War in Ukraine: catastrophic situation in the strategic city of Mariupol, President Zelensky met with Biden
The Russian army attacked again Saturday the strategic port of Mariupol and advanced elsewhere in Ukraine, with still fierce fighting around the capital Kiev and thousands of civilians fleeing the shelling, while Vladimir Putin issued new warnings to Nato.
Ukrainian armed forces are conducting heavy fighting against Russian forces for control of the southern town of Mykolayev and the northern town of Chernigury, the Ukrainian General Staff said in a statement on Facebook Sunday morning. A Ukrainian military operation was also underway in the eastern region of Donetsk. The main efforts are focused on the city of Mariupol, a strategic port in the southeast of the country, the general staff added.
In a report published on Sunday, the General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said Russia was planning to seize the Kaniv hydroelectric power plant dam, located some 150 kilometers south of Kiev on the Dnieper River.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Sunday that he met once again by phone with his American counterpart Joe Biden to discuss U.S. financial support to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.
Canada called on Saturday its nationals to avoid all travel to Russia because of the armed conflict in Ukraine and Canadians in Russia to leave the country.
According to Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar, more than 100,000 volunteers have offered to defend Kiev against Russian forces, Ukrainian news agency Unian reported.
A Russian plane landed in the United States on Saturday to pick up a dozen diplomats expelled from Russia's mission to the UN and accused by Washington of espionage, according to authorities.
It is imperative to quickly evacuate the population of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, besieged by the Russian army and its allies, because of the catastrophic humanitarian situation, pleaded Saturday an official of the NGO Médecins sans frontières (MSF) in Ukraine.