Ukraine said it saw possible room for compromise in talks with Russia despite Moscow’s stepped up bombardment Tuesday of Kyiv and new assaults on the …
Ukraine said it saw possible room for compromise in talks with Russia despite Moscow’s stepped up bombardment Tuesday of Kyiv and new assaults on the port city of Mariupol, from where an estimated 20,000 civilians managed to flee through a humanitarian corridor. The fast-moving developments on the diplomatic front and on the ground came as Russia’s invasion neared the three-week mark and the number of Ukrainians who have left the country amid Europe’s heaviest fighting since World War II eclipsed 3 million. After delegations from Ukraine and Russia met again Tuesday via video, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said early Wednesday that Russia’s demands were becoming « more realistic. » The two sides were expected to speak again Wednesday. « Efforts are still needed, patience is needed, » he said in his nightly video address to the nation. « Any war ends with an agreement. » Zelenskyy, who was expected to address the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, thanked President Joe Biden and « all the friends of Ukraine » for $13.6 billion in new support. He appealed for more weapons and more sanctions to punish Russia, and repeated his call to « close the skies over Ukraine to Russian missiles and planes. » He said Russian forces on Tuesday had been unable to move deeper into Ukrainian territory but had continued their heavy shelling of cities. Over the past day,28,893 civilians were able to flee the fighting through nine humanitarian corridors, although the Russians refused to allow aid into Mariupol, he said. In other developments, the leaders of three European Union countries — Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia — visited the embattled capital Tuesday, arriving by train in a bold show of support amid the danger. Meanwhile, large explosions thundered across Kyiv before dawn from what Ukrainian authorities said were artillery strikes, as Russia’s bombardment of the capital appeared to become more systematic and edged closer to the city center, smashing apartments, a subway station and other civilian sites. Zelenskyy said Tuesday that barrages hit four multi-story buildings in the city and killed dozens. The strikes disrupted the relative calm that returned after an initial advance by Moscow’s forces was stopped in the early days of the war. A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagon’s assessment, said that the Russians were using long-range fire to hit civilian targets inside Kyiv with increasing frequency but that their ground forces were making little to no progress around the country. The official said Russian troops were still about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the center of the capital.
