Serhiy Haidai, governor of the eastern Luhansk region, acknowledged that a mass evacuation of civilians from Sievierodonetsk was now “simply not possible” due to relentless bombing and fighting. Ukrainian forces have been repulsed on the outskirts of the city because of “the scorched earth method and heavy artillery used by the Russians,” he said. “There is still an opportunity to evacuate the wounded, to contact the Ukrainian army and the locals,” he told the Associated Press by telephone, adding that Russian troops had not yet completely ruled out the strategic city. About 12,000 people remain in Sievierodonetsk, out of a pre-war population of 100,000. More than 500 people have taken refuge in the Azot chemical plant, which is being pounded relentlessly by the Russians, according to Haidai. A total of 70 civilians were evacuated from the Luhansk region on the last day, the governor said. A Russian general, meanwhile, said a humanitarian corridor would be opened Wednesday to evacuate civilians from the Nitrogen plant. Colonel Mikhail Mizinchev said the evacuees would be evacuated to the town of Swatovo, 60 kilometers (35 miles) north of territory controlled by Russian and separatist forces. He said the plan was made after Ukraine requested an evacuation corridor leading to territories it controls. Mizinchev, head of the National Defense Management Center, has been accused by Ukraine of human rights abuses while commanding troops during the long siege of Mariupol, Ukraine’s main port of the Azov Sea, which they have occupied. Russian forces have been pushing hard in recent weeks to seize the eastern industrial area of ​​Donbass in Ukraine, which borders Russia and consists of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. “The situation is difficult,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told a Danish news conference on Tuesday. “Our task is to counterattack.” Zelenskyy called for more and faster deliveries of Western weapons. Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said on Tuesday that the army had received only about 10% of the Western weapons it had requested “to create parity with the Russian army”. “No matter how hard Ukraine tries, no matter how professional our army is, without the help of our Western partners we will not be able to win this war,” Malyar told a news conference. He said Ukraine uses 5,000 to 6,000 artillery shells a day, while Russia uses 10 times more. In recent days, Ukrainian officials have spoken of the heavy human cost of the war, with fierce fighting in the east becoming an artillery battle that has led Kiev forces to surpass their weapons and outnumber them. Malyar said every day of delay meant the loss of more Ukrainian soldiers and civilians. “And therefore, unfortunately, we can not wait long, because the situation is very difficult,” he added. With the conflict now in its fourth month, the battle of Donbass could dictate the course of the war. If Russia prevails, Ukraine will lose not only land, but perhaps most of its most capable military forces, paving the way for Moscow to seize more territory and dictate its terms in Kyiv. A Russian failure, however, could lay the groundwork for a Ukrainian counterattack – and a possible political upheaval for the Kremlin. Jan Eggeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, one of the humanitarian organizations that provide food to citizens in Donbas, said fighting in recent weeks had made it impossible to distribute food regularly. Now, he said, the remaining civilians in Sievierodonetsk “are almost completely cut off from aid supplies after the destruction of the last bridge”. Reports of overnight bombings came from other Ukrainian regions, with five people injured in the northeastern Kharkiv region. According to information provided on Tuesday by the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom, the Russian forces seem to have made small progress in the Kharkiv region for the first time in several weeks. A regional Ukrainian military official said the country’s air defense had shot down two Russian cruise missiles targeting the area around Odessa, Ukraine’s main port on the Black Sea.

MORE STORIES ABOUT THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: – Ukrainians use humor to deal with the trauma of war – The bucolic forest of Ukraine is a burial place for a mass grave – Russia reduces gas flows to Europe via pipeline – Pope criticizes Russian “cruelty”, praises Ukrainian “heroism”

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: US President Joe Biden says he is working closely with European partners to transport 20 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain, which is currently not allowed to leave Black Sea ports due to Russian invasion of international markets. He said on Tuesday that the plan would include the construction of temporary storage silos on the Ukrainian border to address the problem of different types of railways used by Ukrainian and European railway systems. “Ukraine has a system like Russia has, a gauge that is different from the gauge of other railways in Europe,” Biden said. “Well, we will build silos, temporary silos, on the border with Ukraine, including Poland. So we can transport it from these cars to these silos, to cars in Europe and take it to the ocean and transport it around the world. But it takes time. “ Ukraine is one of the largest exporters of wheat, corn and sunflower oil in the world. The shortage of Ukrainian grain on world markets threatens to exacerbate food shortages and inflation around the world. Many countries in Africa and the Middle East rely heavily on Ukrainian cereals and could have trouble feeding their peoples without it.

Nearly two-thirds of children in Ukraine have been uprooted during the war, according to a UN official who visited the country last week. “The war in Ukraine is a crisis for children’s rights,” Afsan Khan told a news conference on Tuesday. She is the Director of Europe and Central Asia for UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund. Khan said 277 children in Ukraine had been killed and 456 injured, mostly due to explosives being used in urban areas. He said the number of damaged schools is likely in the thousands, and only about 25% of schools in Ukraine are even operational. Millions of Ukrainian women and children have fled the country since the Russian invasion in February.

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Romania on Tuesday for talks and to meet with French troops stationed there as part of NATO’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Macron’s visit to Romania, a member of the European Union since 2007 and a member of NATO since 2004, was the start of a regional tour that includes a non – NATO visit to Moldova on Wednesday. Both countries share a long border with Ukraine. “Nobody knows what lies ahead for us in the coming weeks and months, but we will do everything we can to put an end to the Russian invasion, help the Ukrainians and continue the negotiations,” Macron told Mihail Kogalniceanu Eastern Air Base. , where he was welcomed by Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca. In a brief speech to French troops deployed to the NATO base, Macron praised them for “honoring our commitment to defend Europe as the war resumes.” France has about 500 troops deployed in Romania.

The Kremlin says Russia would be ready to consider a UK appeal for the fate of two Britons sentenced to death for fighting for Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov said neither Moscow nor pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine who had served the sentence had heard from London. “You have to apply … to the authorities of the country where the court issued the verdict, and this is not the Russian Federation,” Peshkov said. “But, of course, everything will depend on the calls from London. “And I am sure the Russian side will be ready to listen.” The British Aiden Aslin and Sean Pinner and the Moroccan citizen Brahim Saadoun were accused of fighting as mercenaries for Ukraine in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. They were sentenced to death in a process that London called a “fraud”. The separatist authorities said all three had one month to appeal their sentence. Kyiv has pledged to try to secure their release through an exchange of detainees with Russia.

Russian gas supplies through a major pipeline to Europe will be reduced by about 40% this year, state-controlled energy giant Gazprom said on Tuesday after Canada’s sanctions over the Ukraine war prevented German partner Siemens Energy from delivering refurbished equipment. . Germany’s utility service says it does not see gas supplies as threatened and that reduced flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline under the Baltic Sea are in line with trade behavior and the previously announced gas cut-off from Russia to Denmark and the Netherlands, broadcast the German news agency dpa. . The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was monitoring the situation. Spot gas prices have risen in Europe, a sign of concern about the possible further effects of the war on supplies of Russian gas, which powers industry and generates electricity on the continent. The European Union has outlined plans to reduce its dependence on Russian gas by two-thirds by the end of the year. Economists say a complete shutdown would deal a severe blow to the economy, consumers and gas-intensive industries.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has announced that it has banned dozens of British media and defense figures from entering the country. A statement on the ministry’s website on Tuesday said the ban on 29 journalists and commentators was a response to what it claimed was a “deliberate spread of false and one-sided information” by the British media about Russia and its war in Ukraine. THE…