No respite for Ukraine during Easter, Passover as Russians shell cities and threaten to have defenders ‘eliminated’
Easter Sunday brought more death and destruction in Ukraine, where Russian forces bombed one key city and menaced another during the eighth week of their brutal invasion.
Five people were killed and another 13 injured by Russian shelling of Kharkiv, local officials said. The attack blew roofs off of buildings and caused fires throughout the city, according to Agence-France Presse reporters who witnessed the carnage.
Bombing on Saturday destroyed a community kitchen established in Kharkiv by celebrity chef José Andrés. Still, he vowed that chefs working throughout Ukraine for his World Central Kitchen nonprofit would keep doing their work.
Meanwhile, Russia threatened to kill the remaining defenders of Mariupol if they didn’t surrender.
“In case of further resistance, all of them will be eliminated.” Russia’s Defense Ministry said of troops in the devastated city, according to the New York Times.
The brutal assault on the eastern city has claimed tens of thousands of lives, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Amid fears that Mariupol could fall as Russia redoubles efforts to take the east, Ukrainian officials vowed not to give up the city.
“We will fight absolutely to the end, to the win, in this war,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told ABC’s “This Week.”
He added that Ukraine is still open to a diplomatic resolution to the war, “but we do not have intention to surrender.”
Mariupol has been so badly damaged since the start of the invasion, the city “doesn’t exist anymore,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
But if the city falls, it would represent a key victory for Russia, which has faced a surprisingly effective defense throughout Ukraine since the Feb. 24 start of the invasion.
Mariupol would provide a land connection to the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia captured in 2014. Seizing the city could also boost Russian forces’ confidence after their Black Sea Fleet’s flagship humiliatingly sunk on Thursday.
Russian forces have encircled Ukraine’s eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk and are expected to renew assaults there.
Zelenskyy said it was vital to protect the area, noting there was no guarantee that Russia would stop there.
“It is very important for us to not allow them, to stand our ground, because this battle ... it can influence the course of the whole war,” he told CNN’s “State of the Union” in an interview that aired Sunday.
Easter brought a renewed call for peace from Pope Francis.
“May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of this cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged,” he told worshippers gathered in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City.
Francis also voiced concern about the use of nuclear weapons, quoting a 1955 manifesto penned by physicist Albert Einstein and philosopher Bertrand Russell.
“‘Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war?’” Francis said.
Many in Ukraine could not celebrate Easter or Passover, which started on Friday.
“I pray to God he will make miracles, the way he made miracles for the Jewish people in Egypt,” said Ukrainian Rabbi Moshe Azman.
With a new stage in the war apparently nearing, the U.S. last week committed $800 million in additional military aid for Ukraine — bringing total U.S. assistance to the embattled country to $2.5 billion.
“There will never be enough [assistance],” Zelenskyy told CNN. “Enough isn’t possible.”
President Biden will likely visit Ukraine, Ukraine’s leader said.
“It’s his decision, of course, about the safety situation,” Zelenskyy remarked. “He’s the leader of the United States, and that’s why he should come here to see.”
Asked Thursday whether he was prepared to visit Ukraine, Biden answered in the affirmative.
But the following day, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki appeared to shoot down the idea.
“He’s ready for anything,” she told the “Pod Save America” show. “The man likes the fast cars and aviators. He’s ready to go to Ukraine. It’s true he does.
“We are not sending the president to Ukraine,” Psaki concluded.
Last month, Biden visited Ukraine’s neighbor Poland, where he stunningly asserted that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power.” He and White House staffers quickly walked back the statement, saying Biden wasn’t advocating regime change.
Several world leaders have visited Ukraine since Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson traveled to Kyiv, where he took a quick walking tour of the city alongside Zelenskyy, earlier this month.
As the carnage continued, locals tried to keep their spirits up.
“Many ways to fight,” José Andrés said on Twitter after the destruction of the Kharkiv kitchen. “We do it with food.”
With News Wire Services
