La Russie intensifie ses attaques en Ukraine

LE MONDE : Les bombardements se multiplient dans Kharkiv et une longue colonne de chars se dirige vers Kiev, même si les Russes se heurtent à une forte résistance ukrainienne.

Une école détruite à la suite de combats, non loin du centre-ville de Kharkiv, à une cinquantaine de kilomètres de la frontière ukraino-russe, le 28 février 2022. SERGEY BOBOK / AFP
Malgré un calme apparent autour de la capitale, Kiev, l’évolution de la situation militaire a été marquée, lundi 28 février, par des bombardements russes d’une intensité inédite dans la deuxième ville du pays, Kharkiv, située à 30 kilomètres de la frontière avec la Russie. Selon les autorités régionales, au moins onze civils y ont été tués, alors que se tenait, au même moment, un premier cycle de négociations entre des délégations russe et ukrainienne, près de la frontière biélorusse.

Un missile russe a frappé la place de la Liberté, lieu symbolique où est installée la tente jaune et bleu des militants d’Euromaïdan, du nom de la révolution proeuropéenne de 2014, au pied des bâtiments administratifs. Selon le journaliste et militant ukrainien Volodymyr Tchistiline, présent sur place, « la tente a été fortement endommagée », mais il n’y aurait pas de victime. « Des gens aux métiers paisibles sont allés se battre » » | Par Allan Kaval, Elise Vincent et Faustine Vincent | mardi 1 mars 2022

Ukrainians Flee as Russia Bombards Civilians

THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Monday for an international tribunal to investigate Russia for war crimes. Delegations from Kyiv and Moscow failed to make progress in Belarus.

A picture released by the Ukrainian State Emergency Service of the area near the regional administration building that was damaged by a missile, according to city officials in Kharkiv on Tuesday. | Ukrainian State Emergency Service, via Reuters
A large explosion hit central Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, on Tuesday directly in front of the city’s administrative building, the country’s interior ministry said. The explosion created a huge fireball that appeared in a video to engulf several cars driving through an area called Freedom Square.

The cause of the blast and number of casualties were not immediately clear, though the city’s mayor said there were dead and wounded. Video of the aftermath showed a large crater in the middle of the city’s cobble-stoned central square.

“Barbaric Russian missile strikes on the central Freedom Square and residential districts of Kharkiv,” Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. “Putin is unable to break Ukraine down. He commits more war crimes out of fury, murders innocent civilians.” An explosion rocks Kharkiv a day after a shelling in a residential neighborhood. » | Michael Schwirtz | Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Russia Launches Multiple Rocket Attacks in Kharkiv and Renews Kyiv Assault

THE GUARDIAN: ‘Dozens’ of civilians killed in Ukraine’s second city amid widespread use of indiscriminate weapons

Russian forces launched rocket attacks that killed “dozens” of civilians in Ukraine’s second city, and began a renewed assault on the capital Kyiv, as Moscow faced unprecedented western sanctions and isolation.

Widespread use of indiscriminate weapons such as multiple rocket launchers against civilian areas, as used on Monday in the city of Kharkiv, suggested that the Kremlin, having failed to land a knockout blow in the first days of the war, was prepared to unleash more desperate methods.

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said he would launch an investigation into possible war crimes or crimes against humanity in Ukraine. With video » | Luke Harding in Lviv, Jon Henley, Julian Borger in Washington and Dan Sabbagh in London | Monday, February 28, 2022

Russian Troops Meet with Stiff Resistance, Ukrainian Forces Re-take Kharkiv | DW News

Feb 27, 2022 • Scholz pledges €100 billion for German military, end to Russian energy expors.

A turning point in the history of our continent. That's how Chancellor Olaf Scholz described Russia's war against Ukraine. Speaking to a special session of parliament, the German leader announced a raft of policy changes that would have been unthinkable just days ago. Germany will drastically strengthen its military and move quickly to eliminate its reliance on Russian energy exports. He put the blame squarely on Russian President Vladimir Putin - who he said had brought decades of peaceful coexistence to an end. Here's some of what he said

. Holding out in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Russia's military assault verges on genocide - and he's called for Russia to be stripped of its seat on the UN Security Council.

Moscow's forces targeted civilian infrastructure overnight, including gas pipelines - as they stepped up efforts to push further into Ukraine. Moscow's forces have met stiff resistance as they attempt to push further into Ukraine. The mayor of Kyiv says the capital is holding its defense lines and there are no Russian troops in the city. And after reports of heavy fighting in eastern Kharkiv, the regional governor says Ukrainian forces have retaken full control of the city. Russia's latest attacks have targeted civilian infrastructure and the military.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has sent tens of thousands of people fleeing their homes since Thursday. Huge crowds have been waiting at train stations to travel to the border and cross into neighboring countries. Scenes from Lviv in western Ukraine show the fear and frustration: There's not enough space on the trains to carry everyone to safety. Men are forced to say goodbye to their families, as they are not allowed to leave because they've been called up to fight. Many of the refugees are headed to Poland.

Ukraine is doing its best to repel the Russian attack by training civilians to fight. Support from the US and other NATO members has also bolstered national defenses. But few believe Ukraine is a match for its much larger neighbor.

Taking active and reserve troops together, Kyiv can draw on more than 1 million men and women. Russia has more than three million. Ukraine has less than 2,500 tanks, compared to Russia's 13,000.

And in the air, Ukraine has just 67 attack aircraft in contrast to Russia's 1,500. In Berlin a demonstration calling for restoring peace in Ukraine is underway, with estimates of 20,000 or more people taking part in the protest.

The demonstration is organized by a variety of groups including workers' unions, religious groups and environmental organizations. Protesters are calling on Russia to immediately withdraw from Ukraine and to respect democracy and human rights. In the past days there have been numerous demonstrations across the world in support of Ukraine and demanding an immediate end to all violence.