Filenews 3 April 2022
Is the peace agreement just around the corner? The head of the Ukrainian negotiating team David Arahamia claimed last night that Moscow has already "verbally accepted Ukraine's basic positions". Now, Kiev is also awaiting written confirmation. The progress that has been made also sparks discussions about a possible meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, even within the next week.
Moscow from the outset argued that there would be a face-to-face Putin- Zelensky only if the text of the agreement was ready. Everything suggests that this will not be long in coming... The two leaders have already chosen the place where they will meet, and that is none other than Turkey. "The Turkish president called us, as did Vladimir Putin, saying that he would host such a meeting. We do not know when or where, however, we believe that the place will probably be Ankara or Istanbul," Ukrainian negotiator Arachamia confirmed.
No matter how close a ceasefire agreement is, the return to normality is just as far away. This is also reflected in Zelensky's call for the world not to return to the world yet. "It is still impossible to return to a normal life," he commented. Indeed, there is nothing normal at the burial of 300 people in Bucha, the town in the northwest of Kiev. Nor the fact that the remaining citizens are moving forward, pressing or overtaking scattered corpses.
Be that as it may, Ukraine claims to have regained control of at least 30 areas. Among them is the city of Kiev. It has been announced, however, that Ukrainian troops are constantly discovering widespread evidence of war crimes committed by Russian forces. Killings of civilians, mass graves and murdered children are on this gruesome list. British authorities said they are working feverishly to gather evidence of Russian war crimes. The country's foreign minister posted on Twitter that she is "considering all the new information coming from the Kiev region." Zelensky argued that by abandoning territory, the Russians are laying mines... even in corpses! In Irpin alone, 643 were found!
The list of murdered journalists is growing. Another journalist lost his life near Kiev. Ukrainian photographer Maksim Levi appears to have been shot twice by Russian soldiers.
Ukraine is not only dealing with the ruins of the war, especially since it continues to rage; Zelensky reiterated yesterday late, his belief that Russian troops are planning to occupy Donbass and southern Ukraine. In his night-time video speech, the president said "we know that the enemy has reserves to increase the pressure in the east." He even complained that the Western allies have not sent enough anti-missile systems. In southwestern Ukraine, and specifically in Odessa, Sunday began with missile attacks, and there are reports of fires. According to an eyewitness, the industrial zone was hit. A series of explosions were heard and smoke was observed at dawn. Nikos Dendias is scheduled to visit Odessa as head of a mission from Athens to carry humanitarian aid.
British military intelligence services say, however, that Russia has not yet succeeded in destroying Ukraine's air force and air defences. This failure has "severely hampered its efforts to gain broad control of the air, which in turn has significantly affected its ability to support the advance of their land forces on various fronts."
A Red Cross convoy heads to Mariupol, trying to extricate thousands of citizens from the long-suffering city. A Red Cross spokesman said: "Our team is on the move this morning from Zaporizia to Mariupol. I am not in a position to give more information at this stage."
Russian forces appeared to be regrouping for new attacks in the southeast. The Russian army seems to be aiming to consolidate its presence in eastern and southern sectors of Ukraine. There is even talk that they will try to set up a government apparatus in the occupied areas of Danielsk, Lugansk, Zaporizia and Kherson.
