War in Ukraine, day 60 | US officials expected in Kyiv, UN calls for truce in Mariupol

(Kyiv) U.S. foreign and defense chiefs are expected in Kyiv on Sunday, for the first time since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which enters its third month as the country celebrates the Orthodox Easter holiday.

The visit to Kyiv by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Minister Lloyd Austin, announced on Saturday by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that they are to discuss US arms deliveries to Ukraine, comes after those of several leaders Europeans since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24. The State Department did not comment on the announcement of the two officials’ visit.

“Save all Ukrainians”, launched Sunday in the form of a prayer Mr. Zelensky who called for the judgment of God in a speech on the occasion of the Easter holiday celebrated by Orthodox Christians, the majority in Ukraine.

“Don’t forget Boutcha, Irpin, Borodyanka, Gostomel,” he implored, listing like a litany a series of other names of places where Ukraine accuses Russian forces of atrocities against civilians.

“Our hearts are filled with fiery anger, our souls are filled with fiery hatred for the invaders and all they have done,” he continued. “Don’t let rage destroy us from within […] Transform it into a beneficial force to defeat the forces of evil”.

The Easter celebrations were marked by the war which continues unabated despite the multiple calls for a truce in recent days. Heavy fighting continues in the east and south.

In the small Orthodox church of Lyman, on the front line in the east of the country, under the regular fire of Russian shells, about fifty civilians gathered at dawn for the liturgy while the roar of artillery was being heard.

“If we make the wrong choices, darkness will ruin us, as darkness destroys us during this war,” the priest declaimed in his sermon — the same for all churches in this region of Donbass.

“Immediate” truce

The UN called for an “immediate” truce in Mariupol (south-east) to allow the evacuation of some 100,000 civilians still stuck in this strategic port almost entirely controlled by the Russian army.

“There needs to be a pause in the fighting right now to save lives. The longer we wait, the more lives will be at risk. They must be allowed to evacuate now, today. Tomorrow will be too late,” said its coordinator in Ukraine, Amin Awad.

“Every day, every hour that passes has a terrible human cost”, lamented the International Committee of the Red Cross in a press release the day after the failure of a new attempt to evacuate civilians from Mariupol by the Ukrainian authorities .

The ICRC urgently calls for “immediate and unimpeded access” to “allow the voluntary and safe passage of thousands of civilians and hundreds of wounded out of the city, including in the area of ​​the Azovstal factory”.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said earlier on Sunday on Telegram that Russian forces are still besieging entrenched units at the Azovstal factory. In a post on social media, Azov Battalion Deputy Commander Sviatoslav Palamar says Russian forces continue to shell Azovstal.

Mr. Zelensky warned on Saturday that Kyiv would abandon negotiations with Moscow if the fighters entrenched in Azovstal were killed by the Russian army. He again called for a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “to end the war”.

He also said he was “ready” for “an exchange of our soldiers who defend Mariupol”, in “any format”, to get out “these people who are in a horrible situation, surrounded”.

According to the Ukrainian ministry, Russian forces also continue to partially block Kharkiv (northeast) by shelling Ukrainian troops and critical infrastructure.

In the east, they have intensified operations in the direction of Severodonetsk, Kurakhiv and Popasnya, with fighting in the regions of Zaritchne, Rubizhne and Popasna, according to the Ukrainian ministry. He specified that the Russian forces had begun to cross on pontoons the Krasna river in the direction of Severodonetsk and that the air defense systems intensified their action in the direction of Adiivka.

Rubizhne in pieces

In Roubijné in pieces under the bombs, Lioudmila, 63, has been living since March 15 in a cellar with 11 other inhabitants, including her elderly mother. “Let all those who started this war gather in our basement to come and do their negotiations,” she told AFP. “Let them come and listen to the shelling and sit by candlelight. And then they will finally make a decision.”

In the south of the country, the port city of Odessa was targeted on Saturday by Russian strikes which, according to Kyiv, left at least eight dead and 18 injured.

Peace negotiations remain at an embryonic stage, especially as Russia seems, for the moment, not to have achieved its military objectives.

On Monday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will travel to Turkey, an important mediator in the conflict in Ukraine, before going to Moscow and Kyiv, the organization said on Sunday.

A timeline denounced by the Ukrainian president who criticized Mr Guterres’ decision to go first to Moscow and only then to Kyiv, saying there was “no justice and no logic in this order”.

“The war is in Ukraine, there are no corpses in the streets of Moscow. It would make sense to go to Ukraine first, to see the people there, the consequences of the occupation,” Zelensky said.

Ankara is currently trying to organize a summit in Istanbul between MM. Zelensky and Putin, although Turkish officials admit that the prospects for such talks currently remain dim.

The number of refugees fleeing the Russian invasion is approaching 5.2 million, according to the UN. More than 7.7 million people have left their homes but are still in Ukraine.