the surrounded Azov steel works, in which civilians are said to be still staying, is under fire.
The Russian agency RIA, citing the Ministry of Defense in Moscow, reported that the remaining Ukrainian fighters on the premises of the Azov steel plant were being fired upon. According to the Russian version, they used the ceasefire to launch attacks. The Ukrainian media had previously reported that the plant was being stormed by Russian forces. There was no confirmation for this.
Around 200 civilians are said to be trapped in buried bunkers in the steelworks. According to Mayor Vadym Bojchenko, around 100,000 civilians are still holding out throughout Mariupol.
Speculations about declaration of a state of war
There is also growing concern that Russian attacks will escalate significantly in the coming weeks. Several Ukrainian media picked up a report by the US broadcaster CNN on speculation that Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin could declare a state of war in Russia and order general mobilization in just a few days. Many people are now looking forward to Putin’s speech at the traditional military parade on May 9 in Moscow, with which Russia commemorates the victory over Hitler’s Germany in 1945 every year.
Many experts originally assumed that the Kremlin chief wanted to celebrate successes in Ukraine that day, and he says the alleged “denazification” of the country was the goal of the Russian military operation. In view of the only halting advance of Russian troops, some observers are now assuming that the hostilities will intensify.
Further outrage over the Lavrov comparison
A Hitler comparison by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in connection with the Ukraine war caused further outrage. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the comments “anti-Semitic” and said they show that Russia had “forgotten all the lessons of World War II”. It is “no coincidence” that Russia is waging a “so-called total war” to “destroy all living things”.
“It was the lowest form of racism, it was the lowest form of propaganda, it was the lowest form of insidious lying,” said US State Department spokesman Ned Price, adding “disgusting comments.” The Russian Foreign Ministry followed up today, accusing Israel of supporting neo-Nazis in Ukraine.
Debate: What resources does the West have?
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been at war in Ukraine for several weeks, and there is no end in sight. Solidarity with Ukraine welds Europe and the USA together. What means does the West have to end the war? What are the consequences of alleged crimes against civilians? What could a political solution look like?
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