Ukraine war: First explosions in the west of the country - that happened at night

Created: 03/13/2022, 07:06

Scene from the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol under fire on March 12 © Upi Photo/Imago

The Russian troops in Ukraine continue their war of aggression.

An overview of what happened on the night of March 13 and an outlook for the day.

Kyiv – The Russian war in Ukraine* has reached the western Ukrainian metropolis of Lviv for the first time, where many refugees are gathering.

The city was rocked by explosions on the 18th day of the invasion.

A reporter from the German Press Agency (dpa) reported several detonations on Sunday morning.

An air alert was triggered.

It was initially unclear what exactly the target of the attacks was.

Southwest of Lviv is an airport.

There is also a Ukrainian military base on the border with Poland.

Ukraine War News: Russian units continue to attempt storming of Mariupol

According to Ukrainian sources, Russian units are still trying to storm the city of Mariupol.

With the support of Russian troops, pro-Russian separatists advanced into the eastern outskirts, according to the Ukrainian armed forces.

A Russian offensive is also imminent in the city of Sievjerodonetsk with 100,000 inhabitants in the Luhansk region.

In the south of the country, Russian troops built up forces at the industrial city of Kryvyi Rih with over 600,000 inhabitants.

The information was not independently verifiable.

Ukraine War News: Evacuation in Mariupol failed again

In the port city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine, which was besieged by the Russian army, another attempt to evacuate civilians failed on Saturday.

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that 50 buses could not leave because of shelling.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the column was held at a checkpoint for five hours.

There should be another attempt on Sunday.

Elsewhere, the escape corridors would have worked, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj*.

A total of 12,729 people were able to leave besieged and embattled towns that day, most of them from the northeastern city of Sumy.

NATO chief on the Ukraine war: The next few days will probably bring greater distress

NATO expects a further intensification of the fighting and the humanitarian emergency.

"We are horrified to see the increasing number of civilian casualties and the senseless destruction by the Russian forces," Secretary General of the military alliance Jens Stoltenberg told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

The people of Ukraine resisted the invasion with courage and determination, "but the coming days are likely to bring even greater hardship," he warned.

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Ukraine war: During a phone call with Scholz and Macron - Putin accuses Ukraine of terrible things

Putin and Zelenskyi speak of positive signals in the Ukraine negotiations.

But on Saturday Chancellor Scholz and his French colleague Macron made no progress.

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Gerhard Schröder could act as a peace mediator in the Ukraine conflict.

But the former chancellor had recently come under sharp criticism.

There could be results on Saturday.

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Stoltenberg again rejected calls for NATO to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

That would mean that Russian forces would have to be attacked.

“And that would risk a direct confrontation and an uncontrollable escalation.

We have to end this war and not expand it.” NATO is a defensive alliance.

"We are not looking for a conflict with Russia."

Ukraine war: Zelenskyj threatens Putin's collaborators in Ukraine

Zelenskyj threatens possible Russian collaborators in Ukraine.

Anyone who is tempted by offers from the Russian occupiers is signing their own verdict, he said in a video message published on Sunday night.

"The verdict is to follow more than 12,000 occupiers who could not understand in time why Ukraine should not be attacked." Most recently, the Ukrainian side said that more than 12,000 Russian soldiers had been killed in the war in Ukraine be.

After the stubborn military resistance of the Ukrainians, Zelenskyj sees the first changes in Russia's position.

"Now they have started talking about something - and not just making ultimatums," he told international journalists in Kyiv on Saturday.

The 44-year-old says he's happy with it, as it's the first time in over two years that Moscow has been willing to engage in dialogue.

Ukraine war: This will be important on Sunday (March 13).

In the port city of Mariupol there is said to be a new attempt to evacuate civilians.

In Berlin and other major German cities, tens of thousands of people want to protest again on Sunday against Russia's war in Ukraine.

In the capital, the organizers' alliance of trade unions, churches, peace groups and environmental protection initiatives registered 100,000 participants.

(dpa/frs)