Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what President Vladimir Putin termed a “special military operation,” the conflict has settled into a war of attrition fought largely in Ukraine’s east and south.
The United States has accused Russia of using it as a “nuclear shield” while Russia’s defense ministry said damage to the plant had only been avoided thanks to the “skilful, competent and effective actions” of its units. While the world’s attention was focussed on the nuclear plant, the war was grinding on in the east and south.
“Every strike on the enemy’s ammunition depots, on their command posts, and on accumulations of Russian equipment saves the lives of all of us, the lives of Ukrainian military and civilians,” he said in a late-night video address.
Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said a second caravan of four ships with Ukrainian agriculture products sailed from Black Sea ports. The first four ships left Ukraine last week under the agreement. Following uproar over a human rights report by the group Amnesty International, which accused Ukraine’s armed forces of endangering civilians by basing troops in residential areas during the invasion, the head of its Ukraine office quit saying she had opposed its publication.Article content