Pavel Polityuk, Aleksandar Vasovic

LVIV/KYIV Ukraine, (Reuters) – Ukraine’s refugees are expected to exceed 1.5 million as Russia intensified its attacks 11 days following the invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv pressed for additional Western actions, including weapons and sanctions.

Moscow and Kyiv exchanged blames over a failed ceasefire agreement that would have permitted civilians to flee Mariupol or Volnovakha, the two cities in southern Russia under siege by Russian forces. As Ukrainians fled to neighboring countries, such as Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and other European nations, a second round was set for Monday.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zeleskiy called for people living in Russian-occupied areas to fight and go on the offensive during a Saturday evening televised speech.

He said that he must “go outside” and exterminate the evil in his cities, vowing to rebuild his country. Our resistance, our protest has strengthened my faith in the possibility of this.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier stated that he desired a neutral Ukraine, which was “demilitarized” and “denazified.” He also likened Western sanctions to a declaration “of war,” adding that “Thank God that it has not happened that way.”

The West and Ukraine have condemned Putin’s motives as an inexcusable pretext for his invasion of Ukraine on February 24, and have placed severe sanctions to cripple Moscow.

Dmytro Kuleba is the Ukraine’s foreign minister. He met with Antony Blinken from the U.S. at Ukraine-Poland border and said that he was expecting new sanctions to be imposed on Ukraine.

According to US statements, the United States would provide Ukraine with more weapons. It has also warned that it might escalate sanctions. President Joe Biden is seeking emergency funding of $10 billion to address this crisis.

Washington has been working with Poland while Warsaw examines whether it will provide fighter jets for Ukraine. A spokesperson from the White House said Saturday that Washington was trying to work with Poland. However, the United States may need to replenish Poland’s jet supply if necessary, given the challenges inherent in the contested area.

In a call on Saturday with U.S. legislators, Zelenskiy asked for assistance in protecting aircraft from European allies. Zelenskiy also demanded more lethal assistance, an end to the use of Russian oil and a no fly zone. Visa Inc According to U.S media, MasterCard Inc and NYSE: Russia have been granted privileges.

The White House stated that Biden had spoken with Zelenskiy about thirty minutes during Sunday’s breaking in Ukraine. On Twitter, Zelenskiy posted that they discussed security and financial support to Ukraine, as well as the continuation of Russian sanctions.

NATO, which Ukraine is keen to join, has rejected Zelenskiy’s requests to impose an air no-fly area over Ukraine. Zelenskiy claimed that it would increase the conflict in Ukraine.

According to Bennett’s spokesperson, Netanyahu met Putin on Saturday to try to broker a deal.

Zelenskiy tweets, “We keep talking,” after the call.

Boris Johnson the British Prime Minister presented six points to counter Russia’s invasion ahead of his meeting next week with representatives from Canada, Holland and Central Europe.

On Sunday, the Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan will meet Putin. Turkey, which is an NATO member, has a maritime border in the Black Sea with Russia and Ukraine.

Ukrainian negotiators claimed that the third round of negotiations with Russia over a ceasefire was scheduled for Monday. Moscow, however, had a less clear statement.

FIERCE FIGHTING

According to Interfax, Russia’s Defence Ministry stated that its troops were conducting a broad-ranging offensive against Ukraine. They had also taken many villages and towns.

The Ukrainian military stated that armed forces were fighting to “liberate Ukrainian cities” from Russian occupiers. Counter-attacks in certain areas are also being conducted and communications disrupted.

General staff of Ukraine’s Armed forces claimed that the army shot down five Russian helicopters and two Russian planes Saturday, and carried out air attacks against 15 motorized brigades. Reuters was unable to confirm this claim.

A large demonstration took place in Kherson, south Ukraine. It was the sole regional capital that has changed hands since the invasion.

Interfax cites eyewitnesses who claim that Russian soldiers fired automatic rifles in the air to disperse crowd. They later fled.

After Russia took control of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuke power plant, there were still concerns about nuclear threats. A top U.S. official stated on Friday that Russian troops were only 20 miles (33.2 km) away from Ukraine’s second-largest nuclear facility.

According to RIA, Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for Russia’s foreign ministry, said that Russia had warned NATO and the EU to stop “pumping in state-of the-art weapon systems” to Kyiv.

One of many Decrees that Putin signed Saturday gave his government the time to compile a list listing countries who are engaged in unfriendly acts toward Russia.

VISA/MASTERCARD EXIT

International Monetary Fund stated that the conflict could have a serious impact on global economic growth, driving up grain and energy prices. It stated it would consider Kyiv’s emergency request of $1.4billion in financing.

Russians are worried about their future economic prospects after a drop in the value of the ruble, curbs on money transfers and the expulsion of more Western businesses.

On Saturday, Visa and Mastercard (NYSE 🙂 announced that Russia would suspend their credit card operations.

Zelenskiy claimed that Elon Musk has promised to send more Starlink internet terminals to Ukraine over the next week. Zelenskiy also stated on Saturday that he had spoken with SpaceX CEO. Experts say that this could be a way to improve Ukraine’s internet connectivity, but it also presents security risk.

HELP US IF YOU CAN

Residents of Volnovakha fled the fighting by fleeing heavy shelling.

Larisa from a nearby community said that she wanted to help others. “Help us if we can. We all want to live. “Where should I go?” All I have is what’s on me, and one bag. It’s all that I have.

Following a Brussels meeting between counterparts from NATO and the G7, Blinken saw refugees who were staying at a abandoned Polish shopping center. It has been home to the majority of those fleeing Ukraine.

Ksenia Tymofeeva (41), worked at a Kyiv bank until she left two days ago. She also left behind her husband who was a bank worker and stayed to resist the Russian invasion.

At the border of Ukraine and Poland, she stated that “he doesn’t have any military experience”, but it was their homeland.

Blinken is the next destination for more refugees, with Moldova being another stop.

According to the World Health Organization, 249 people had been killed and 553 were injured in conflict zones as of March 3rd. The World Health Organization stated that 1.2 million refugees were currently in place and another 160,000 have been internally displaced.

It stated in a statement that “the human cost of the incident is likely to be much greater because access and security issues make it hard to determine how many deaths or injuries occurred.”