KYIV, Ukraine (AP) \u2014 Fighting is grinding on in Ukraine after the country marked\u00a0the anniversary\u00a0of Russia\u2019s invasion, with Ukrainian authorities on Saturday reporting dozens of new Russian strikes and attacks on cities in the east and south.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a\u00a0somber and defiant day of commemorations\u00a0on Friday and a marathon news conference, Ukraine\u2019s seemingly indefatigable president followed up with new video posts a day later in which he declared that \u201cRussia must lose in Ukraine\u201d and argued that its forces can be defeated this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a separate tweet, President\u00a0Volodymyr Zelenskyy\u00a0also pushed for more sanctions pressure on Russia after the U.K.,\u00a0U.S. and the\u00a0European Union\u00a0all announced new measures aimed at further choking off funding and support for Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe pressure on Russian aggressor must increase,\u201d Zelenskyy tweeted in English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said Ukraine wants to see \u201cdecisive steps\u201d against Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and the Russian nuclear industry as well as \u201cmore pressure on military and banking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russian President\u00a0Vladimir Putin\u00a0said this week that Rosatom and his Defense Ministry need to work on ensuring that Russia is\u00a0ready to resume nuclear weapons tests\u00a0if needs be. He alleged that the U.S. is working on nuclear weapons and that some in the U.S. are pondering plans to carry out nuclear tests banned under the global test ban that took effect after the end of the Cold War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf the U.S. conducts tests, we will also do it,\u201d Putin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia has already become the most sanctioned nation in the world over the past year, targeted with sanctions by more than 30 countries representing more than half of the world\u2019s economy. But the squeeze on its economy, trade and firms has yet to deliver a knockout blow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia\u2019s ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, called the latest U.S. sanctions \u201cthoughtless.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have learned to live under economic and political pressure,\u201d Antonov said. \u201cThe experience of previous sanctions has shown that they harm the world market to a greater extent, worsen the situation of ordinary citizens in states that initiate or support reckless sanctions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Feb. 24 anniversary\u00a0of last year\u2019s invasion brought no respite in Russian attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, in one of his video posts on Saturday, Zelenskyy asked: \u201cIs it possible for us to win?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are capable of this in unity, resolutely and unyieldingly, to put an end to Russian aggression this year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukraine\u2019s military on Saturday reported 27 Russian airstrikes and 75 attacks from multiple rocket launchers in the most recent 24-hour spell. It said Russian offensive efforts continue to be concentrated in\u00a0Ukraine\u2019s industrial east\u00a0and northeast. Five wounded civilians were reported in Ukraine\u2019s eastern Donetsk province, where territory is roughly split between Russian and Ukrainian control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Battles raged \u201caround\u201d and \u201cnearby\u201d Bakhmut, a city in the Donetsk region that has become the focus of the fighting in recent months, according to Ukraine\u2019s Land Forces. The military said the Russian forces continued attempts to break through Ukrainian defenses, encircle and seize the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of Russia\u2019s private military company Wagner, claimed on Saturday that his fighters have \u201ccompletely taken over\u201d the village of Yahidne on the north outskirts of Bakhmut. There has been no confirmation of the claim from either the Russian military or the Ukrainian army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the southern Kherson region, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin also reported 83 Russian shelling attacks, with the regional capital, also called Kherson, hit nine times, and residential buildings, a preschool and a medical institution struck. The head of Ukraine\u2019s presidential office reported three civilian wounded in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
French President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday that he aims to discuss peace efforts related to the Ukraine war with China when he travels there in April. China has called for\u00a0a cease-fire and peace talks. Zelenskyy on Friday gave qualified support for Beijing\u2019s apparent interest in playing a role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Macron said in Paris that \u201cChina must now help us to put pressure on Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cObviously so that Russia never uses neither chemical nor nuclear weapons,\u201d he said. \u201cBut also so that (Russia) stops this aggression as a condition for a negotiation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Saturday that he welcomed parts of the peace plan for Ukraine proposed by China, but disagreed with other aspects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are things that are remarkably right, such as the renewed condemnation of the use of nuclear weapons,\u201d Scholz told reporters\u00a0during an official visit to India. \u201cWhat\u2019s missing in my view is a discernible line that says: \u2018Russian troops must also withdraw.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) \u2014 Fighting is grinding on in Ukraine […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2305"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2307,"href":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2305\/revisions\/2307"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}