Russia in Clear Violation of the Geneva Peace Protocols

 

"This cannot be ignored. America's silence, and the silence of others in the world, only encourages Putin."

"[Russia's] brutality cannot be stopped [without] strong pressure on the Russian leadership."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

 

"This is Kyiv. The indiscriminate killing of women and children at night in their homes is a clear violation of the 1977 Geneva Peace Protocols designed to protect innocents."

"These attacks are shameful. Stop the killing. Ceasefire now."

Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine

 

"I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!”"

"[Putin is] needlessly killing a lot of people [by firing missiles and drones into Ukrainian cities] for no reason whatsoever."

U.S. President Donald Trump

 Kyiv strike: icheck.BBCi.co.uk

As Kiev celebrated its annual Kiev Day holiday on Sunday, 13 regions were hit by Russian strikes: Kyiv and the capital's wider region, as well as the regions of Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Sumy and Poltava. Concurrently, the Russian defence ministry announced that 110 Ukrainian drones were destroyed and intercepted over 12 Russian regions and the Crimea peninsula between midnight and 07:00 local time.

 

Early Saturday saw the Ukrainian capital under a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack. Explosions and machine-gun fire were heard throughout the city where many Kyiv residents were forced to take shelter in underground subway stations. The attack was timed to take place, peculiarly enough, mere hours after Russia and Ukraine were involved in a major prisoner exchange. Hundreds of soldiers and civilians from both sides were involved, marking the initial phase of an exchange the two sides agreed upon last week at a meeting in Istanbul.

 

That agreement marked a rare moment of co-operation, where efforts to reach a ceasefire in the three-year-old-war have failed. At least four city districts in Kyiv saw intercepted missile debris and drones fall with major devastating effect, flattening and  hollowing out buildings. According to the acting head of the Kyiv military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, medical care was provided to the injured following the attack, while two fires were sparked in Kyiv's Solomianskyi district. 

 

A drone explosion lights up the sky over Kyiv overnight. Pic: Reuters

 According to a statement by President Zelenskyy, the first phase of the prisoner exchange that took place on Friday involving the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side, successfully saw 390 Ukrainians brought home. Further releases were expected to take place over the weekend, in the  largest prisoner exchange of the war. A like number of Russian prisoners released from Ukraine went over to the Russian side, at the border with Belarus in northern Ukraine. On release, the Russian prisoners were moved to Belarus for medical treatment. 

 

Although agreement was reached between belligerent Russia and defending Ukraine, for a prisoner exchange,e there was no move made to effect any halt in the fighting. A ceasefire badly wanted by Ukraine, but put off indefinitely by Moscow which has no intention of breaking off at a point in the conflict where they feel confident they are steadily gaining advantages that would enable them to claim greater portions of Ukrainian territory at any such time that a ceasefire is agreed upon. 

Along the approximately 1,000-kilometre front line, hard-fought battles carried on, irrespective of the fact that tens of thousands of soldiers have lost their lives in the conflict -- neither side relenting in its deep strikes into the opposition's territory. Nonetheless, in the wake of the Istanbul meeting that accomplished nothing, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan interpreted the prisoner exchange as a "confidence-building measure", while  Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov remarked that the venue for a follow-up round of  talks has not yet been agreed upon.

 

An apartment building destroyed after a strike in Mykolaiv. Pic: State Emergency Service of Ukraine

"Another night of terror. Russia's targets are clear: homes, families, children."

"In Zhytomyr, three children were killed - 8, 12, and 17 years old."

"In Kyiv region, four more people were killed. Sixteen injured."

"In Khmelnytskyi, four dead, five wounded."

"In Mykolaiv, a Russian drone targeted a five-story apartment building, killing one and injuring five."

"Ukraine is standing. But we are asking -- not for sympathy, but for action. Air defense. Sanctions. Pressure. Now."

Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine's first deputy prime minister

 Kyiv city Mayor Vitali Klitschko alerted Kyiv residents that over 20 Russian strike drones were heading toward the city. As the attack commenced, the mayor described drone debris falling on a shopping mall and a residential building in Kyiv's Obolon district, while emergency services rushed to the site in response.

"Explosions in the city. Air defence forces are working. The capital is under attack by enemy UAVs. Do not neglect your safety! Stay in shelters!"

 

Explosions could be heard throughout the night in Kyiv. Pic: Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP