Russia-Ukraine live: Kyiv rules out ceasefire
- iamjoyblessy
- May 23, 2022
- 2 min read
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Ukraine ruled out a ceasefire or concessions to Moscow while Russia intensified an offensive in the eastern Donbas region and stopped sending gas to Finland in its latest salvo in response to Western sanctions and its deepening international isolation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the situation in Donbas is “extremely difficult” but is confident that Ukraine’s army can overcome Russian advances.
He also said on Saturday that the Ukraine war can only be resolved through “diplomacy” amid a deadlock in negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow.
US President Joe Biden has signed the $40 billion aid package passed by Congress. Its passage by overwhelming margins in the Senate on Thursday and the House last week was seen as a sign of popular support in the US for Ukraine’s efforts against Russia’s invasion.
Ukraine ruled out a ceasefire or concessions to Moscow while Russia intensified an offensive in the eastern Donbas region.
The Kremlin also stopped sending gas to Finland in its latest response to western sanctions amid its deepening international isolation.
Polish President Andrzej Duda, who met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv last month, was back to address the Ukrainian Parliament on Sunday as the first foreign leader to do so in person.
After ending weeks of resistance by the last Ukrainian fighters in the strategic south-eastern port of Mariupol, Russia is waging a major offensive in Luhansk, one of two provinces in Donbas.
Russian-backed separatists already controlled large parts of Luhansk and neighbouring Donetsk before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, but Moscow wants to seize the last remaining Ukrainian-held territory in the region.
On the Donetsk frontline, Russian forces were trying to break through Ukrainian defences to reach the administrative borders of the Luhansk region.
Further north, they continued heavy shelling of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk, Ukraine’s general staff said in its daily update on Sunday.
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