Natalia Zinets and Pavel Polityuk

LVIV/KYIV Ukraine, (Reuters) – Russia is pounding Mariupol in Ukraine into “ashes” according to the local council. It described the two bombings as a second attack on the fortified city which has been shut down for many weeks.

Mariupol’s humanitarian crisis, which was home to 400,000 people before Russia invaded Ukraine, is the greatest since the invasion. Nearly 200,000 people live in fear, trapped under almost constant bombardment, without access to water, heat or power.

Zelenskiy declared, in a Tuesday video address to Italy’s parliament: “There is nothing left here.”

According to the city council, there were no casualties and damage caused by this latest bombing. Independent journalists were not allowed to enter the Ukrainian-held city areas for more than a week. Ukraine claimed Russia had struck theatres and art schools in Kiev, taking hundreds of people hostage in underground cellars.

It is evident that the occupiers have no interest in Mariupol. The council stated in a statement that they want to demolish it and turn it into the ashes.

Russia denies targeting civilians. Ukraine asserts that Moscow blocks daily attempts to transport relief convoys, with food and other supplies to civilians, to the country.

Russia wanted Kyiv to surrender Monday at dawn, which Kyiv ignored.

On Tuesday, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minster Iryna Vereshchuk stated that “We demand opening of a humanitarian route for civilians.”

“Our soldiers are heroically protecting Mariupol. The ultimatum was not accepted by us. They proposed capitulation with a white flag. It is manipulation and a lie.

Russia describes the largest invasion of Europe since World War Two as a “special military operations” that aims to dearm Ukraine and defend it against “Nazis”. This is a pretext to a war unprovoked against democratic countries, according to the West.

Mariupol remains the largest Ukrainian city. Russia demands that Kyiv surrender to Moscow-backed separatists. Russian media reported that on Tuesday, a separatist official said half of Mariupol is now under Russian control.

Reuters reached a part of Mariupol held now by Russian forces. It was a haunting wasteland full of windowless, charred apartment blocks. The road was lined with bodies wrapped in blankets. One group of men dug a grave in the grass.

MOURNING A HOLOCAUST SUVIVOR

U.S. President Joe Biden claimed that the recent allegations by Moscow that Ukraine had chemical and biological weaponry were not only false but also a hint that Vladimir Putin could be making plans to use these weapons.

Biden spoke at Monday’s business event, “Now, he is talking about new false flags” They also suggest that Ukraine may have chemical and biological weapons. This is a sign that he may be considering both.

Russian troops failed to capture any major cities within a month of the start of war. Their advance on almost all fronts has been stopped by Ukrainian defenders. Moscow instead has begun bombarding major cities with missiles, artillery, and bombs.

Zelenskiy addressed the nation overnight to pay tribute to Boris Romanchenko (96), who was a survivor of three Nazi concentration camps in World War Two and was killed last week when his Kharkiv apartment block was bombarded.

Zelenskiy stated, “Every day in this war it becomes clearer what ‘denazification” means to them.”

On Twitter, Ukraine’s Defence Ministry stated that Romanchenko was killed by Putin. (NYSE:)

REFUGEES

One of the most extreme exoduses in history has seen nearly half the 44 million Ukrainians flee their country.

Ukraine is a country with rich, black soil and one of the largest exporters of grains in the world. This war has seen global staple food prices rise to new records.

Zelenskiy told Italian lawmakers that “the most horrible thing” would be the approaching famine. “Ukraine is a major food exporter, but we don’t know how to sow crops under strikes by Russian artillery.

Russia has effectively closed down independent media outlets and banned the use of “special operations” to refer to wars or invasions. There are signs of some dissent.

Zhanna Agakova (a former Channel One news reader and foreign correspondent) was one of Russia’s most well-known state TV news personalities. She announced Tuesday at a Paris news conference that she has resigned in protest to the war.

She said, “When I talked to my bosses I said that I could not do this job any longer.”

Dmitry Muratov won the Nobel Peace Prize for December because he fought for freedom of speech in his role as Novaya Gazeta’s editor. He announced that he was going to auction off his medal to help raise funds for Ukrainian refugees.

Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of Luhansk (one of two eastern regions Russia requires Ukraine to cede) said that all of this region is now being bombarded.

He said, “We will continue to evacuate people as long as possible.” “We can see that…the Russians have only one goal: to destroy Ukraine,” he said.