[News] Renewed Russian bombing of southern Ukraine, and Kiev says Moscow has not reached out to it for peace talks

[SnO]

The Ukrainian General Staff announced renewed Russian bombing of the Ochakiv area in Mykolaiv (south of the country), and Kyiv confirmed that Moscow had not officially communicated with it about the possibility of holding peace talks.

 

 

 

A spokesman for the Ukrainian General Staff said that in the past hours, the Russian army carried out an air strike and 4 missile strikes, in addition to about 60 attacks with different missile systems.

The Ukrainian spokesman pointed out that his forces had inflicted dozens of deaths on the Russian forces and about 160 injuries during the bombing carried out against their positions in Zaporizhia (southern Ukraine).

He also pointed out that the Russian forces are planning to transfer some units withdrawing from Kherson to continue what he described as hostilities in Donetsk and Luhansk.

The Ukrainian Staff Command stated that it had repulsed 7 Russian attempts to advance in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, and added that the Russian army decided to transfer units of the forces withdrawing from Kherson to station in the Donbass region.

On the other hand, the Russian military website "Rebar" said that the Russian army targeted gatherings of Ukrainian forces and military vehicles in the cities of Kherson, Antonovka, and other nearby towns on the right bank of the Dnipro River.

The site added that the Russian forces also targeted sites of the Ukrainian army in the cities of Bakhmut and Solidar, in addition to several towns in the Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions.

Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that Russian bombing targeted the outskirts of the city of Kramatorsk last night, and quoted the Ukrainian governor of Donetsk as saying that 14 houses were damaged as a result of the bombing, without causing any injuries.

Meanwhile, pro-Russian forces in the Donbass region said that they had thwarted an attempt to advance the Ukrainian army in the Svatovo axis in Lugansk Province (eastern Ukraine).

The pro-Russian forces stated that they had inflicted heavy losses on the Ukrainian forces and pushed them to retreat behind the railway line adjacent to the road linking the cities of Svatovo and Kobyansk.

Voluntary evacuation
On the other hand, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshuk announced the start of voluntary evacuation from the lands that were finally recovered from Russian forces in southern Ukraine. It believed that the Ukrainian state would bear all the costs and responsibilities associated with this process.

She indicated that some Kherson residents expressed their desire to evacuate, specifically the vulnerable groups who cannot support themselves, as she put it.

Moscow did not communicate with Kyiv
For his part, a senior Ukrainian official confirmed yesterday, Saturday, that Moscow had not officially communicated with Kyiv about the possibility of holding peace talks, adding that in any case Russia would have to withdraw its forces completely before negotiations take place.

"We have not received any official request from the Russian side regarding negotiations," Andrei Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential office, said - in a video intervention to the Halifax International Security Forum. He noted that any talks that are not based on Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders will not be "acceptable."

"The first step that the Russian side must take is to withdraw all Russian forces from Ukrainian territory," he stressed.

His remarks came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ruled out the idea of approving a "short truce" with Russia, saying that it would only exacerbate matters.

Zelensky said in remarks broadcast on the same forum that "Russia is now looking for a short truce and a respite to restore its strength. This can be seen as an end to the war, but such a respite will only exacerbate the situation."

He added, "A truly true, lasting and sincere peace can only be achieved by completely eliminating Russian aggression."

The White House repeated last Friday that Zelensky is the only one who can agree to start negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, rejecting any idea of US pressure on Kyiv in this direction.

US Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley recently said that Ukraine's battlefield victories could open a window to start talks for a political solution to the conflict.

However, he indicated - earlier - that it is unlikely - at least in the short term - that Ukraine will be able to expel Russia militarily from all the lands it occupies in the country, including Crimea.

Peace is not possible
For his part, Andrei Yermak, senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said that peace with Russia will only be possible when the Russian army is destroyed and Ukraine restores the 1991 borders, which include the four Ukrainian provinces that Russia announced its annexation unilaterally, along with a peninsula. Crimea.

On the other hand, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of the Russian National Security Council, said that the West is tired of the behavior of the Ukrainian president, who constantly asks the West to send more money and weapons through letters full of feelings, as he put it.

He added that the United States and NATO "do not want a complete break with Russia, and that is why they are trying to push Kyiv for more rationality."

Washington will not drag Sunak in Kyiv
In turn, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin warned yesterday, Saturday, of the dangers of global nuclear proliferation if Russia wins its war on Ukraine, indicating that his country will not be dragged into what he described as the "war of choice" launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He also said - in a speech during a security forum in Canada - that Moscow is violating the laws of war and committing "atrocities" in Ukraine.

 

 

https://www.aljazeera.net/news/2022/11/20/تجدد-القصف-الروسي-على-جنوب-أوكرانيا