Update on the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Situation on the ground, international reactions, sanctions: the point on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Fighting continues in Mariupol

In Mariupol, a strategic port on the Sea of ​​Azov besieged for more than 40 days by the Russian army, the fighting continues.

“The Russians have temporarily occupied part of the city. Ukrainian soldiers continue to defend the center and south of the city, as well as the industrial areas,” the city’s deputy mayor Sergei Orlov told the BBC.

“Tens of thousands” of people have died and “90% of the houses” have been destroyed, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak wrote on Twitter, adding that “Ukrainian soldiers are surrounded and blocked”.

The leader of the pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk said on Monday that his forces had completely conquered the port area of ​​Mariupol. “Regarding the port of Mariupol, it is already under our control,” said Denis Pouchiline, live on the Russian channel Pervy Kanal.

Russian offensive in the east imminent

In the East, which has become the Kremlin’s priority target, the Ukrainian army says it expects a Russian offensive “very soon”.

“It is likely that in the future the enemy will try to take control of Mariupol, seize Popasna (located between Donetsk and Lugansk, editor’s note) and launch an offensive in the direction of Kurakhove (at the west of Donetsk) in order to reach the administrative borders of the Donetsk region,” the Ukrainian army general staff said on Facebook on Tuesday morning.

“According to our information, the enemy has almost completed its preparation for an assault on the East. The attack will take place very soon,” Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Oleksandre Motouzianik previously warned.

Zelensky calls for weapons

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Monday evening in a video address for more weapons from his allies, in particular to strengthen the defense of the city of Mariupol.

“We are not getting as much as we need to end this war any faster. To completely destroy the enemy in our territory… in particular, to unblock” the siege of Mariupol, he said.

Chemical attack charges

The UK is trying to verify whether chemical weapons have been used by Russian forces in Mariupol, with the government warning on Tuesday that “all options” were on the table should their use be confirmed.

On Monday evening, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss tweeted that she was investigating claims that “Russian forces may have used chemical agents in an attack on the population of Mariupol. We are urgently working with our partners to verify the information.”

Previously, the Ukrainian Azov regiment, entrenched in Mariupol, had claimed that a Russian drone had dropped a “toxic substance” there on soldiers and civilians.

Violence once morest women

Several UN officials on Monday called for investigations into violence once morest women in Russia’s war in Ukraine and the protection of children in the conflict, at a meeting of the Security Council initiated by the United States and Albania.

The “pessimistic” Austrian Chancellor

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said he was “rather pessimistic” following his meeting with Vladimir Putin, who, according to him, is in a “logic of war” and wants to record a “military success” in Ukraine.

French gendarmes in Ukraine

French gendarmes have arrived in Lviv, in western Ukraine, to assist their Ukrainian counterparts “in the investigations of war crimes committed around kyiv”, the French ambassador to Ukraine announced on Monday.

Paris expels six Russian spies

France has decided to expel six Russian spies who operated under cover of their embassy in Paris and “whose activities have proven to be contrary to (its) national interests”, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday evening.

Earlier, Croatia announced the expulsion of 24 Russian diplomats and embassy staff, following in the footsteps of many countries that have taken similar measures.

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