The day that marks 359 days from the beginning of the war in UkraineShortly after the first anniversary of the Russian incursion into the country, the Ukrainian government calls for the immediate evacuation of the civilian population residing in Bakhmut.
On February 24, 2022, the President of Russia Vladimir Putinordered the Russian offensive in the country in what he called a “special military operation”.
Since then, d United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that close to 18.6 million people have fled Ukraine, since the beginning of the Russian military offensive, which he considers to be the fastest exodus in Europe since World War II. That is, more than 45% of the population –estimated at almost 41 million in 2021– would have left Ukrainian territory.
Situation of the war in Ukraine on February 17, 2023 / Map: EA According to him last report of Institute Study of War (ISW) (1) to certain that the Russian forces continue with “offensive operations around Bakhmut, along the western outskirts of the city of Donetsk and in the western oblast“.
On the other hand, the ISW also highlights that the Russian forces claim that they follow the “offensive operations northwest of Svatove and near Kreminna“.
Also, the think tank American maintains that Russian sources affirm that “Ukrainian forces continue reconnaissance activities along the Dnipro River in Kheson Oblast“.
The Ukrainian government has asked civilians residing in the Bakhmut city, which is embroiled in fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces, to evacuate immediately.
The Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Irina Vershchuk, has called on Thursday night for Bakhmut residents to leave the city due to the “heavy fighting that is taking place” as Russian troops are attacking residential areas, recalling that during the day five civilians have died and nine have been injured.
“They must evacuate immediately, because when you stay, you put yourself and your loved ones at risk, especially the children who are forced to stay with you,” the deputy prime minister explained.
Likewise, he has indicated that staying in the area “creates additional problems and risks” for emergency and rescue teams, such as the military or volunteers.
Vershchuk has also pointed out that those who remain “prevent” the Armed Forces from working normally in the city, since “they have to constantly check” the safety of civilians.
The Russian government has branded this Friday as a “provocation” the request made on Monday by the United States to its citizens to leave “immediately” Russian territory due to the “unpredictable consequences of the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has denied Washington’s accusations of possible “harassment, ill-treatment and arbitrary detention” of Americans in Russia and said that “it is a characteristic of the discriminatory treatment that Russians suffer” in the North American country, as reported by the Russian news agency TASS.
Thus, he has stated that Washington is “encouraging the cancellation of everything Russian” and has denounced a “royal hunt” against Russians who have properties in other countries. “Unfortunately, by falling on the treadmill of punitive justice, the United States risks record convictions and loss of property,” he concluded.
The US Embassy in Moscow on Monday issued a new travel advisory to its citizens recommending that they “do not travel” to the proper country, before calling on those already on Russian soil to leave the country “immediately.” In addition, it stressed that it has “limited capacity to assist US citizens in Russia.”
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) – has reported that journalist and former content director of Russia Today, Anton Krasovski, has been sentenced to five years in prison for supporting and justifying the Russian invasion and the genocide of the people ukrainian.
Krasovski, convicted ‘in absentia’, was suspended by the chain itself days after he stated on a television program on October 20 that Ukrainian children who questioned the Soviet Union should have been drowned and burned, referring to an episode recounted by one of the guests that day.
The five-year sentence, as well as the confiscation of his assets, is the maximum sentence provided for in Ukrainian legislation, due to the martial law decreed by the president, Volodimir Zelenski, due to the Russian invasion.
“Currently, the offender is hiding from the Justice abroad. However, SBU officials know his location and are taking comprehensive measures to bring the culprit to the authorities,” says the report published by the agency on its Telegram profile. .
Those statements raised an important stir not only in Ukraine, but also in Russia, where many colleagues showed their rejection. Krasovski himself tried to apologize for that.
Flow of refugees from Ukraine to other countries as of February 15, 2023 / Map: EA The number of refugees who have crossed the border from Ukraine into the rest of Europe it continues to grow since the start of the war in Ukraine, unleashed by order of Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24.
He United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that close to 18.6 million people have fled Ukraine, since the beginning of the Russian military offensive, which he considers to be the fastest exodus in Europe since World War II. more than 45% of the population –estimated at almost 41 million in 2021– would have left Ukrainian territory.
According to the latest UNHCR data (2), 18,589,702 people have left the Ukrainian territory as of February 14, 2023. By countries, 9.604.232 Ukrainian refugees have already arrived Poland, 2.852.395 a Russia (October 3, 2022), 2.215.943 a Hungary, 1.967.211 a Romania (February 12), 1.162.862 a Slovakia, 770.354 a Moldavia (February 12) and 16.705 a belarus (February 7th).
The High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that more than eight million Ukrainian refugees have already been registered on European territory, and that more than five would be in a situation of Temporary Protection, due to the Russian invasion of his country.
References
- (1) Institute for Study of War (ISW).
- (2) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).