One week into the war and with cities under siege, a humanitarian crisis looms.
One week since the war began, Russian forces continued on Thursday to bombard and lay siege to Ukraine’s major cities, creating a dire humanitarian crisis.
One million people have fled the country, according to the United Nations. Millions more have left their homes but are still in Ukraine, seeking safety in the western reaches of the country or taking shelter deep underground.
A vast network of Ukrainian volunteers has emerged to help those stranded in the cities under siege, but with each passing day their situation grows more grim as Russia steps up its bombardment of civilian areas and infrastructure.
The Russian miliary continued its slow and steady advance, gaining ground in critical parts of the south and threatening to cut off Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea. And Ukrainian officials said the first major city, Kherson in the south, had been captured. Russia has continued its attacks on Kyiv.
Here are the latest developments:
A day after the Russians captured their first major Ukrainian city, the strategic southern port of Kherson, it was unclear on Thursday how they planned to hold the city and govern a population that has resisted them at every turn.
The International Paralympic Committee said on Thursday that athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus would be barred from competing in the Beijing Paralympic Games, which begin on Friday. It had previously said that the athletes would be allowed to compete as neutrals.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine claimed in a broadcast early Thursday that the Ukrainians had thwarted the Russian invasion plans. “We are a nation that broke the enemy’s plans in a week,” he said. “Plans that have been built for years.” He acknowledged that Russian forces had taken control in some cities, but said they would be driven out. “I am sure of this: If they entered somewhere, it is only temporarily. We’ll drive them out. With shame.”
Civilians have built a large barricade on the road to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Enerhodar, on the front line of Russian advances from Crimea in southern Ukraine.
The U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning Russia’s invasion, a demonstration of Russia’s international isolation. Russia was joined only by Belarus, Eritrea, North Korea and Syria in voting against the measure. China, India, Iran and Iraq were among the 34 countries abstaining.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said the European Union would finance the purchase and delivery of weapons for Ukraine, a shift from leaving the processes to individual member nations.
Source : New York Times
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