Ukraine: Zelenskyy seeks more sanctions, fighting grinds on
KYIV, Ukraine — Fighting is grinding on in Ukraine after the country marked the anniversary of Russia’s invasion, with Ukrainian authorities on Saturday reporting dozens of new Russian strikes and attacks on cities in the east and south.
After a somber and defiant day of commemorations on Friday and a marathon news conference, Ukraine’s president followed up with new video posts Saturday in which he declared “Russia must lose in Ukraine” and argued that its forces can be defeated this year.
In a separate tweet, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also pushed for more sanctions on Russia after the U.K., U.S. and the European Union all announced new measures aimed at further choking off funding and support for Moscow.
“The pressure on Russian aggressor must increase,” Zelenskyy tweeted in English.
He said Ukraine wants to see “decisive steps” against Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and the Russian nuclear industry as well as “more pressure on military and banking.”
Vadim Ghirda, Associated Press
Ukrainian military fires from a multiple rocket launcher Saturday at Russian positions in the Kharkiv area of Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said this past week that Rosatom and his Defense Ministry need to work on ensuring that Russia is ready to resume nuclear weapons tests. He alleged the U.S. is working on nuclear weapons and some in the U.S. are pondering plans to carry out nuclear tests banned after the end of the Cold War.
“If the U.S. conducts tests, we will also do it,” Putin said.
The EU agreed Saturday to impose new sanctions on Russia, targeting more officials and organizations accused of supporting the war, spreading propaganda or supplying drones, and restricting trade on products that could be used by the armed forces.
The EU’s Swedish presidency said the sanctions “are directed at military and political decision-makers, companies supporting or working within the Russian military industry, and commanders in the Wagner Group. Transactions with some of Russia’s largest banks are also prohibited.”
Asset freezes were slapped on three more Russian banks and seven Iranian “entities” — companies, agencies, political parties or other organizations — that manufacture military drones, which the EU suspects have been used by Russia during the war.
The new measures, proposed by the EU’s executive branch three weeks ago, were only adopted after much internal wrangling, and made public one day after the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — the intended target date.
Russia already is the most sanctioned nation in the world, targeted over the past year with sanctions by more than 30 countries representing more than half of the world’s economy. But the squeeze on its economy, trade and firms has yet to deliver a knockout blow.
“We have learned to live under economic and political pressure,” said Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to Washington. “The experience of previous sanctions has shown that they harm the world market to a greater extent, worsen the situation of ordinary citizens in states that initiate or support reckless sanctions.”
Vadim Ghirda, Associated Press
A Ukrainian service member feeds stray cats Saturday next to a makeshift shelter they built for them in the Kharkiv area of Ukraine.
The Feb. 24 anniversary of last year’s invasion brought no respite in Russian attacks.
Still, in one of his video posts on Saturday, Zelenskyy asked: “Is it possible for us to win?”
“Yes,” he said. “We are capable of this in unity, resolutely and unyieldingly, to put an end to Russian aggression this year.”
Ukraine’s military on Saturday reported 27 Russian airstrikes and 75 attacks from multiple rocket launchers in the most recent 24-hour spell. It said Russian offensive efforts continue to be concentrated in Ukraine’s industrial east and northeast. Five wounded civilians were reported in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk province, where territory is roughly split between Russian and Ukrainian control.
Battles raged near Bakhmut, a city in the Donetsk region that has become the focus of the fighting in recent months, according to Ukraine’s Land Forces. The military said the Russian forces continued attempts to break through Ukrainian defenses, encircle and seize the city.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of Russia’s private military company Wagner, claimed on Saturday that his fighters have “completely taken over” the village of Yahidne on the north outskirts of Bakhmut. There has been no confirmation of the claim from either the Russian military or the Ukrainian army.
Petros Giannakouris, Associated Press
Soldier carry the coffin of soldier Yurii Bulharu during a funeral ceremony Saturday outside the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul Church in Lviv, western Ukraine. Bulharu died on Feb. 17 in east Ukraine.
In the southern Kherson region, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin reported 83 Russian shelling attacks, with the regional capital, also called Kherson, hit nine times, and residential buildings, a preschool and a medical institution struck. The head of Ukraine’s presidential office reported three civilians wounded in the region.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday he aims to discuss peace efforts related to the Ukraine war with China when he travels there in April. China called for a cease-fire and peace talks. Zelenskyy on Friday gave qualified support for Beijing’s apparent interest in playing a role.
Macron said in Paris that “China must now help us to put pressure on Russia.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Saturday he welcomed parts of the peace plan for Ukraine proposed by China, but disagreed with other aspects.
“What’s missing in my view is a discernible line that says: ‘Russian troops must also withdraw,'” Scholz told reporters during an official visit to India.
