Russian forces continue to advance on Wednesday in the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine.
The inhabitants of Sloviansk, Russia's next target in the war it started on February 24, are called upon to evacuate in the face of intense bombing.
“My main advice: evacuate!
launched Tuesday evening the governor of the Donestk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, to the address of the inhabitants of the city of Sloviansk, adding that, "during the week, there was not a day without bombardment".
He had announced a few hours earlier two dead and seven wounded in strikes which notably targeted the city market.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: follow the events of Wednesday live
Rouslan, a shopkeeper interrogated two hours after a bombardment, struggles to hold back tears as he watches his store burn.
He denounces a “genocide” perpetrated by the Russian forces, assuring that such bombardments aim to “scare people, so that they flee” the city.
“Once again, the Russians are intentionally targeting places where civilians congregate.
It is terrorism pure and simple,” denounced the governor.
Russia accuses Ukraine of plotting attack with 'toxic substances'
With the fall of Lysytchansk on Sunday, Russian forces control almost all of the Lugansk region and are now seeking to do the same in Donetsk to thus occupy all of Donbass, which pro-Russian separatists had partially controlled since 2014. Sloviansk, which had 100,000 inhabitants before the war, and Kramatorsk then became the new key points of the fighting.
On Tuesday, the Russian troops were about ten kilometers from Siversk, which they have been shelling for several days, and therefore about fifty kilometers from Sloviansk.
Moscow, the Russian capital, also announced on Tuesday that it had launched an investigation into the torture said to have been suffered by its soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces and released during an exchange of prisoners with kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.
Ukraine and Russia, which have carried out several prisoner exchanges, accuse each other of ill-treatment and torture of prisoners.
The Russian Ministry of Defense also accused Tuesday evening of "Ukrainian nationalists", in the Donetsk region, of preparing "a provocation with the use of toxic substances": large quantities of chlorine brought to a mined filtration station, according to the ministry.
He added that the Ukrainian army uses chemical infrastructure to base its men and weapons there, creating “the preconditions for accidents that could lead to the death of thousands of civilians”.
It is in this context that a two-day international conference in Lugano (Switzerland) ended on Tuesday evening, organized to try to draw the outlines of the reconstruction of Ukraine, the cost of which kyiv estimates at 750 billion dollars ( approximately 715 billion euros).
In a statement adopted on Tuesday evening, allied countries, international institutions and the private sector "commit themselves fully to supporting Ukraine throughout its journey", calling for a "transparent and accountable recovery process".
An “intolerable” civilian record
The use of these billions of dollars, however, worries in a country crippled by corruption.
In its 2021 report on the subject, the non-governmental organization Transparency International ranked Ukraine 122nd out of 180 countries, and Russia 136th.
“When we say we are ready to go fast, we really mean fast,” wanted to reassure Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Chmygal, who came to Lugano.
His country is also calling on its allies to put pressure on the shipping companies to stop transporting goods for Russia and helping it sell its products.
The Zhibek Zholy, a freighter flying the Russian flag, has been anchored for five days off Turkey, in the Black Sea.
Ukraine, which accuses Russia of stealing its wheat crops, says the ship is carrying 7,000 tons obtained illegally.
On the humanitarian level, the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations (United Nations), Michelle Bachelet, denounced on Tuesday the "intolerable" civilian toll of the conflict (nearly 5,000 confirmed civilians killed, including 335 children, an estimate no doubt well below the actual toll) and the numerous human rights violations targeting the population.
“In the name of each victim of this absurd war, the executions, torture and arbitrary detentions must end,” she told the Human Rights Council.
In Brussels, the Belgian capital, the thirty member countries of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) launched on Tuesday the process of ratification for the accessions of Sweden and Finland, which will allow the Alliance to organizing a united line of defense from the Arctic to the Mediterranean, but will also depend on the goodwill of Turkey, which has imposed conditions on these two countries.
For its part, Latvia announced Tuesday evening the restoration of compulsory military service in the face of the Russian threat.
