Ukraine war, day 32: Kyiv army regains several localities. New humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians, including from Mariupol

In the 32nd day of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, Ukrainians continue counterattacks in several areas, while Russian troops appear to focus on encircling Ukrainian forces fighting on the front with separatist troops in the east. The Russians attacked Lviv with rockets, took control of the town of Slavutici, home to the staff of the damaged Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and bombed the suburbs west and east of the capital Kyiv.

Russia has begun destroying Ukraine’s fuel and food depots, which means the government will have to distribute those stocks in the near future, Vadym Denysenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, said on Sunday.

The city of Lviv, in western Ukraine, was subjected to intense bombing on Saturday, despite the fact that Russia had declared that it would focus on the east, notes BBC.

On Saturday night, the Russians bombed a fuel storage center in Lviv, with firefighters needing 14 hours to put out the blaze, according to Kyiv Independent.

Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed on Sunday that they had hit high-profile military targets in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv with high-precision cruise missiles.

Rescuers of the State Emergency Service have put out the fire that occurred at one of the industrial facilities in Lviv, a regional capital in western Ukraine, following a missile attack on March 26. It took more than 14 hours to extinguish the fire.

?State Emergency Service pic.twitter.com/1lwTJXQ27N

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 27, 2022

According to the mayor of Lviv, the attacks by Russian forces were a message for US President Joe Biden, who visited Poland this weekend. Lviv, a city 70 kilometers from the Polish border, had so far been protected from heavy bombardment and had become a center for those fleeing fighting in other parts of Ukraine. “By Saturday’s attack, the Russians wanted to greet President Biden, who is currently in Poland,” said Andri Sadovii, the city’s mayor.

Moreover, the head of the Ukrainian military secret services accused that Russia is trying to divide Ukraine as North and South Korea, adding that Kiev will soon start a guerrilla war in the occupied territories.

In his turn, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned Moscow that he had a deep hatred for Russia among the Ukrainian people with its bombings that reduced the ruined cities, killing civilians and pushing others into shelters, leaving them in search of food and water to survive. “You do your best to make our people leave the Russian language, because the Russian language will now be associated only with you, with your explosions and crimes, with your crimes,” Zelenski said in a fiery video speech Saturday night.

New humanitarian corridors, agreed for Sunday

On the other hand, two humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians from conflict zones – including Mariupol – will be opened on Sunday, said Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereșciuk. Residents of the besieged city of Donetsk will be allowed to use their own means of transportation to reach the city of Zaporozhye, about 250 kilometers away, she said in a post on the Telegram, quoted by The Guardian. People trying to escape the fighting in the neighboring region of Lugansk will be allowed to leave the town of Rubijne in Bakhmut, about 80 kilometers away.

Ukraine blames Russia of conducting deportations

Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vershchyuk said Russia had forcibly taken 40,000 Ukrainians “in an unknown direction” through “so-called humanitarian corridors.” The deportation of people was not coordinated with the Ukrainian authorities, Vereshchuk said, according to Nexta TV.

#Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said that #Russia forcibly removed 40,000 Ukrainians "in an unknown direction" through "quasi-humanitarian corridors". This removal of people was not coordinated with the Ukrainian authorities, Vereshchuk states. pic.twitter.com/pbPQzqzYK9

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 27, 2022

At the same time, the General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine has announced that the Russian invasion has so far killed 136 children, while another 199 have been injured.

About 4,500 residential buildings destroyed by bombings

About 4,500 residential buildings have been destroyed in Ukraine since the start of the war, according to a government minister in Kyiv, according to the BBC. Russia has destroyed about 4,500 residential buildings, 100 businesses, 400 educational institutions and 150 medical facilities in Ukraine, the minister said. The total damage throughout the country will be assessed after the end of hostilities, Community and Territorial Development Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov was quoted as saying by Interfax-Ukraine news agency. Preliminary estimates suggest that Ukraine has lost tens of billions of US dollars, increasing daily. To support reconstruction, the government has simplified procedures for imports of construction materials. However, the minister added, any reconstruction must be preceded by the clearing of mine and rubble areas.

Kremlin revives nuclear weapons topic

The Kremlin has once again raised the idea of ​​using nuclear weapons in the war with Ukraine. Dmitry Medvedev, vice chairman of the country’s Security Council, said Moscow could strike against an enemy that only used conventional weapons while Vladimir Putin’s defence minister Shoigu claimed nuclear “readiness” was a priority.

In an interview, Medvedev said Russia will use nuclear weapons in certain situations, including “when an act of aggression is committed against Russia and its allies, which jeopardised the existence of the country itself, even without the use of nuclear weapons, that is, with the use of conventional weapons.”

Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, who had not been seen for 12 days before a brief appearance on Friday and an address to his generals on Saturday, also spoke about the nuclear threat contained within Russia’s arsenal.

In a video, uploaded on social media by the Russian defence ministry, Shoigu said he had discussed issues related to the military budget and defence orders with the finance ministry. “We continue ahead-of-schedule delivery of weaponry and equipment by means of credits. The priorities are long-range, high-precision weapons, aircraft equipment and maintenance of engagement readiness of strategic nuclear forces,” he said.

Separatists from Ossetia comes to Russia’s aid in Ukraine

South Ossetia, Georgia’s separatist republic, said on Saturday it had sent troops to Ukraine to “help defend Russia” more than four weeks after the Russian invasion began. “Our boys will proudly fulfill their military duty,” the leader of this self-proclaimed republic, Anatoli Bibliov, told Telegram. He said the soldiers “understand perfectly well that they are going to defend Russia, that they are also going to defend Ossetia.” Bibliov did not specify the number of soldiers to be sent to Ukraine, but posted a video in which several buses and trucks could already be seen on the road.

Lugansk separatists want to hold a referendum on joining Russia

The separatist territory of Lugansk, whose independence has been recognized by Moscow, could soon hold a referendum on accession to Russia, the leader of the territory, Leonid Pasecinik, said on Sunday. “I believe that in the near future, a referendum will be held in the territory of the republic (self-proclaimed Lugansk), in which the people will exercise their absolute constitutional right and express their opinion on joining the Russian Federation,” Pasecinik said. quoted by Russian news agencies.