For the first time it has been possible to set up an escape corridor from a besieged city. Nevertheless, the situation for many civilians in the war zone remains dramatic.
Ukrainians squeeze under a destroyed bridge while trying to cross the Irpin River on the outskirts of Kyiv.
The mass exodus from Ukraine has reached a dramatic milestone. Already two million people have left their homeland since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression, said the head of the UN refugee agency, Filippo Grandi, on Twitter on Tuesday.
More than half of the refugees have crossed the border into Poland. This means that more people seeking protection entered the country in less than two weeks than Germany took in in all of 2015. But the other neighboring countries of Ukraine are also making enormous efforts. In relation to the size of its population, small Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe, has the highest number of arrivals.
Winter returns
There was a small ray of light on Tuesday in the evacuation of the civilian population from the combat zone. For the first time, the two warring parties managed to agree on the details of an escape corridor. Sumi, in north-eastern Ukraine, was under a truce lasting several hours, during which residents were able to head south out of the city, where buses were waiting for them. Towards evening, however, hostilities resumed.
For other cities, however, the establishment of so-called humanitarian corridors failed again because no ceasefire was reached. The situation for the trapped civilian population is likely to become even more precarious in the coming days due to a cold front across the country.
In Mariupol, where as a result of the incessant Russian shelling, not only the water and electricity supply but also the district heating system collapsed, sleet fell on Tuesday. Double-digit minus temperatures are expected in Kharkiv and Kyiv.
Another Russian general killed?
On the battlefield, Russian preparations for an attack on the capital, Kyiv, are progressing. The Russian troops try to encircle the city, but so far have not succeeded. At the same time, supplies and reinforcements are brought in. According to observers, the Russian army’s significant logistical problems in the north are also due to targeted Ukrainian attacks against supply units.
According to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, Russia’s one-star general Vitaly Gerasimov, deputy commander of the 41st army, was killed outside the second-largest city of Kharkiv. He would be the third Russian commander to fall in the Ukraine war. The fact that senior officers have to move closer to the battlefield is seen by some observers as further evidence of the unexpected difficulties that Russian troops face on the battlefield.
Nevertheless, level-headed voices warn against underestimating the danger that continues to emanate from the sheer superiority of Russian troops. The fall of cities like Sumi or Mariupol would also free up additional offensive forces on the Russian side, while the surrounded Ukrainian troops would have little chance of joining other formations.
Yanukovych speaks up
In a video speech, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated calls for a no-fly zone to be established over Ukraine. In an interview with the American television network ABC News He stated that a compromise with Moscow should be possible on the status of Crimea and the separatist areas in Donbass, one of Russia’s main demands. In the evening, Selenski is said to be the first foreign head of state to speak to the British House of Commons via video link.
According to various media reports, the USA wants to further increase the pressure on Russia on Tuesday and impose an import ban on Russian oil. So the decision has already been made. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksander Nowak said on Monday that if Russian oil were boycotted, the price per barrel could rise to as much as $300.
Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych also spoke on Tuesday. The Russian news agency Ria published a letter in which Yanukovych indirectly called for Zelensky to surrender. Yanukovych fled to Russia after the Maidan riots in Kyiv in 2014 and is considered a puppet of Putin in Ukraine. According to rumours, the Kremlin is said to have considered reinstating him as head of state after the fall of the Ukrainian government in its original plans.