প্রকাশ: 04/08/2022
Ukraine said Russia
had started creating a military strike force aimed at President Volodymyr
Zelenskiy's hometown of Kryvyi Rih, as Nato moved closer to the most
significant expansion of the alliance in decades as it responds to the invasion
of Ukraine.
The US Senate and the Italian parliament both approved on
Wednesday Finland and Sweden's accession to the 30-member North Atlantic Treaty
Organisation (Nato). Under Nato membership, which must be ratified by all 30
member states, an attack on one member is an attack against all.
"This historic vote sends an important signal of the
sustained, bipartisan US commitment to Nato, and to ensuring our Alliance is
prepared to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow," US President Joe
Biden said in a statement.
Russia, which invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, has repeatedly
warned Finland and Sweden against joining Nato.
Nato's 30 allies signed the accession protocol last month,
allowing them to join the US-led nuclear-armed alliance once its members ratify
the decision.
Ratification could take up to a year.
Ukraine on Wednesday dismissed suggestions by former German
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder that Russia wanted a "negotiated
solution" to the five-month war and said any dialogue would be contingent
on a Russian ceasefire and withdrawal of its troops.
Tentative attempts at peace talks in March went nowhere.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Thursday
that Ukraine was seeking an opportunity to speak "directly" with
Chinese leader Xi Jinping to help end the war.
In an interview with SCMP, Zelenskiy urged China to use its
political and economic influence over Russia to bring an end to the fighting.
"It's a very powerful state. It's a powerful economy …
So (it) can politically, economically influence Russia. And China is (also a)
permanent member of the U.N. Security Council," the report quoted
Zelenskiy as saying.
New southern offensive
Ukraine on Wednesday night said Russia was engaged in
considerable military activity in the east, northeast and south of the country
and warned that Moscow could be preparing new offensive operations in southern
Ukraine.
Dmytro Zhyvytsky, governor of Sumy region on the border with
Russia, said three towns had been shelled by Russian forces on Wednesday, with
a total of 55 missiles fired. There were no injuries, but homes and commercial
premises were damaged.
He said eight artillery shells hit residential parts of
Krasnopilska community.
Reuters was not able to verify battlefield reports.
Russia denies it targets civilians, but many towns and
cities have been destroyed and thousands of civilians killed in the biggest
conflict in Europe since World War Two. Ukraine and its Western allies accuse
Russian forces of war crimes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops in Ukraine in
what he said was a "special military operation" to rid the country of
fascists. Ukraine and the West said Putin launched an unprovoked
"imperial" land grab.
The war has sparked a global energy and food crisis. Russia
and Ukraine produce about one third of global wheat and Russia is the main
energy supplier to Europe.
An agreement between Moscow and Kyiv, brokered by the United
Nations and Turkey, to allow safe passage of grain ships from Ukraine has been
hailed as a rare diplomatic success in the war.
The first ship carrying Ukrainian grain since the war
started passed through the Bosphorus Strait on Wednesday.
The ship, Razoni, left Odesa on the Black Sea early on
Monday carrying 26,527 tonnes of corn to the Lebanese port of Tripoli.
A senior Turkish official said three ships could leave
Ukrainian ports daily following the Razoni's departure, while Ukraine's
infrastructure minister said 17 more ships had been loaded with agricultural
produce and were waiting to set sail.
- Reuters
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