Biden heads to Europe as Russia shells cities in Ukraine

A month into the war, even as Mariupol burns and many other cities are attacked, the Russians have met with fierce resistance from Ukraine

U.S. President Joe Biden flies to Europe on Wednesday for an emergency NATO summit on Ukraine, where invading Russian troops are stalled, cities are under bombardment and the besieged port of Mariupol is in flames. Four weeks into a war that has driven a quarter of Ukraine’s 44 million people from their homes, Russia has failed to capture a single major Ukrainian city, while Western sanctions have ostracised it from the world economy. 

After failing in what Western countries say was an attempt to seize Kyiv swiftly and depose the government, Russian forces have taken heavy losses, are frozen in place for at least a week on most fronts and face supply problems and fierce resistance. They have turned to siege tactics and bombardment of cities, causing massive destruction and many civilian deaths. Moscow says its aim is to disarm its neighbour, and its “special military operation” is going to plan. It denies targeting civilians. 

Nurses tend to a child in a room protected by sandbags at Zaporizhzhia Regional Clinical Children’s Hospital on Tuesday.

Worst hit has been Mariupol, a southern port completely surrounded by Russian forces, where thousands of people have been sheltering since the war’s early days, under constant bombardment with food, water and heat supplies cut. New satellite photographs from commercial firm Maxar showed massive destruction of what was once a city of 4,00,000 people, with smoke rising from residential buildings in flames. Journalists have been unable to report from the Ukrainian-held parts of the city for more than a week, during which time Ukrainian officials say Russia bombed a theatre and an art school used as bomb shelters, burying hundreds of people alive. Russia denies targeting the buildings. Biden, due to arrive in Brussels on Wednesday evening, will meet NATO and European leaders in an emergency summit. They  are expected to roll out additional sanctions against Russia on Thursday.

Russians destroy Chernobyl laboratory

Russian military forces have destroyed a new laboratory at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant that among other things works to improve management of radioactive waste, the Ukrainian state agency responsible for the Chernobyl exclusion zone said Tuesday. The Ukraine’s nuclear regulatory agency said Monday that radiation monitors around the plant had stopped working.

Poland seeks to expel 45 Russians 

Poland has identified 45 Russian intelligence officers using diplomatic status as cover to stay in the country and authorities are seeking to expel them, officials said Wednesday. Russia will retaliate if its diplomats are expelled from Poland, the RIA news agency cited the foreign ministry as saying on Wednesday.

Japan asked to boost sanctions 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Japan on Wednesday to ramp up pressure on Russia with a trade embargo, making an unprecedented direct appeal to parliament that invoked the two nations’ shared experience of nuclear disaster. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday he planned to unveil more support measures for Ukraine and strengthen Tokyo’s sanctions against Russia at a G7 meeting.

Putin gets Chinese backing for G20

Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to attend the next G20 summit in Indonesia later this year and received valuable backing from Beijing on Wednesday in a pushback to suggestions by some members that Russia could be barred from the group. 

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