Mariupol mayor warns more than 10,000 people could die by the end of the year
More than 10,000 people could die by the end of the year in the southern port city of Mariupol, now mostly occupied by Russia forces, the mayor said Wednesday.
“The humanitarian situation in Mariupol is catastrophic now,” Mayor Vadim Boichenko said in a post on Telegram. “There are no medicines and doctors, normal water supply, sewage does not work, etc.”
He warned that without the operation of clean water and sewage, epidemics could break out in the city, especially with a population made up mainly of the sick and elderly. Around 100,000 civilians are still present in the southern port city and awaiting evacuation, the mayor said Tuesday.
Zelenskyy thanks Pelosi, House for approving Ukrainian aid
Ukraine halts Russian gas flows in areas Moscow occupies
Ukraine’s gas pipeline operator said Wednesday that it will stop the flow of Russian natural gas at a key hub in the east of the country currently occupied by Russian forces.
The operator, GTSOU, said in a statement that it “cannot carry out operational and technological control” over the Novopskov compressor station, located in Luhansk, which handles around a third of Russian gas that passes through Ukraine to Europe, as well as in other assets in the area.
The operator said it would redirect the flow of gas to a facility in the south under Ukraine’s control.
The European Union is working to secure a ban on Russian oil imports to its 27 member states, designed to hit Russia’s national finances.
Faces of Azovstal
Ukraine makes gains in northeast counteroffensive against Russian forces
Ukraine’s military has recovered territory in the northeast of the country, making gains against Russian forces and pushing them back toward the border.
“The occupiers are gradually being pushed back from Kharkiv oblast,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Tuesday, adding that invading troops had been pushed out of four villages in the region.
Ukraine’s forces may be within six miles of the Russian border, according to the Institute for the Study of War. Russian forces from the Izyum area, located around 75 miles southeast of Kharkiv, are reportedly redeploying north to attempt to halt Ukraine's advance, its daily update said Tuesday afternoon.
The Kharkiv region, including the major city itself, came under heavy attack early in the war with many of its buildings destroyed by Russian strikes.
Ukraine strikes Russian resupply ships with drones, U.K. says
Ukraine’s military has successfully attacked Russian resupply vessels with drones, the United Kingdom’s defense ministry said Wednesday.
Ukraine launched successful attacks against air defenses and resupply vessels with Bayraktar drones, the defense ministry said in a daily intelligence update.
“Russia’s resupply vessels have minimum protection in the western Black Sea, following the Russian Navy’s retreat to Crimea after the loss of the Moskva,” the ministry said in a statement.
Meanwhile, fighting continues on Zmiinyi Island, also known as Snake Island, the U.K. said. If Russia consolidates its position in the island, “they could dominate the north-western Black Sea,” the ministry said. The island is off of Ukraine’s southwestern coast, south of Odesa.
House passes $40 billion package to provide military, humanitarian aid
The House passed legislation Tuesday night that would provide $40 billion in new aid to Ukraine as the Biden administration looks to step up U.S. support for Kyiv in its war against Russia.
The House voted 368-57 after President Joe Biden urged quick congressional action and Republicans balked at passing an additional $10 billion in Covid relief funds alongside the military and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine. All 57 no votes came from Republicans.
The supplemental funding measure now heads to the Senate. GOP leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he asked Biden last week to separate the coronavirus aid from the Ukraine funding.