This is as Europe’s worst refugee crisis since World War II.
The humanitarian situation in the country’s besieged cities became more dire, especially in Mariupol where bodies lay in the streets and hopes of a mass evacuation of civilians were crushed again.
Many thousand people managed to get out of Sumy, a northeastern Ukrainian town, on Tuesday via buses that passed through one of the humanitarian corridors Russia/Ukraine agreed to Monday. According to Ukrainian officials, 21 people were killed in the attack on the city overnight.
Here are some key facts about the war.
WHAT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED OR DIRECTLY WITNESSED BY THE ASSOCIATED PRS?
Videos captured Sumy residents boarding buses on Tuesday. They also showed buses with red crosses driving on a snowy road, as they left the city.
Iryna Vereshchuk, the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister, stated that both sides had agreed to a ceasefire between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. in order to evacuate Sumy civilians who were heading southwest to the Ukrainian city Poltava.
Sumy had earlier released a video showing rescuers rescuing the injured from debris after an overnight airstrike. According to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, a woman trapped under the rubble managed to survive.
Children and women in Mariupol were gathered in a basement shelter while outgoing artillery fire was blazing in the distance. Goma Janna (one of the women) lamented that she shouldn’t cry. I want my house, and I want my job. “I feel so sad for people, the city, and the children.”
Mariupol is home to approximately 430,000 citizens. They have been without heat or water for several days and have taken to breaking into shops. A video of a Ukrainian soldier saying to people: “People, please unite.” There is no need to panic. Don’t take anything. We will all live together.”
HOW DO EVACTUATIONS AFFECT?
Vereshchuk stated that 5,000 people were evacuated, including 1,700 students from abroad, from Sumy to Poltava.
Russian military provided a different number. They claimed that 723 people had been evacuated from the city, and identified them mostly as citizens of India with some others from China, Jordan, and Tunisia. The Russian military did not mention Ukrainians among the evacuatees.
According to Vereshchuk, the planned evacuation of Mariupol civilians failed due to Russian troops firing on a convoy from Ukraine carrying humanitarian cargo that was later to ferry people out.
The Russian military denied firing upon convoys and accused Ukraine for obstructing the evacuation efforts.
Russia announced Monday that civilians will be allowed to leave several cities including Sumy and Mariupol, Chernigiv. It wasn’t clear whether evacuations took place in these other cities. Despite ongoing fighting and objections to proposed routes, repeated attempts to create safe evacuation routes have failed.
Officials from Ukraine confirmed that a safe corridor opened early Tuesday from Irpin. This is a city close to Kyiv that had been without heat, electricity or water for several days. It wasn’t known how long the corridor remained open, or how many people used them.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON OUTSIDE?
Russian aircraft bombed Kharkiv on Tuesday night, Ukraine’s second largest city. Zhytomyr was to the west and Zhytomyr to the west. The military increased its bombardment of Kyiv’s suburbs as well, according the Ukrainian emergency services.
The agency stated that the bombing in Malyn, a small town of 25,000 people near Zhytomyr killed at least five people and damaged seven homes and a textile factory. The bombing at Chuhuiv, close to Kharkiv, resulted in the deaths of two people, including a seven-year-old.
Ukrainian officials reported that there were also dire conditions in Kyiv’s suburbs of Bucha and Hostomel, Irpen and Vyshhorod, as well as bodies of those who couldn’t be buried.
Lviv’s mayor said that the city was struggling to house the more than 200 000 people who fled the area. The city’s schools, sports halls and other buildings are housing the displaced.
His forces have captured large swathes of the southern and coast Ukraine in the past two weeks, but their advance has been stopped in many other areas, including Kyiv.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian President, vowed to fight Russia’s invasion of his country’s cities and fields.
He said, “We won’t give up and will not lose,” to Britain’s packed House of Commons via Video, recalling Winston Churchill’s “never surrender” speech during World War II.
WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF KILTING SO MANY PEOPLE?
Although thousands of civilians and soldiers are believed to have been killed in the massacre, it is not known how many.
According to the Biden administration’s top intelligence officer , the U.S. believes Russia underestimated Ukraine’s resistance strength before it launched its invasion. This has resulted in thousands of casualties.
Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence, stated that Putin feels aggrieved that the West doesn’t give him proper deference. He also perceives this war as one he cannot afford. He may be willing to accept a victory, but it is possible that his perception of what victory means will change as he incurs significant costs.
U.N. human rights officials said Tuesday that they had confirmed that 474 civilians were killed and that 861 were wounded in Ukraine since February 24, when the conflict began. However, it acknowledged that actual numbers are more likely to be higher. U.N. officials said Tuesday that 2,000,000 people fled Ukraine.
WHAT IS THE ISSUE OF AID TO UKRAINE & SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA
The U.S., along with its NATO allies, have rejected Ukraine’s requests to impose a no fly zone over the country to prevent direct military engagement with Russia. Poland announced Tuesday that it would hand over all its MiG-29 fighter aircraft to the United States. Ukrainian pilots are qualified to fly them. The Pentagon replied that Poland’s offer of giving the jets to America so they could be handed to Ukraine was not sustainable and raised serious concerns about the NATO alliance.
John Kirby, Pentagon Press Secretary, stated that the U.S. will continue talks with Poland on the matter.
U.S. President Joe Biden stated that the U.S. would prohibit all Russian oil imports. This is even though it will result in higher gas prices for Americans. Despite the severe restrictions Russia faces, energy exports have maintained a steady flow of cash to Russia.
Russia’s Central Bank tightened currency restrictions in a way not seen since the Soviet era. The Central Bank ordered that clients could not withdraw more than $10,000 from hard currency deposits. All withdrawals exceeding this amount will be converted into rubles according to the current exchange rate.
Global markets are being rattled by rising oil prices and other essential commodities like wheat, which is used ingovernment- subsidised bread and noodles. As Russia is the largest oil producer in the world, there are increasing concerns that Ukraine’s invasion will cause a disruption to the global oil supply.
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, McDonald’s, Starbucks and PepsiCo announced Tuesday that they would temporarily suspend their Russian business. McDonald’s announced that it will temporarily close its 850 restaurants in Russia, but continue to pay its 62,000 employees there.
Shell announced Tuesday that it would no longer buy Russian oil, after Ukrainian officials criticised the energy giant’s purchase of crude oil from Moscow.
