Russia ordered Ukrainian forces a day earlier to end “horse resistance and lay down their arms” as early as Wednesday morning, as Moscow controls 80 percent of Sivierodonetsk, a city that has become the focus of Russian supplies to the east. of the country. Moscow also accused Ukraine on Wednesday of blocking plans to open a humanitarian corridor for civilians to leave the region. The evacuation was planned to bring civilians from the Azot plant in Svatove, a pro-Russian city north of Sievierodonetsk, and Ukraine had not publicly commented on Moscow’s proposal. More than 500 civilians, including 40 children, are trapped inside the Azot plant. Weeks of relentless Russian bombing of Sivierodonetsk, including its industrial area, have left much of the city in ruins. The Azot plant bombing echoes the previous bloody siege of the Azovstal steel plant in the southern port of Mariupol, where hundreds of fighters and civilians fled the Russian bombardment. Saviano Abreu, a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, described the situation in Azot as “a matter of grave concern”. “The lack of water and sanitation is a big concern. “It’s a huge concern for us because people can not survive long without water,” he told the BBC. Map: location of Azot chemical plant In its latest update, the British Ministry of Defense said that elements of the Ukrainian armed forces as well as several hundred civilians were sheltered in underground shelters at the Azot plant. Ukraine has not publicly admitted that members of its armed forces were there and the allegation could not be verified. Russia continues to make gains in Sievierodonetsk, a key city in pushing Russia for full control of the eastern Luhansk region. The mayor of Sievierodonetsk, Oleksandr Stryuk, told Ukrainian television on Wednesday afternoon that Russian forces were trying to “push towards the city center”. “This is an ongoing situation with some successes and tactical setbacks,” Stryuk said. Meanwhile, Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Luhansk region, wrote on Facebook that 75 people had been evacuated from Sievierodonetsk, despite the fact that the three bridges leading out of the city had been destroyed. “The evacuation is extremely difficult because the bombings are not going away. “Police and volunteers have successfully evacuated 75 people and all of them are safe,” he said. “We will not stop as long as there is such an opportunity to evacuate people.” Outside the battlefield, Ukraine continued its pursuit of more Western weapons as NATO defense ministers gathered in Brussels to discuss the issue. “Brussels, we are waiting for a decision,” Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, wrote on Twitter. Anna Malyar, the country’s deputy defense minister, said Ukraine had received only 10% of the weapons it had requested from the West. “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,” he said. In Russia, where Putin is expected to deliver a keynote address Friday at the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, a rare voice of public opposition has emerged from Igor Denisov, the former head of the country’s football team. “These are catastrophic events. It ‘s horrible. “I am not sure if I will be imprisoned or killed for it, but I say it as it is,” Denisov said in an interview with a sports journalist. Denisov’s statements made him the most senior Russian former or current athlete still in Moscow who had spoken out against the war. His comments came as Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president and close ally of Putin, further escalated his anti-Ukraine rhetoric, writing on his Telegram channel: “Who said Ukraine would even be on the world map in two years?” ; » It was the latest in a series of statements by top Russian officials who questioned Ukraine’s statehood. A day earlier, Russia’s space chief, Dmitry Rogozin, called on Russia to “end” Ukraine “once and for all.”
