Russia Ukraine War - the Current Scenario

Abstract

Ukrainian negotiators at talks with Russian officials demanded a ceasefire and humanitarian corridors to evacuate besieged citizens as Moscow’s invasion forces surrounded and bombarded Ukrainian cities. Earlier, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had said that Moscow is ready for talks to end the fighting in Ukraine but will continue to press its effort to destroy Ukraine’s military infrastructure.

Ukraine’s state emergencies agency said that at least 22 civilians have been killed in a Russian strike on a residential area in the city of Chernihiv, a city of 280,000 in Ukraine’s north. It said the casualties could be higher as rescuers are continuing to look through debris for more bodies. The development comes even as talks between Russia and Ukraine were underway in Belarus. In other news, Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky, the commanding general of the Russian 7th Airborne Division, was killed in fighting in Ukraine earlier this week, news agency AP reported. His death was confirmed by a local officers’ organization in the Krasnodar region in southern Russia. The circumstances of his death were not immediately clear.

Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court prosecutor has launched an investigation that could target senior officials believed responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide amid a rising civilian death toll and widespread destruction of property during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan announced the probe after dozens of the court’s member states asked him to take action. After informing the court’s judges of his decision to open an investigation that covers all sides in the conflict, Khan said, “Our work in the collection of evidence has now commenced.”