Ukraine ruled out a ceasefire or any territorial concessions to Moscow as Russia stepped up its attack

Ukraine ruled out a ceasefire or any territorial concessions to Moscow as Russia stepped up its attack in the eastern and southern parts of the country, pounding the Donbas and Mykolaiv regions with air strikes and artillery fire.

Kyiv's stance has become increasingly uncompromising in recent weeks as Russia experienced military setbacks while Ukrainian officials grew worried they might be pressured to sacrifice land for a peace deal.

"The war must end with the complete restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty," Andriy Yermak, Ukraine's presidential chief of staff said in a Twitter post on Sunday (May 22).

Polish President Andrzej Duda offered Warsaw's backing, telling lawmakers in Kyiv on Sunday that the international community had to demand Russia's complete withdrawal and that sacrificing any territory would be a "huge blow" to the entire West.

"Worrying voices have appeared, saying that Ukraine should give in to (President Vladimir) Putin's demands," Duda said, the first foreign leader to address the Ukrainian parliament in person since Russia's Feb 24 invasion.

"Only Ukraine has the right to decide about its future," he said.

Speaking to the same parliamentary session, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed a plea for stronger economic sanctions against Moscow.

"Half-measures should not be used when aggression should be stopped," he said.

Shortly after both finished speaking, an air raid siren was heard in the capital, a reminder that the war raged on even if its front lines are now hundreds of kilometres away.

Zelenskyy said at a news conference with Duda that 50 to 100 Ukrainians are dying every day on the war's eastern front in what appeared to be a reference to military casualties.

Russia is waging a major offensive in Luhansk, one of two provinces in Donbas, after ending weeks of resistance by the last Ukrainian fighters in the strategic southeastern port of Mariupol.

The heaviest fighting focused around the twin cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk, interior ministry adviser Vadym Denysenko told Ukrainian television on Sunday.

The cities form the eastern part of a Ukrainian-held pocket that Russia has been trying to overrun since mid-April after failing to capture Kyiv and shifting its focus to the east and south of the country.

Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of Luhansk, said in a local television interview that Russia was using "scorched-earth" tactics in the region.

"They are wiping Sievierodonetsk from the face of the earth," he said.

Russian shelling and "heavy fighting" near Sievierodonetsk has continued, but the invading forces failed to secure the nearby village Oleksandrivka, a Ukrainian military statement said.

Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday its forces pummelled Ukrainian command centres, troops and ammunition depots in Donbas and the Mykolaiv region in the south with air strikes and artillery.

On Sunday evening, multiple explosions were heard throughout the city of Mykolaiv, Mayor Oleksandr Senkevich said in a social media post.

Reuters was unable to independently verify those battlefield reports.

Russian-backed separatists already controlled parts of Luhansk and neighbouring Donetsk before the invasion, but Moscow wants to seize the remaining Ukrainian-held territory in the region.

Ukraine's military said seven civilians were killed and eight injured during Russian attacks in Donetsk on Sunday. Numbers for Luhansk were not disclosed.

NO CONCESSIONS, NO CEASEFIRE

Ukraine's lead negotiator, Zelenskyy adviser Mykhailo Podolyak, ruled out any territorial concessions and rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire, saying it meant Russian troops would stay in occupied territories, which Kyiv could not accept.

"The (Russian) forces must leave the country and after that the resumption of the peace process will be possible," Podolyak said in an interview with Reuters on Saturday, referring to calls for an immediate ceasefire as "very strange".

Concessions would backfire because Russia would use the break in fighting to come back stronger, he said.

Recent calls for an immediate ceasefire have come from US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/ukraine-rejects-concessions-russians-attack-east-and-south-2698801

What Nonsense lol

Russia is not even talking about ceasefire yet this Ukraine handlers are already suggesting it lol.

Clowns.

Remember when USA general called Russia General begging for Russia to end the war.

It’s a Russian victory, and it must have been hard for Ukraine (who almost never report losses or defeats) to admit to 1,700 surrendering. Maybe they felt it would guarantee more military aid.

That's the president with iron balls not the coward in moscow with paper balls.We must take back our territory without dificulty.

UN should call for a truce and an emergency ceasefire from both sides, Neutral countries should step in and help broker a deal, an African country can help with that, A need a UN backed Agreement and further adjustments to the Minsk agreement 2 that reflect present realities, Russia can afford to take the Crimea but cannot have donbass, Luhansk regions as they were forcibly taken away by separatists backed by Russians

Kingsnairaland:
What Nonsense lol

Russia is not even talking about ceasefire yet this Ukraine handlers are already suggesting it lol.

Clowns.

Remember when USA general called Russia General begging for Russia to end the war.

It’s a Russian victory, and it must have been hard for Ukraine (who almost never report losses or defeats) to admit to 1,700 surrendering. Maybe they felt it would guarantee more military aid.

It's like you have comprehension issues.

Ukraine said they won't concede any part of their territory. More woes for Russia.

US and NATO have no qualms arming Ukraine for as long as it takes. They just want to be sure that the Ukrainians themselves were not tired of fighting.

For instance, very early in the war, Biden offered to evacuate Zelenskyy from Kyiv when the city was almost invaded. But he refused rather asking for alms.

Russia have been accusing the West of dragging the war. So this proves them wrong after all.

Opolopoopolonio:


It's like you have comprehension issues.

Ukraine said they won't concede any part of their territory. More woes for Russia.

US and NATO have no qualms arming Ukraine for as long as it takes. They just want to be sure that the Ukrainians themselves were not tired of fighting.

For instance, very early in the war, Biden offered to evacuate Zelenskyy from Kyiv when the city was almost invaded. But he refused rather asking for alms.

Russia have been accusing the West of dragging the war. So this proves them wrong after all.

Move along I don't have time for insult.