Zelensky slams Russia over ‘deliberate attempt to kill as many as possible’

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday called upon the world’s attention as he yet again accused Russia of targeting civilians with the war set to complete three months.

On the rebel-controlled Donbas region, the 44-year-old leader – who has been backed by the West in his resistance against Moscow – stressed: “It is hell there – and that is not an exaggeration. (There are) constant strikes on the Odesa region, on the cities of central Ukraine.

The Donbas is completely destroyed.” The Kremlin launched its offensive on February 24 and said it was aimed at “de-Nazifying” the neighbour country – claims that have been repeatedly dismissed by Kyiv. There has been no headway despite several rounds of peace talks.

Here are ten points on the Ukraine war:

1. “This is a deliberate and criminal attempt to kill as many Ukrainians as possible, to destroy as many houses, social facilities and enterprises as possible,” Zelensky said in his latest nightly address, hitting out at Moscow.

2. A UN Security Council meeting yet again saw the US and Russia sparring amid intensifying food crises across the world. “Stop blocking the ports in the Black Sea. Allow for the free flow of ships and trains and trucks carrying food out of Ukraine,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said to the Russian envoy. “Stop threatening to withhold food and fertilizer exports from countries that criticize your war of aggression,” he said.

3. “The food supply for millions of Ukrainians and millions more around the world has quite literally been held hostage by the Russian military,” he added.

4. Countering the US secretary of state, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia said that Ukraine’s ports are blocked by Ukraine itself, which, he said, has placed mines along the Black Sea coast, news agency AFP reported.

5. The US Congress has cleared a $40 billion aid package for the war-battered country. The bill has now been sent to Joe Biden for the presidential nod. The latest package includes 18 more howitzers as well as anti-artillery radar systems, news agency AP reported.

6. “This is a demonstration of strong leadership and a necessary contribution to our common defense of freedom,” Zelensky said, thanking the US.

7. Biden on Thursday said the US fully backs the bids by Sweden and Finland to join Nato. “Let me be clear: new members joining Nato are not a threat to any nation,” he said days after Rusian president Vladimir Putin’s warning on the developments linked to Moscow’s neighbour countries joining the US-led defence alliance.

8. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked fears for its other European neighbours too.

9. “We urge all world businesses to pull out of Russia. Stop making blood profits and funding Putin’s war-machine. Stop financing Russian invaders,” the Ukraine’s foregin ministry said in a tweet.

10. Twenty-eight thousand and five hundred – this is the figure Kyiv has given on the toll of Russian troops killed in three months of conflict. On Thursday, a Russian soldier for the first time pleaded guilty for atrocities during the war.