Russian troops on Tuesday attacked the Kiev television tower and shelled the city of Kharkov, intensifying their offensive in Ukraine despite the constant tightening of Western sanctions against Moscow.
The bombings in Kharkov (east), the second largest city in the country, with 1.4 million inhabitants, left 18 dead and 26 wounded, according to the relief services.
In the capital Kiev, an attack hit the television tower, leaving five dead and five wounded.
Satellite images captured a column of more than 60 kilometers of Russian armored vehicles and artillery advancing from the north towards Kiev.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson denounced the “absolutely sickening” bombings.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ, of the UN) convened hearings on March 7 and 8 in a case brought to it by Ukraine, which accuses Russia of plotting genocide.
RUSSIAN ADVANCE IN THE SOUTH
The Russians appeared to be making gains in the south of the country, in the Azov Sea region.
The Mariúpol port was without electricity due to the bombing and the governor of the region indicated that the town of Volnovakha, with 20,000 inhabitants, was almost “destroyed”.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that its troops were advancing along the coast from the Crimean peninsula (annexed in 2014), with the support of pro-Russian separatist militias from Donetsk, which provides strategic territorial continuity for the invading forces.
This information could not be verified at this time.
The Russian army also controls access to the coastal city of Kherson (290,000 inhabitants), further west, according to its mayor.
UKRAINE URGES TO “STOP” THE INVASION
The UN estimates that more than 677,000 people have fled Ukraine and there are one million internally displaced persons. This exodus “could become the most important refugee crisis of this century in Europe”, said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi.
The Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, highlighted in a telephone conversation with his American counterpart Joe Biden the need to “stop” the Russian invasion “as soon as possible”.
Zelenskiy also spoke by video conference before the European Parliament and reiterated his call for Kiev to join the EU immediately.
“Europe will be stronger with Ukraine in its midst. Without you, Ukraine will be alone. We have proven our strength (…). Therefore, prove that you are with us, prove that you will not abandon us, ”he said in a dramatic speech applauded by the plenary.
ECONOMIC, MEDIA, CULTURAL AND SPORTS FENCE
The 27 EU countries decided on Tuesday to ban the broadcast of Russian state media RT and Sputnik and authorized the exclusion of “some Russian banks” from the Swift interbank messaging system.
The United States, Europe and allied countries had already indicated their intention to adopt unprecedented sanctions to punish Moscow, ranging from the exclusion of Swift to a currency blockade, passing through individual sanctions against the Russian political, government and business elite.
The rain of sanctions was also extended in the sports, cultural and business fields.
The international athletics federation, World Athletics, excluded athletes from Russia and Belarus (a country allied with Moscow) from all its competitions; The organization of the Volleyball World Cup has been withdrawn from Russia and its skaters will not be able to compete “until further notice”, as well as their tennis and cycling teams.
Several orchestras and festivals canceled their commitments to the Russian musician Valeri Guérguiev, a defender of Putin, fired this Tuesday from the direction of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra (southern Germany).
The technology giant Apple has suspended the sale of all its products in Russia.
At the UN headquarters in Geneva, numerous delegations, including Ukraine and Western countries, boycotted the online intervention of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a Disarmament conference and at the Human Rights Council session, leaving the room almost empty .
Despite this unprecedented pressure, Putin seems determined to continue the offensive and put an end to Ukraine’s aspirations to join the EU and NATO.
Faced with the catastrophe that is beginning to take shape, the UN launched a call to collect 1,700 million dollars in emergency aid for Kiev, since it estimates that 12 million people inside Ukraine will need help and projects that some four million displaced persons could require aid in neighboring countries in the coming months.
DISTURBED MARKETS
The invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia worry world markets, which again recorded heavy losses this Tuesday in the United States and Europe.
The price of a barrel of WTI oil rose by more than 10% and that of Brent by 9%.
