Chris Lange, FISM News
Ukrainians hoping to escape Russia’s indiscriminate, scorched-earth military campaign remain wary after a third round of talks between the two countries resulted in yet another ceasefire agreement that would provide a window – between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. today – for Ukrainian civilians to safely escape fighting in the eastern city of Sumy. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Tuesday that the first convoy of buses and cars carrying civilians is to leave at 10 a.m. Ukrainian time, according to an AP report.
Those hoping to evacuate, however, must weigh the risks of taking flight: Russian forces have not only failed to honor two similar agreements but have deliberately targeted fleeing families. Evacuees scrambling through a humanitarian corridor leading out of the heavily-bombed city of Mariupal were shelled by Russian forces, killing eight people, including children. The Red Cross later reported that the corridor had also been booby-trapped with land mines. Moreover, humanitarian corridors established by Moscow lead directly to Russia or pro-Kremlin Belarus.
‘We can’t even gather up the bodies’
Meanwhile, Russian aircraft continued to bomb parts of eastern and central Ukraine overnight. Besieged cities now face critical-level depletions of food, water, and medicine.
With nearly 100% of Russian forces now inside Ukraine, the Kremlin has established a stranglehold in southern port cities at the Black Sea, from Mariupol to Odessa, pounding them with relentless shelling and bombing. Overnight, an air strike in Sumy killed 18 civilians, including two children. The Kyiv suburb of Bucha also reported heavy artillery fire resulting in a macabre scene of unmitigated horror, as reported by Time.
“We can’t even gather up the bodies because the shelling from heavy weapons doesn’t stop day or night,” Bucha Mayor Anatol Fedoruk said. “Dogs are pulling apart the bodies on the city streets. It’s a nightmare.”
Meanwhile, as Russian forces continue to close in on the capital of Kyiv, Ukrainian soldiers and volunteers have fortified the city with hundreds of barricades and checkpoints designed to impede a takeover.
Apart from the temporary ceasefire agreement, negotiations between Russia and Ukraine remain at an impasse. Ukraine says Moscow’s demands for a security agreement that it will never join NATO is a non-starter.
‘I’m not afraid of anyone;’ Zelenskyy reveals his location in defiant video
As the war enters its 12th day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is keeping his promise that he will not leave Kyiv as Russian forces continue their attacks on the city, even going so far as to reveal his whereabouts late Monday in a defiant social media post.
“On Bankova Street,” Zelenskyy said, which is the location of the presidential offices. “Not hiding, and I’m not afraid of anyone. I’m here,” he continued defiantly before pointing his camera out the window, showing that it was nighttime in Kyiv.
MUST SEE: Ukraine's Zelensky posted new video and revealed his location in defiance of decapitation threat: "I am staying in Kyiv. On Bankova. Not hiding. And I'm not afraid of anyone. As much as it takes to win this war!"pic.twitter.com/cvaUBOSPVs
— GBN (@GBNfeed) March 7, 2022
Zelenskyy also warned that other NATO member countries could be in Putin’s sights if Russia succeeds in seizing Ukraine.
“We will come first, you will come second,” Zelensky told ABC News Monday. “Because the more this beast will eat, he wants more and more.”
Blinken: NATO members have ‘green light’ to provide Ukraine with fighter jets
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that NATO members are authorized to send fighter jets to Ukraine in their ongoing efforts to help the country defend itself. He was asked if NATO member Poland could send fighter jets to Ukraine during a “Face the Nation” interview.
“That gets a green-light,” Blinken said. “In fact, we’re talking with our Polish friends right now about what we might be able to do to backfill their needs if in fact they choose to provide these fighter jets to the Ukrainians. What can we do? How can we help to make sure that they get something to backfill the planes that they are handing over to the Ukrainians?”
NATO countries continue to deny Ukraine’s pleas for a non-fly zone but are still supplying munitions, including defensive weapons such as Javelin and Stinger missiles, which Ukrainian forces have used to take down several Russian jet fighters. In response, Russians are flying higher and have begun using longer-range missiles, resulting in less precision and more civilian casualties.
U.S. deploys more troops to Europe
Meanwhile, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on Monday ordered the deployment of 500 more U.S. troops to locations in Europe, according to the Pentagon. U.S. service members will deploy to Souda Bay, Greece, to provide added fueling support to the U.S. European Command. Department of Defense Press Secretary John Kirby said the new deployment also includes a “40-person air and support operations center” out of Fort Stewart, Georgia.
“Right now, they’re planning to deploy to Poland into Romania to help provide additional command and control for the U.S. European Command flight operations,” Kirby said. Additional personnel out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina and Fort Stewart will provide augmented logistical support to defensive forces already deployed to Germany.
“These are purely defensive forces,” Kirby said, calling the troops “enablers.” “[We] said before when we deployed the additional 7,000 [service members] that there would be associated enablers within this as part of that support. All these posture adjustments are being done … in full constant consultation with the NATO allies in question.”