Kyiv: Russia on Monday said it will not halt its military operation in Ukraine for peace talks. The statement comes amid warnings from the West that Putin’s army is regrouping to ‘focus’ on Ukraine’s eastern cities. Meanwhile, Ukraine hailed IMF’s creation of a special account to give bilateral donors and international organisations a secure way to send financial resources to war-torn Ukraine.
Ukraine says more than 1,200 bodies have been found in devastated areas around Kyiv, with authorities pursuing “500 suspects” including Putin and other top Russian officials. Seven bodies were found Monday under the rubble of two multi-storey buildings in Borodianka, in the Kyiv region, the state emergency service said, bringing the total to 19.
Russia was poised Monday to take the strategic city of Mariupol and unleash a massive offensive in eastern Ukraine, as fresh diplomatic efforts with Moscow to broker a peace offered little hope of de-escalation. In a nightly address on Monday, Zelensky warned that Russia could use chemical weapons in Ukraine and called on the West to impose strong sanctions on Moscow that would deter even talk of the use of such weapons. “I would like to remind world leaders that the possible use of chemical weapons by the Russian military has already been discussed. And already at that time, it meant that it was necessary to react to the Russian aggression much harsher and faster.”
Top officials at the UN called Monday for an investigation into Russia’s violence against women and the protection of children in the conflict. An increased number of rapes and sexual violence were reported as investigations progressed. The world rights body has verified 142 deaths. According to Unicef’s emergency program director who just returned from Ukraine around 4.8 million children of 7.5 million have been displaced six weeks into the war.