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The 60-kilometer column of Russian military vehicles outside Kyiv is still about 30 kilometers from the city and has barely moved in the past three days.

Experts are unsure whether Russia was deliberately holding back its troops, or whether it was due to Ukrainian resistance, mechanical problems or failed supply lines.

Occasional air strikes are still being reported on the city, but there is still no talk of a Russian hurricane.

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Russian troops have so far only controlled a large Ukrainian city, the strategically important Kherson at the mouth of the Dipro River that divides Ukraine in two.

However, on Thursday, attacks continued on the sea port city of Mariupol, now surrounded by Russian-backed separatists from Donetsk.

The Ministry of Defense in Kyiv stated that the city was still under Ukrainian control, but under “relentless” air strikes and without power. Russia’s defense leader said on Thursday that a corridor had been created for civilians leaving the area.

Russian attacks have also continued against Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, which is home to some 1.4 million people. According to authorities, the attacks were aimed at residential areas and military targets and public buildings.

Schoolchildren in Russia receive teaching lessons together. These are themes

Landing power

Also against the strategically important port city of Odesa on the Black Sea, Russia has stepped up its air strikes in recent days, and it is now feared that Russian troops will come by sea.

A convoy of eight Russian naval vessels is now off the coast of Odesa, including a large Ropucha-class landing craft, according to Security.

The beach in the city, which would be suitable for landing forces, is now mined, and other forts have also been made along the coast.

If Russia took over Odesa, it would be a strategic military and economic disaster for Ukraine.

Bulk flights

In parallel with the Russian offensive, mass exodus from Ukrainian cities continued. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than one million people have now sought refuge in neighboring countries, and at least many will flee in their own countries.

UNHCR had previously estimated that up to four million Ukrainians may have fled, but had warned that the number could be higher.

The situation at the border crossing is chaotic, and the authorities and aid workers are struggling around the clock to provide the refugees with sufficient food, water and shelter.

Emergency aid stocks in Ukraine are now running low, aid organizations warn.

US cancels rocket test to avoid ‘misunderstanding’

negotiation

As the war rages on, envoys from Russia and Ukraine meet for new talks.

President Vladimir Putin’s close associate Vladimir Medinsky led the Russian delegation and told the Interfax news agency on Thursday that they were on their way to Belarus.

Ukraine has confirmed that talks will be held in western Belarus, but without saying more.

The first round of negotiations was held in Belarus on Monday and lasted seven hours, but appeared to be fruitless.

Must pay

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly demanded a ceasefire, and on Thursday he promised that Russia would pay for everything they destroyed.

– We will rebuild every house, every street, every city, he said in a video.

– Learn the words redress and compensation. You have to pay for everything you have done for our country, for every Ukrainian people, and that’s completely, Zelenskyj said.

Lavrov warns

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a news conference in Moscow on Thursday, warning the West not to toy with the idea of ​​nuclear war.

Lavrov referred, among other things, to statements from US President Joe Biden and British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, that the alternative to severe sanctions against Russia is a third world war.

According to Lavrov, such a war would be carried out with nuclear weapons, but is not an alternative from a Russian perspective, he stressed.

– I want to emphasize that these statements come from Western politicians, they are the ones who suggest nuclear war, this is not something the Russians think about, he said.

Lavrov accuses the West of considering nuclear war

Postpone rocket test

The United States, for its part, is seeking to curb tensions by scrapping plans to test an intercontinental missile that could be equipped with a nuclear warhead.

“To demonstrate that we do not intend to take any action that could be misunderstood or misused, the Chief of Defense has ordered that this week’s planned intercontinental Minute Man III rocket test be postponed,” said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

At the same time, French President Emmanuel Macron made another attempt to bring Putin to his senses and had an hour and a half telephone conversation with the Russian president on Thursday. What was said during the conversation is unknown.

Investigate war crimes

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is now investigating potential war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.

The court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan confirmed that the ICC had started collecting evidence.

“There is reasonable basis to believe that alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Ukraine since 2014,” Khan previously said.

Amnesty International and other human rights organizations immediately concluded and demonstrated, among other things, that cluster munitions had been used against civilian targets.

This is how Lavrov’s relationship with the West has changed