Currents News Staff
As Russia intensifies missile strikes on Ukrainian cities in the west and the east, heavy fighting also continues in the south, where the mayor of the port city of Mariupol has called for a complete evacuation of the remaining population.
A weeks-long siege by Russian forces has flattened the city, leaving an unknown number of civilians dead and forcing hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.
Intense fighting also continues in the suburbs of Kyiv as Russian forces attempt to establish a corridor around the capital to block supply routes, according to a Ukrainian defense official.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he’s ready to accept a neutral, non-nuclear status as part of a peace deal with Russia, but any agreement would have to put Ukrainian people in a referendum.
“This was the first point of principle for the Russian Federation, as I recall, and as far as I remember, they started the war because of this,” said Zelensky.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden triggered a political storm after going off-script during a speech in Poland.
“For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” President Biden said.
White House officials and Biden himself are trying to downplay the remarks saying he was really arguing that Vladimir Putin can’t be allowed to exercise his power over neighboring countries.