Politics
NATO's Defence Of Ukraine: A Dilemma Or In The Interest Of All?
January 28, 2022
March 5, 2022
Ukraine's president has attacked Nato leaders in a fiery speech over their refusal to implement a no-fly zone around the country. Speaking from Kyiv, Volodymyr Zelensky said the West's reluctance to intervene has given Russia "a green light" to continue bombarding towns and villages.
Nato has argued that a no-fly zone will result in confrontation with Moscow.
But Mr. Zelensky said he disagrees that direct action could "provoke Russia's direct aggression against Nato". In angry comments, he said the argument reflects the "self-hypnosis of those who are weak, under-confident inside" and that Western reservations indicated that "not everyone considers the struggle for freedom to be Europe's number one goal".
"All the people who will die starting from this day will also die because of you. Because of your weakness, because of your disunity," a furious Mr. Zelensky added.
"I can't tell you how long this will go on," America's top diplomat said. "I can't tell you how long it will take. But the idea that Russia can subjugate to its will 45 million people who are ardently fighting for their future and their freedom, that does not involve Russia having its thumb on Ukraine, that tells you a lot."
As Russia's invasion of Ukraine enters the tenth day Moscow's forces continue to heavily shell many cities.
In the south-eastern port city of Mariupol, the city's mayor has said that residents are under a "blockade" after days of "ruthless" attacks from Russian forces which have seen power and water shut off to the city's 450,00 strong population.
Vadim Boychenko wrote on the Telegram messaging app that the city is "simply being destroyed" and said officials are prioritising "the establishment of a ceasefire so that we can restore vital infrastructure and set up a humanitarian corridor to bring food and medicine into the city".
There have also been unconfirmed reports of fresh fighting on Saturday in the north-eastern city of Sumy and of rocket attacks on the train station in Ukraine's second city, Kharkiv, above a metro station where city residents are sheltering from shelling, and in the northern city of Chernihiv.
Closer to the Nuclear plants
And the US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, has warned that Russian troops have advanced within 20 miles (32km) of Ukraine's second-biggest nuclear facility.
Her comments follow Friday's attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which she said reflected a "dangerous new escalation" in Russia's invasion. Moscow's ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, dismissed reports that Russian troops attacked the plant as "lies" and "disinformation".
Tim Davie, the BBC's director-general, said the legislation "appears to criminalise the process of independent journalism" in Russia, while the Washington Post said it will remove by-lines from pieces written by its reporters in Russia.
Meanwhile, Mr Zelensky addressed massive rallies in support of Ukraine in several cities across Europe, including the Czech capital Prague and the Georgian capital Tbilisi. He warned demonstrators: "If Ukraine does not survive, the whole of Europe will not survive."
But in the Serbian capital of Belgrade, some 4,000 people have taken part in a pro-Russian rally that marched from a monument of Russian Tsar Nicholas II to the Russian embassy. Demonstrators sang the Serbian and Russian national anthems and carried Russian flags and pictures of President Vladimir Putin.
Sanctions taking more effect
Elsewhere, in a sign that Western sanctions are starting to have a tangible impact, Italian police have seized the yachts of two of Russia's wealthiest oligarchs.
Officers seized a 213ft (65 metre) yacht worth $27m (£20m) owned by Alexey Mordashov, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin and Russia's richest man, in the northern port of Imperia, officials told local media.
Another yacht, owned by Gennady Timchenko, another oligarch with close ties to Putin, has been impounded in Imperia, officials said.
