ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO
As Russia formally declares the beginning of its “subsequent part” of warfare in opposition to Ukraine, one in all Putin’s troops has instructed household again house the brand new offensive will embrace “3-ton” bombs dropped on Ukrainian forces who're combating to the tip to save lots of besieged Mariupol.
“We’re ready right here for ‘surprises’ from Russia… three-ton [ones] from the sky.… They mentioned they may flatten the earth... The lieutenant colonel got here and mentioned: ‘You'll really feel it yourselves, and listen to it. Think about the shockwave,” the person, recognized by Ukrainian intelligence as a Russian soldier, mentioned in audio of what Ukraine’s Safety Service mentioned was an intercepted name made to his spouse again house.
Requested what this might imply for civilians nonetheless trapped within the metropolis, he mentioned, “Everybody left. Everybody who wished to has left. Solely patriots and the very sensible have remained.”
The recording comes as Ukrainian forces gave the impression to be within the midst of the ultimate battle to save lots of Mariupol on Tuesday, with intense combating underway on the Azovstal metal plant, the place Ukraine has mentioned no less than 1,000 civilians had been additionally taking refuge in underground shelters.
Russia’s Protection Ministry launched an announcement calling on all Ukrainian servicemen contained in the plant to “lay down their arms” and give up in the event that they need to keep alive, although there was no rapid phrase on that truly occurring. The Ukrainian marines primarily based on the plant had beforehand issued a video attraction vowing to combat “to the very finish.”
Whereas the fiercest combating was reported in Mariupol, assaults intensified all through the whole east of the nation Tuesday with hundreds of civilians trapped. The Ukrainian presidential administration supplied a stark warning that “protected locations” not exist.
“There shouldn’t be any illusions, missile strikes in opposition to our cities will maintain occurring till the final day of warfare and protected locations not exist,” Oleksiy Arestovych, a high aide to the Ukrainian president, warned throughout a telemarathon, including that missile strikes will doubtless proceed “for one more month.”
His feedback got here after Ukrainian authorities on Monday issued determined pleas for residents within the east of the nation to right away evacuate because the “battle for the Donbas” started.
“There isn't any time left to assume [about evacuating]. Choices should be made shortly,” Serhiy Haidai, the top of the Luhansk regional administration, warned on Telegram, lamenting that hundreds of civilians in a single city had not but evacuated, making them “hostages to the Russians.”
All evacuation corridors had been closed Tuesday, for the third day in a row, attributable to intensifying assaults, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister mentioned.
Russian International Minister Sergei Lavrov, in an interview with India In the present day, mentioned what occurs subsequent will show to be an “essential second” in Moscow’s “particular operation” in opposition to Ukrainians.
Claiming with a straight face that the aggression is important to guard “ethnic Russians” in Ukraine, he appeared to not rule out the potential for nuclear weapons—promising that the Kremlin would follow “bizarre” weapons “at this stage.”
“The operation is continuous, the subsequent part of this particular operation is beginning proper now. And, it appears to me, will probably be an essential second of this particular operation,” he instructed India In the present day.
He went on guilty the West for the warfare, and reiterated the Kremlin’s declare that “our military has solely been concentrating on navy infrastructure and never civilians.”
Requested about proof of Russian warfare crimes in Bucha, the Kyiv suburb the place no less than 400 civilians had been discovered executed after Russian forces had been compelled to retreat, he steered such claims had been “false” and mentioned “the West is just not listening to our details.”
The Kremlin has repeatedly claimed the civilian executions had been “staged” by Ukraine and its Western allies, however on Tuesday introduced that it might not provoke a global investigation to resolve the bloodbath.
A day earlier than Lavrov’s remarks, Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded honors to the Russian navy brigade accused of being behind the civilian slaughter in Bucha, lauding the sixty fourth Separate Motor Rifle Brigade’s “skillful and resolute actions” together with their supposed “selflessness and excessive professionalism.”