The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, said late Tuesday that the situation in Mariupol, a port city besieged by Russian troops, remains “the most serious possible”, and that they have not received a response from Russia for the exchange of civilians.
“The Russian Army is blocking any effort to organize humanitarian corridors and save our people. The fate of at least tens of thousands of Mariupol residents who were previously relocated to Russian-controlled territory is unknown,” he said in his daily speech.
Thus, the Ukrainian president emphasized that “unfortunately, there is no response from Russia to the offer of exchange, which could save civilians and defenders of Mariupol.”
In addition, he stressed that the intensity of the fire of Russian troops in the Kharkiv leadership, in the Donbas region and in the Dnipropetrovsk region “has increased considerably” as the country's “55th day of the defense of Ukraine against large-scale aggression” comes to an end.
“The situation is quite clear: Ukrainians from all regions of our state support Ukrainian national unity. They support our nation-state status,” said the Ukrainian president.
Zelensky once again requested arms shipments to his country from his partners. “I hope that the partners will listen to this thesis and understand that every day is important. Any delay in aid to Ukraine gives the occupiers the opportunity to kill more Ukrainians,” he said.
He also announced that he will expand martial law on Ukrainian territory. “The deputies offered to support the technical decision to extend martial law. This is necessary for the legal support of the defense of our state and the stable functioning of all structures,” he said.
Zelensky mentioned that on Tuesday he had a conversation with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, and both coordinated “the next steps needed to protect the State of Ukraine and freedom in Europe” and agreed to “increase the supply of heavy weapons, including armored vehicles.”
He also spoke with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, about “Ukraine's defensive, financial and humanitarian needs”. “We are accelerating procedures so that Ukraine can advance European integration as quickly as possible,” the president added.
HELP ON THE WAY
Ukraine received fighter jets and spare parts to reinforce its aviation on Tuesday, said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, without specifying how many, what type of aircraft and the origin.
“They have more fighter jets at their disposal today than they did two weeks ago,” the spokesman told the press. “Without going into detail about what other countries supply, I would say that they have received additional appliances and spare parts to increase their fleet,” he added.
He did not specify the type of aircraft supplied to the Ukrainian army, which has been ordering warplanes for weeks, but he implied that they are Russian-made. “Other nations that have experience with this type of aircraft have been able to help them have more aircraft in service,” he said, specifying that the United States, which does not want to look like a belligerent country in this war, has facilitated the shipment of spare parts to Ukrainian territory, but not planes.
Kiev asked its Western allies the Mig-29s that its soldiers know how to fly, and which a handful of Eastern European countries possess. At the beginning of March, the possible transfer of these Russian planes from Poland was discussed, but the United States opposed it, fearing that Russia might consider it too direct NATO involvement in the war war.
(With information from Europa Press)
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