Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia started its offensive to seize eastern Ukraine while a Russian missile attack hit Lviv, the western city, killing at least seven people. During a Monday address, Zelensky said that they had already announced that the Russian military had started the fight for the Donbas city, for which they had been getting ready for a long time.
Russian soldiers bombarded cities with artillery and rocket fire on Monday. Oleksiy Danilov, a top security official of Ukraine, said that Moscow tried to break through the Ukrainian forces’ front lines in the region. In addition, Moscow initially seemed to want to seize significant cities of Ukraine and fall the government.
Ukraine President Zelensky stated that Russia started the invasion to seize eastern Ukraine. Russian missile hit Lviv, killing 7 civilians. The Russian military withdrew its forces from regions across Kyiv & areas of the north to reinforce those assets to attack eastern Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/MBKfkKIIIj
— Live News Now (@LiveNewsNow6) April 19, 2022
However, after facing stiff resistance from Ukrainian troops, Russian defense officials said that its key objectives were generally accomplished in the initial stage of the process. Its military moved from regions across Kyiv and other areas of the north during the last few weeks. After the latest move, western officials assessed that Moscow was redeploying and reinforcing those assets to invade eastern Ukraine.
Sanctions will Hit the Russian Economy
Western leaders say the economic and individual sanctions pushed Moscow into a sharp economic collapse that will disturb its economy for years. Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that this months’ consumer prices in Russia rose by 17.5 percent compared to last year, which is around more than twice the present 8.5 percent yearly inflation rate in the United States. Putin ordered his administration to index salaries and other payments to lessen the inflationary impact on individual incomes.
President Biden to Host Call with Ally Countries
Ukraine and western nations accuse President Putin of the unprovoked attack. The White House announced that United States President Joe Biden would hold a phone call with allies on Tuesday to discuss the Ukraine crisis, including how to coordinate on holding Putin accountable. Furthermore, Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, said his dialogue with the Russian leader was delayed after civilian killings were discovered in Ukraine.
Source: Web
On Monday, the United Nations (U.N.) said that the civilian death toll in war exceeded two thousand, reaching two thousand and seventy-two as of midnight on 17th April from the starting of the attack on 24th February. In addition, around four million Ukrainian civilians escape the country. On the other hand, Moscow denies targeting civilians in a special operation to disarm Ukrainian forces and destroy dangerous nationalists.
Ukrainian military and pro-Russian forces fought in the Donbas region from time to time for eight years. Last week, the United States announced sending an additional $800 million worth of military assistance to Ukrainian forces to assist them in fighting against Russians in Donbas. The aid package includes more ammunition and artillery systems, including helicopters.
Likewise, the Russian aggression in Ukraine prompted several nations to suspend diplomatic relations with Kyiv. The Czech Republic, France, and Italy have already reopened their embassies in Kyiv or announced plans to do so. On Monday, the Russian state television broadcast a video showing two individuals identified as Britons whom the Russian military captured in Ukraine asked to exchange for a pro-Russian politician in Ukrainian custody.
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