Kiev, Ukraine (AP) – “Corpses are now being covered on the streets of Mariupol” after Russian troops killed more than 10,000 civilians in a failed battle to seize a strategic port in the south over the past six weeks, it said. of the mayor. and warned Western forces. A continuous rally of alleged Russian attackers in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday.
The British Defense Ministry said Russian forces continued to leave Belarus in support of operations in eastern Ukraine centered in the Donbas region, where Russia’s separatist allies have declared independence.
“The fighting in eastern Ukraine will intensify over the next two to three weeks as Russia continues to redouble its efforts,” the ministry said in a statement. “Russia’s attacks are still focused on Ukrainian positions near Donetsk and Lugansk, with further fighting around Kherson and Mykolaiv and another push for Kramatorsk.”
The southeastern port city of Mariupol has seen the worst civilian attacks and casualties in the six-week war, but land, naval and air strikes by Russian forces fighting to capture it have increasingly limited information. about the city.
Speaking to the Associated Press on Monday, Mariupol Mayor Vadim Boichenko accused Russian forces of blocking attempts by humanitarian convoys in the city for weeks to partially cover up the massacre. Boichenko said the death toll in Mariupol alone could exceed 20,000.
Boichenko also released new details on allegations by Ukrainian officials that Russian forces brought mobile cremation equipment to Mariupol to remove the bodies of siege victims.
Russian forces brought some bodies to a large shopping mall with warehouses and refrigerators, Boichenko said.
“Mobile crematories come in the form of trucks: you open them, there’s a pipe inside and these corpses are burned,” he said.
Boichenko spoke about a territory controlled by Ukraine but outside Mariupol. The mayor said he had some sources on the city’s alleged cremation procedures by Russian forces, but did not specify his sources of information.
The discovery of large numbers of civilians apparently killed after the departure of Russian forces from cities near the capital, Kiev, has already led to widespread condemnation and claims that Russia is committing crimes. in the war in Ukraine.
U.S. officials also indicated that the Russian military was preparing for a major offensive in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region, shifting focus after Russian forces failed to make a preliminary attempt to capture Kiev.
Donbass has been torn apart by fighting between Russia’s separatist allies and Ukrainian forces since 2014, and Russia has recognized the separatists ’claims to independence. Military strategists say Russian leaders seem to be hoping that local support, logistics and relief efforts in the Donbas will contribute to a larger and better armed Russian army, possibly allowing the Russian troops to gain more territory and weaken Ukraine’s defense forces.
Russia has appointed an experienced general to lead the resumption of operations in the eastern Donbass region.
On Monday, a senior U.S. defense official described the long line of Russians now moving to the eastern city of Izumi with artillery, air force and infantry support as part of a deployment that appears to be part of a planned campaign. Russian.
More artillery is stationed near the city of Donetsk, and ground combat units leaving the Kiev and Chernigov areas appear to be reserved for re-equipment and supplies before deploying to the Donbas, an official speaking to United States. in condition. of anonymity. Military ratings.
After thwarting their attacks in many parts of the country, Russian forces increasingly relied on bombing cities, a strategy that leveled many urban areas and killed thousands.
The UN Children’s Agency said nearly two-thirds of Ukrainian children had fled their homes within six weeks of Russia’s aggression. The United Nations has confirmed that 142 children have died and 229 were injured, although the actual number is likely to be higher.
Ukrainian authorities have accused Russian forces of atrocities, including the Massacre in the city of BuchaOut of Kiev Airstrikes on hospitals AND a missile strike that killed at least 57 people At the train station last week.
The removal of the corpses continued at a mass grave in the Bucha yard.
Galina Feoktistova waited several hours in the cold and rain in hopes of meeting her 50-year-old son, who was shot and killed more than a month ago, but eventually came home from the heat. “It’s still there,” said his surviving son Andrew.
About 120,000 civilians in Mariupol are in need of food, water, heating and communication, the mayor said.
Only residents who have passed Russia’s “filter camps” will be evicted from the city, Boychenko said.
Ukrainian officials say Russian troops confiscate the passports of Ukrainian citizens, then transfer them to camps in the east controlled by Ukrainian separatists before sending them to remote and economically depressed areas. Russia.
Boichenko said on Monday that those who failed to “filter” were taken to temporary prisons. He said 33,000 or more people had been evacuated to Russia or Ukraine’s breakaway territories.
The Russians refused to move people against their will.
President Vladimir Zelensky warned Ukrainians that Russia could use chemical weapons in Mariupol. “We take it as seriously as possible,” Zelensky said in a speech Monday night.
Western leaders warned even before Russian troops entered Ukraine that Russia could use unconventional weapons there, especially chemical agents.
Apparently, on Monday, Russia’s separatist official ally Eduard Basurin called for its use and told Russian state television that Russian -backed forces should withdraw Ukrainian forces from blocking all exits. of the giant metallurgical factory in Russia. Mariupol. “And then we’re going to use chemical weapons to smoke them out of there,” he said.
The Ukrainian regiment, without evidence, also claimed on Monday that the plane dropped a poisonous substance on Mariupol. He said there were no serious injuries.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. could not confirm information about Mariupol’s drone. But Kirby cited the administration’s continued concern over “Russia’s potential to use various disruptive agents, including tear gas, mixed with chemicals, in Ukraine.”
Western military analysts say Russia’s attack is more focused on the territory, stretching from Kharkov, Ukraine’s second largest city, from north to south of Kherson.
However, after the Ukrainian defenders firmly repulsed their advance towards Kiev, doubts remain that Russia’s exhausted and demoralized forces will be able to occupy many areas.
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Reported by Karmanau from Lviv, Ukraine. This was reported by Anna in Ukraine, Bucha. Associated Press writer Robert Burns in Washington and AP reporters from around the world contributed to this report.
Source: Huffpost
