Putin dares world leaders, orders more deadly assault on Ukraine

By Edward Adamidenyo, Abuja Bureau Chief

Bombs and deadly missiles remain pouring from the Ukrainian sky on the sixth day of vicious assault as President Vladimir Putin of Russia stands defiant against the world.

The United States, United Kingdom and their allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, NATO, have imposed very strict sanctions on Russia since the start of the invasion last week. These cut across the banking, technology, military, travel and sports ban.

Amidst international pressure and appeal by world leaders o Putin to withdraw his troops, the Russian leader stepped up attacks a day after his delegation met with a Ukrainian team at the Belarusian border for peace talks.

But six days on, pressure mount from home on Putin as many Russians hit the streets in protest against the war. The invading Russian troops are also facing total resistance of Ukrainian defenders as some are surrendering themselves to captivity.

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In Chernivyl, a whole intelligence unit of 74 motorcycle rifle brigade as some Russian soldiers said they “thought they would return home” and that they were “collecting information” instead of fighting. This was after their Commander was captured by the Ukrainians.

During a press briefing, Ukraine Ambassador Markarova confirmed the surrender, saying the Russian troops “didn’t know that they were brought to Ukraine to kill Ukrainians. That they thought they were doing something else there.”

As of Saturday, Ukraine claimed to have imprisoned 200 Russian servicemen, claiming the Russian troops surrendered because they did not anticipate Ukraine putting up a fight.

Ukraine stated on Sunday that it had killed 4,300 Russian servicemen in the first three days of the war, destroyed 27 airplanes, 26 helicopters, 146 tanks, and 706 armored vehicles, among other things.

As of Saturday, Ukraine’s health minister said that invading Russian soldiers had killed 198 Ukrainians, including three children, and wounded another 1,000.

According to United Nations authorities, more than 150,000 Ukrainians have fled the country, and an estimated 4 million more could do so if the war continues.

On Saturday, the US Department of Defense stated that it had detected “more than 250 Russian missile launches, principally short-range ballistic missiles” in the preceding 24 hours. Additionally, it stated that more than half of Russia’s 150,000 troops amassed surrounding Ukraine had been mobilized within the country, with the remainder awaiting deployment along the country’s borders.

President Joe Biden authorized $350 million worth of US military hardware to Ukraine on Friday, including anti-armor, small guns, various ammunition, body armor, and similar equipment. The new installment brings the US’s total security assistance to Ukraine to $1 billion in the last year alone.

Over the weekend, Germany also provided Ukraine with anti-tank grenade launchers and stinger missiles.

Just yesterday, a Russian armoured column bore down on Ukraine as Russian forces fired rocket barrages into the centre of the country’s second largest city of Kharkiv, on the sixth day of the assault on its western neighbour.
Rocket strikes on the centre of Kharkiv killed at least 10 people and wounded 35, Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said. Similar strikes killed and wounded dozens in the city the previous day.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy who has remained in the country despite offers from the United States to whisk him to safety has called up all reserves and directed males between 18 and 60 to join the war in defense of their land. As barrages of artillery mortars hit the city, Zelenskiy said the artillery barrages on Kharkiv amounted to state terrorism.

Nearly a week since Russian troops poured over the border, they have failed to capture a single major Ukrainian city after running into fierce resistance. The civilian deaths of the last 48 hours is described as an ominous sign that frustrated Russian commanders could be resorting to more devastating tactics.

Russia still has more forces to throw into the fight even though President Putin faces worldwide condemnation and international sanctions for his actions, which have shattered the post-Cold War peace in Europe.

Oil company Shell became the latest Western firm to announce it was pulling out of Russia. The sanctions and global financial isolation have already had a devastating impact on Russia’s economy, with the rouble in freefall and queues outside banks as Russians rush to salvage their savings.

Zelenskiy’s government remained in control of Kyiv on Tuesday, with soldiers and civilians ready to fight the invaders street by street.

Pictures released by U.S. satellite company Maxar showed Russian tanks, artillery and fuel trucks stretching for 40 miles (60 km) along a highway to the north.

“For the enemy, Kyiv is the key target,” Zelenskiy, who has remained in the capital rallying Ukrainians, said in a message overnight. “We will neutralise them all.”

Russian troops fired artillery at Kyiv, Kharkiv and the southern port city of Mariupol overnight while the Ukrainian side shot down Russian military planes around the capital, presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said in a briefing.

Ukrainian authorities also reported 70 soldiers killed in a rocket attack in a town between Kyiv and Kharkiv. Zelenskiy, addressing the European Parliament by video link a day after he signed an official request to join the European Union, urged the bloc to prove that it sided with Ukraine

“Do prove that you will not let us go. Do prove that you are indeed Europeans and then life will win over death and light will win over darkness. Glory be to Ukraine,” he said in an emotional speech.

In Moscow, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the Kremlin would press its military operation in Ukraine until it achieves its goals. It aimed to protect itself from threats created by the West, and Russia was not occupying Ukraine’s territory, the Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.

In Britain, the defence ministry said in an intelligence update that the Russian advance on Kyiv had made little progress in the past 24 hours, probably due to logistical problems. But it also warned of a shift in Russian tactics that could worsen the plight of civilians.

According to the report, “the use of heavy artillery in densely populated urban areas greatly increases the risk of civilian casualties,” Kharkiv, a mainly Russian-speaking city of 1.5 million people near the Russian border, has borne the brunt of attacks since Monday.

The hope of peace to resolve one of Europe’s deadliest conflict may still be a tough call as Putin was quoted as saying in a telephone conversation with French President, Emmanuel Macron that a settlement is possible only if Russia’s legitimate security interests are unconditionally taken into account, including the recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea, the demilitarisation and denazification of the Ukrainian State and ensuring its neutral status,”.

There is however no confirmation if the French president agreed to Putin’s request, but as casualty figures rise on both sides, top leaders around the world are working hard to settle the dispute between the two countries.