The fighting rages in the
Donbass
.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky
has accused Russia of carrying out "genocide".
"They want to burn Popasna, Bakhmut, Lyman, Lysychansk and Severodonetsk to ashes. Like Volnovakha, like
Mariupol
," he continued.
"The catastrophic unfolding of events could still be stopped if the world treated the situation in Ukraine as such. If the strong of the world did not flirt with
Russia
, but really insisted on ending the war," Zelensky stressed.
And the mayor of
Severodonetsk
speaks of 1,500 people killed since the beginning of the conflict.
Meanwhile, the Biden
administration
he would be preparing to send more powerful weapons to Ukraine: the long-range missiles that Kiev has long been asking why "could be the turning point in the war against Russia".
The
UN
: 'The civilian death toll rises to 4,000'.
Ukraine, the Russian soldier: 'We throw grenades in the basements with civilians'
'THE GREATS DON'T FLIRT WITH RUSSIA'
"The catastrophic turn of events could still be stopped if the world treated the situation in Ukraine as such. If the strongest of the world didn't flirt with Russia, but really insisted on ending the war." .
This is the warning from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video.
Zelensky recalled that the European Union "for weeks" has failed to agree on the sixth package of sanctions.
"The world hasn't dared to block the Russian banking system for weeks," the president said.
Russian forces want to "reduce to ashes" the Donbass: Zelensky said as he described the growing difficult position of Kiev in the east of the country.
"The current occupier offensive in Donbass may make the region uninhabited," Zelensky said.
"They want to burn Popasna, Bakhmut, Lyman, Lysychansk and Severodonetsk to ashes. Like Volnovakha, like Mariupol," he continued.
CNN reports it.
Zelensky also pointed the finger at the EU, accusing it of not taking decisive action on sanctions.
Zelensky accused Russia of carrying out a "genocide" in the Donbass.
Russia is practicing "deportation" and "mass killing of civilians" in the Donbass, Zelensky said in his daily video speech stating that "all of this (...
THE MASSACRE IN SEVERODONETSK
"1,500 people have been killed since the beginning of the war in Severodonetsk", in the Ukrainian region of Donbass (east): the mayor Oleksandr Stryuk said, quoted by the BBC.
The city is subjected to constant bombing, 60% of the housing stock is completely destroyed and up to 90% of the buildings are damaged and in need of major repairs, adds Stryuk.
The route out of the city is extremely dangerous, but the Ukrainian military is doing "whatever it takes to make the streets safe," he says.
About 12,000-13,000 people still remained in the city.
'4 THOUSAND CIVIL VICTIMS'
The death toll of civilians in Ukraine is close to 4,000 since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, the United Nations human rights agency reported, according to the Kiev Independent.
The inhabitants killed so far by the Russian forces are in fact at least 3,998 (data updated to Wednesday), while the civilians injured are at least 4,693.
However, the agency believes the actual figures are much higher.
The number of Ukrainian children who have died since the beginning of the Russian invasion has risen to 241, while 438 have been injured.
This was reported by the Public Prosecutor of Kiev quoted by Ukrinform.
The largest number of deaths among children is recorded in the Donetsk region.
'MORE POWERFUL BIDEN WEAPONS'
The Biden administration is preparing to send more powerful weapons to Ukraine as part of a new package next week.
Administration sources report this to CNN.
In particular, these would be long-range missile systems, Multiple Launch Rocket System or MLRS, which Volodymyr Zelensky has been asking for for some time.
The weapons, made in the United States, can fire a barrage of rockets for hundreds of kilometers, far farther than any other system already in Ukraine, and according to Kiev could be the turning point in their war against Russia.
Another system required by Ukraine is the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System or HIMARS, which is lighter than Mlrs but capable of firing the same type of ammunition.
So far Biden had avoided sending these systems out of fear that Ukraine could use them to attack inside Russian territory resulting in a reaction from Moscow, the sources said.
ANSA agency
Ukraine: the news, the LIVE LIVE of the day