As thousands have died in Mariupol, Russia prepares for a larger assault

By Edward Era Barbacena

Thousands of civilians  have already died in Ukraine’s most severed  city, Mariupol, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday – as his chief prosecutor called Russian President Vladimir Putin the “main war criminal”. in the 21st century “.

Zelensky gave the updated account, also warning that the invading troops appeared to be ready for an even larger assault to finally take the besieged city, which intelligence officials feared could be hit with phosphorus bombs.

“Mariupol has been destroyed, tens of thousands have been killed, but even so, the Russians have not stopped their offensive,” Zelensky told South Korea’s parliament while demanding more support.

Despite the devastating losses, “Russian troops are moving into even larger operations,” Zelensky warned in a video address late Sunday night.

“They could use even more missiles against us, even more air bombs,” he warned, insisting that his nation “was prepared for its actions” and “will respond.”

of Great Britain The Ministry of Defense also warned Monday of a planned escalation by Russia, including over Mariupol, which is the linchpin between areas held by Russia to the west and east.

“Russian forces’ first use of phosphorus munitions … increases the possibility of their future employment in Mariupol as the fight for the city intensifies,” the UK said in its latest intelligence report military.

The same report also blamed “Russia’s continued reliance on unguided bombs” for the continuing risk of “further civilian casualties”.

Ukraine’s Attorney General Iryna Venediktova also warned of “growing evidence” that her nation will remain. “Unprecedented witness is horrible” war crimes.

She told ITV News Sunday that more than 90% of Mariupol’s infrastructure had been wiped out, and at least 1,222 bodies had been found in areas around the capital, Kiev.

“Vladimir Putin is the leading war criminal of the 21st century,” she said he told Sky News.

Venediktova said that so far, her office has identified at least 500 invading troops responsible for at least 5,600 war crimes.

“It’s not just war crimes, they are crimes against humanity,” he told British radio.

The country’s top prosecutor learned of Friday’s deadly missile attack on Kramatorsk train station, where thousands were trying to escape the war.

“These people just wanted to save their lives … they were women, they were children,” she told Sky News of more than 50 deaths, including at least five children.

Ludmila Zabaluk, head of the Dmytriv Village Department, north of Kiev, said more than 50 bodies were found there.

“They shot him from a distance. There was a car where a 17-year-old boy was burned, only the bones were left. A woman had half of her head cut off. A little further away, a man was lying nearby. his car was burnt alive, “he said.

The UN said on Sunday that 4,232 civilian casualties had been reported in Ukraine to date, with 1,793 dead and 2,439 injured. Officials have long agreed that the final score will be much higher.

About a quarter of Ukraine’s 44 million population has been forced to flee their homes, as cities have become devastated, and thousands of people have been killed or injured – many of them civilians.

The terrible news came when Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer was set on Monday to be the first European leader to meet Putin since his brutal invasion.

He thought of telling Putin “that reality seems outside the walls of the Kremlin” – including that “he has de facto lost the war morally”, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said on Monday.

“It must be in their own interest for someone to tell them the truth. I think it’s important and we owe it to ourselves if we want to save human life,” Schallenberg said before the planned meeting in Moscow.