Russian missiles arrive about twenty kilometers from the European Union, and fears are growing for the widening of the conflict. "NATO will not allow any centimeter of Europe to be attacked by Russia," Italian Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini said tonight.
On the umpteenth dramatic day for Ukraine ( HERE the chronicle of the 18th day of the war, HERE all the articles on the crisis) there are dozens of raids in the besieged cities and the killing at the gates of Kiev of Brent Renaud, an American journalist who was filming the evacuation of a group of refugees.
Moscow, as we were saying, raises the bar as its attacks go further and further west. Today the military base of Yavoriv was hit, a few kilometers from the Polish border: the raid caused at least 35 victims and 134 injured according to the Ukrainian authorities. Several foreigners were also affected: according to Moscow, in fact, the base had been converted into a training center for foreign fighters enlisted alongside Ukrainian troops: "Killed up to 180 mercenaries", claims the Russian Defense. Figures impossible to verify and denied by the Ukrainian authorities: what is certain is that the Netherlands announce the wounding of 4 Dutchmen, Portugal the disappearance of 4 compatriots.
The targeted structure is about 50 kilometers from Lviv, the "capital" of the West believed to be safe, where many Western embassies had moved and where today - for the first time in 18 days - the alarm sirens. And it does not end there: "We will continue to eliminate foreign mercenaries," threatens Moscow.
CITIES UNDER SIEGE - Not only in the West, Putin's war continues to hammer all areas under siege for days. Mykolaiv, north-west of Kherson, a city already taken by the Russians, hit several times: a school bombed, at least 11 victims. Odessa is also targeted, with which Moscow aims to weld the separatist republics of Donbass with Crimea, thus blocking Ukraine's access to the Sea of Azov.
Raids that also continue in the suburbs of Kiev, where the Russian presence is becoming more and more threatening. And while NATO warnings about the consequences of a possible use of chemical weapons grow, the head of the Ukrainian police of Popasna in the Lugansk oblast, Oleksi Bilochytsky, accused the enemy army of having hit the city with phosphorus bombs, denouncing.
The humanitarian situation is increasingly dramatic. The UN speaks of 596 civilian victims, including 43 children, and 1,067 injured. But the authorities of Mariupol alone, a city brought to its knees by Putin, speak of 2,187 civilians killed and at least 22 bombings of civilian targets in 24 hours. About a million people then remain under siege without gas and heating.
THE ITALIANS - There are 400 Italians currently in Ukraine, initially 2 thousand, explains Ambassador Pier Francesco Zazo, interviewed in Che tempo che fa in connection from Lviv: "Many of them want to stay, here they have their lives, wives and children. But unfortunately some are trapped and unable to leave the country ”.
THE NEGOTIATIONS - A few glimmers can be seen on the negotiations front. Kiev expects "concrete results" in the coming days, said its chief negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak, whose delegation will have a new online meeting with the Russian one on Monday.
Moscow "has become much more sensitive to the Ukrainian position and has begun to speak constructively," he said, thus confirming the timid overtures President Volodymyr Zelenski spoke on Saturday. Kiev's requests, Podolyak added, primarily concern a ceasefire and the withdrawal of the invading troops.
A cautious optimism also emerges from Moscow: a member of the Russian delegation, Leonid Slutsky, spoke of "significant progress", hoping that they could "turn into a common position of both delegations and a document to be signed".
But the negotiations require the presence of an international guarantor and mediator, and the privileged candidates at the moment are Israel and Turkey. And Ankara, through the mouth of Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, speaks of "serious discussions" underway between Moscow and Kiev, saying he is convinced that their positions "have somehow become closer".
Among the main issues addressed is the future neutrality of Ukraine, the point on which convergence could be recorded more easily, given the concessions already made at least verbally by Zelensky. Some concessions could also arrive on Donbass and recognition of Crimea, the biggest obstacle is instead that of the demilitarization of Ukraine.
MOSCOW ASKS FOR HELP IN BEIJING - The latest indiscretion in order of time of the day comes from the Financial Times which, citing American sources, writes that Russia has asked China for military assistance to support the invasion of Ukraine. Moscow reportedly requested military equipment and other military assistance from Beijing from the outset of the invasion.
The request has raised concern within the White House and the United States has "prepared to warn allies about the situation in light of indications that China could help Russia."
(Unioneonline / L)