Russia’s attacks in eastern Ukraine mark new phase in war; Joe Biden expected to announce new aid package: Ukraine live updates
Russia’s attacks in eastern Ukraine mark a new phase in the war as U.S. officials believe they will prelude a major offensive in the Donbas region, a senior U.S. Defense Department official said Tuesday.
The assault, stretching some 300 miles from northeastern Ukraine to the country’s southeast since Monday, comes as Russia continues to add to its forces in Ukraine and resupply those already inside the country, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence findings.
The Russians inserted two battalion tactical groups into Ukraine in the last day, to increase the number to 78, the official said. Russian battalions vary in size from about 800 to 1,000 troops.
Both Ukrainian and Russian officials acknowledged Tuesday the war had entered a new phase. Ukraine’s military said “the occupiers made an attempt to break through our defenses along nearly the entire frontline,” while Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said the goal was “full liberation” in Donetsk and Luhansk.
Ukrainian forces said Russia was dropping heavy bombs to flatten the remains of a steel plant and hit a hospital where hundreds were staying in Mariupol.
The Russians, who invaded Feb. 24, have faced a spirited and effective resistance from Ukrainian troops and lost about 25% of the combat force deployed by President Vladimir Putin, the U.S. official said.
The new phase of the war and resupplied Russian forces came as President Joe Biden was expected to announce a new security assistance package in the coming days that will include additional artillery and ammunition, according to a U.S. official who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, though details of the package were still being finalized.
Last week, in anticipation of Russia’s offensive in eastern Ukraine, Biden approved an $800 million package including additional helicopters and the first provision of American artillery. The U.S. has sent about $2.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion.
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Latest developments:
► The Russian military attacking Ukrainian forces holed up in the giant Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol gave the group new ultimatum to surrender Wednesday after a previous deadline was ignored.
► Malcolm Nance, a former MSNBC foreign affairs analyst, joined military forces in Ukraine to help the country fend off Russia. He told MSNBC in an interview he was “done talking” and joined the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine last month to “do something about” the conflict after seeing what he called the “extermination” of civilians.
►The International Atomic Energy Agency says direct phone communications between the decommissioned Chernobyl power plant and Ukraine’s nuclear regulator have been restored after the plant was seized by Russian forces weeks earlier.
►Russians took control of Kreminna on Monday after “leveling everything to the ground,” and evacuations are impossible, Luhansk regional military administrator Serhiy Haidai said on Ukrainian TV.
►Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday awarded honors to a military brigade Ukraine has accused of committing war crimes in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, CNN and the Washington Post reported.
►For a third consecutive day Tuesday, no humanitarian corridors for civilians to flee the fighting were open in Ukraine, the country’s deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk said. Nearly 5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, according to the U.N.’s refugee agency.
►The Greek coast guard said it seized a Russian oil tanker with 19 Russian crew members on board in the Aegean Sea as part of European Union sanctions.
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UN chief calls for ‘humanitarian pause’ for Orthodox Easter
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called for a four-day pause in hostilities in Ukraine to observe Holy Week in the Orthodox Christian tradition.
Guterres said the pause should begin Thursday and said it was even more necessary given the intensified attacks in eastern Ukraine this week.
“The onslaught and terrible toll on civilians we have seen so far could pale in comparison to the horror that lies ahead. This cannot be allowed to happen,” Guterres told reporters, urging Russians and Ukrainians “to silence the guns and forge a path to safety for so many at immediate risk.”
Asked about Guterres’ proposal at a U.N. Security Council meeting Tuesday, Russian deputy Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy was said he was “skeptical,” but that the decision would be up to Russia’s leaders.
Battles ongoing in eastern towns; several dead in Kharkiv strike
Fighting in the eastern towns of Rubizhne and Popasna in the Luhansk region was ongoing Tuesday, regional military administrator Serhiy Haidai said in a report by state news agency Ukriniform.
Haidai said stronger shelling and air attacks have occurred along the eastern frontline, but Russian troops were being held in the two towns as of Tuesday.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of the Donetsk region military, said Russian troops were moving toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk after capturing the town of Kreminna, CNN reported.
Meanwhile, in the city of Kharkiv, the Associated Press reported at least four people were killed and three others wounded after a Russian strike in an residential area. Kharkiv regional Gov. Oleh Synyehubov previously said Tuesday that five civilians were killed and another 17 wounded in Russian rocket attacks in the center of Kharkiv and its outskirts over the past day.
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Treasury secretary to meet with Ukraine PM, avoid Russia during G-20
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she will meet with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal this week during G-20, the annual gathering of some of the world’s largest economies.
However, she’ll be trying to avoid most contact with Russian officials, echoing her comments from earlier this month. During a congressional hearing on April 6, Yellen said “I’ve made clear to my colleagues in Indonesia that we will not be participating in a number of meetings if the Russians are there.”
President Joe Biden has previously said Russia should be removed from the G20.
– Celina Tebor
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