Ukraine War: A Russian armoured personnel carrier lies burning in Ukraine (AFP)
New Delhi:
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky today said “Russia will pay” for the invasion of his country, as Russian forces continue to encircle key Ukrainian cities supported by massive missile and rocket attacks.
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Mr Zelensky said he will work to rebuild Ukraine after the war, indicating a resistance phase would come next if Russian forces manage to completely take hold of Ukraine. “We have nothing to lose but our own freedom,” Mr Zelenskiy said, adding Ukraine was receiving daily arms supplies from its international allies.
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“We will restore every house, every street, every city and we say to Russia: learn the word of reparations and contributions. You will reimburse us for everything you did against our state, against every Ukrainian in full,” Mr Zelensky said in a video statement.
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Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Western politicians of considering nuclear war. “I would like to point out that it’s in the heads of Western politicians that the idea of a nuclear war is spinning constantly, and not in the heads of Russians,” Mr Lavrov told Russian and foreign media.
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On the ground, Russian forces have taken the Black Sea port of Kherson in southern Ukraine, the first major city to fall after a string of setbacks for Moscow. They also pound and encircle the strategic port city of Mariupol, which is without water or electricity.
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More than one million people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded, the UN’s refugee agency says, with the number rising rapidly. Russia’s Defence Ministry also announced “humanitarian corridors” for civilians to leave the most battered Ukrainian cities including Kyiv, Kharkiv and Mariupol.
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The UN has opened a probe into alleged war crimes, as the Russian military bombards cities in Ukraine with shells and missiles, forcing civilians to take shelter in basements.
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The EU is expected to rapidly approve a protection mechanism for war refugees fleeing Ukraine — so far numbered at one million — and to also set up a humanitarian hub in Romania, officials said.
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The moves by the European Union came in parallel to its muscular sanctions on Russia imposed in successive waves over the course of the invasion, now in its eighth day.
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Approximately 8,000 Indians, mainly students, are still stranded in Ukraine, according to the government. India has been evacuating its citizens through special flights from Ukraine’s western neighbours since February 24.
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India has abstained from voting against Russia at the United Nations General Assembly, where a resolution demanding that Russia stop military operations in Ukraine was passed with 141 votes in favour. There were 35 abstentions and five votes against it.