By Viewsridge – Own work, derivate of Russo-Ukraine Conflict (2014-present).svg by Rr016Missile attacks source: BNO NewsCity control sources: Cities and towns during the Russo-Ukrainian War, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=115506141
Reuters reports Russian forces have seized two small cities in southeastern Ukraine and the area around a nuclear power plant.
However, the report received from Interfax news agency said troops ran into stiff resistance elsewhere as Moscow’s diplomatic and economic isolation deepened.
After four days of fighting and a Russian advance that has gone more slowly than some expected, talks between Ukraine and Russia started on Monday at the border with Russian ally Belarus, a senior Ukrainian official told Reuters via text message.
The Ukrainian president’s office said the goal was an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces.
It was not clear whether any progress could be achieved after President Vladimir Putin on Thursday launched the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two and put Russia’s nuclear deterrent on high alert on Sunday.
The Western-led response was swift, with sanctions that effectively cut off Moscow’s major financial institutions from Western markets sending Russia’s rouble currency down 30% against the dollar on Monday. Countries also stepped up weapons supplies to Ukraine.
At least 102 civilians in Ukraine have been killed since Thursday, with a further 304 wounded, but U.N. Human Rights Chief Michelle Bachelet said the real figure is feared to be “considerably higher.”
The UN Refugee Agency said more than 360,000 people have fled to neighboring countries.
The Associated Press reports President Joe Biden announced sanctions on Thursday that target Russian banks and the country’s elites, and restrict the export of vital technologies that are key for the military and economic development. The U.S. and its European allies intensified the sanctions on Saturday by announcing plans to freeze the reserves of Russia’s central bank and block certain financial institutions from the SWIFT messaging system for international payments.
But the rules issued by the Treasury Department allow Russian energy transactions to keep going through non-sanctioned banks that are not based in the U.S. And administration officials stress that the sanctions are designed to minimize any disruptions to the global energy markets.
Congressman Tom Reed criticized this action, saying in a statement, “President Biden has shown his true alliance with Putin when he specifically promised, under the announced ‘sanctions package,’ that the US will continue to pay Putin and his oligarch friends billions of dollars for oil and gas production and sales. The United States has the energy resources to knock Russia out of the oil and gas market entirely, but we don’t use those resources because of President Biden’s partisan pandering to the environmental extremists of the Democratic party. Instead of pandering to extremists, we must take the bold actions needed to ensure an evil dictator like Putin and other adversaries existing on the horizon know we will ensure peace is achieved through strength.”
Here in New York, Governor Kathy Hochul directed all New York State agencies and authorities to review and divest public funds from Russia following Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
Hochul said in a statement, “Russia has chosen to attack democracy and we will stand with Ukraine as we condemn these atrocities. Our state will not permit its own investment activity, whether directly or indirectly, to aid Russia as it commits these human rights violations. New York is home to the largest population of Ukrainians in the United States – they are our family and an attack on them is an attack on us all. We will make our statements and values known and show solidarity with Ukraine as we rebuke this assault on democracy.”
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