Ukraine says Russia steps up shelling of residential areas
Lviv (Ukraine)(AP): Russian forces intensified shelling of cities in Ukraine's centre, north and south, a Ukrainian official said, as a second attempt to evacuate besieged civilians collapsed.
With the Ukrainian leader urging his people to take to the streets to fight, Russian President Vladimir Putin shifted blame for the invasion, saying Moscow's attacks could be halted only if Kyiv ceases hostilities.
The outskirts of Kyiv, Chernihiv in the north, Mykolaiv in the south, and Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city, faced stepped-up shelling late Sunday, presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich said. Heavy artillery hit residential areas in Kharkiv and shelling damaged a television tower, according to local officials.
The attacks dashed hopes that more people could escape the fighting in Ukraine, where Russia's plan to quickly overrun the country has been stymied by fierce resistance.
Russia has made significant advances in southern Ukraine and along the coast, but many of its efforts have become stalled, including an immense military convoy that has been almost motionless for days north of Kyiv.
Food, water, medicine and almost all other supplies were in desperately short supply in the southern port city of Mariupol, where Russian and Ukrainian forces had agreed to an 11-hour cease-fire that would allow civilians and the wounded to be evacuated. But Russian attacks quickly closed the humanitarian corridor, Ukrainian officials said.
There can be no green corridors' because only the sick brain of the Russians decides when to start shooting and at whom, Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said on Telegram.
A third round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian leaders is planned for Monday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rallied his people to remain defiant, especially those in cities occupied by Russians.
You should take to the streets! You should fight! he said Saturday on Ukrainian television. It is necessary to go out and drive this evil out of our cities, from our land.
Zelenskyy also asked the United States and NATO countries to send more warplanes to Ukraine, though that idea is complicated by logistical questions about how to provide aircraft to Ukrainian pilots.
He later urged the West to tighten its sanctions on Russia, saying that the audacity of the aggressor is a clear signal" that existing sanctions are not enough.
The war, now in its 12th day, has caused 1.5 million people to flee the country. The head of the UN refugee agency called the exodus the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II."
A senior US defense official said Sunday that the US assesses that about 95 per cent of the Russian forces that had been arrayed around Ukraine are now inside the country.
The official said Russian forces continue to advance in an attempt to isolate Kyiv, Kharkhiv and Chernihiv, but are being met with strong Ukrainian resistance.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military assessments, said the convoy outside Kyiv continues to be stalled.
As he has often done, Putin blamed Ukraine for the war, telling Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday that Kyiv needed to stop all hostilities and fulfil the well-known demands of Russia."
Putin launched his invasion with a string of false accusations against Kyiv, including that it is led by neo-Nazis intent on undermining Russia with the development of nuclear weapons.
The Russian Defence Ministry on Sunday announced that its forces intend to strike Ukraine's military-industrial complex with what it said were precision weapons.
A ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, claimed in a statement carried by the state news agency Tass that Ukrainian personnel were being forced to repair damaged military equipment so that it could be sent back into action.
Zelenskyy criticized Western leaders for not responding to Russia's latest threat. I didn't hear even a single world leader react to this, Zelenskyy said Sunday evening.
The Russian Defence Ministry also alleged, without providing evidence, that Ukrainian forces are plotting to blow up an experimental nuclear reactor in Kharkiv and to blame it on a Russian missile strike.
Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke Sunday about the nuclear situation in Ukraine, which has 15 nuclear reactors at four power plants and was the scene of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
The men agreed in principle to a dialogue involving Russia, Ukraine and the UN's atomic watchdog, according to a French official who spoke on condition of anonymity, in line with the presidency's practices. Potential talks on the issue are to be organized in the coming days, he said.
Putin also blamed the fire last week at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which Ukrainian officials said was caused by Russian attackers, on a provocation organized by Ukrainian radicals."
International leaders, as well as Pope Francis, appealed to Putin to negotiate. In a highly unusual move, the pope said he had dispatched two cardinals to Ukraine to try to end the conflict.
In Ukraine, rivers of blood and tears are flowing, the pontiff said in his traditional Sunday blessing.
The death toll remains unclear. The UN says it has confirmed just a few hundred civilian deaths but also warned that the number is a vast undercount.
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Adequate LPG stock in Chhattisgarh, no need to panic, says CM Sai
Raipur (PTI): Amid reports of shortage of commercial LPG cylinder in several parts of the country due to the US-Israel-Iran conflict, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Tuesday assured people that they need not worry about the availability of cooking gas in the state.
He asserted that adequate stock of LPG as well as petrol and diesel was available in the state.
Sai said in a statement that authorities have been directed to regularly monitor stock at gas agencies and keep a close watch on the supply chain. Necessary instructions were issued to officials in all districts to ensure a smooth supply of LPG.
The chief minister instructed officials to take strict action if any complaint of black marketing or hoarding of LPG cylinders is received.
Sai urged state residents not to pay attention to rumours and to book cooking gas cylinders as per their actual requirement.
The government was fully alert to ensure the availability of essential commodities to citizens, he emphasised.
Meanwhile, the Chhattisgarh Hotel and Restaurant Association has issued an advisory to hotels, restaurants, caterers and other food businesses across the state, urging them to maintain calm and avoid panic buying.
In the advisory, Taranjeet Singh Hora, president of the association, asked members to maintain coordination and immediately inform it about any major disruption in LPG supply.
He cautioned businesses against hoarding cylinders, saying such practices could worsen the situation for the entire hospitality sector.
The association advised hotels and restaurants to prioritise essential kitchen operations, core menu items and already committed banquet events.
Use electric cooking equipment wherever possible for emergency and staff kitchens such as induction cooktops, electric hot plates, electric rice cookers and kettles, the advisory stated.
