Putin speaks to Luxembourg PM over 'military operation' in Donbas amid ongoing peace talks

During a phone call on March 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin reviewed the situation in Ukraine with Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel. This is the second time the two leaders have spoken this week. According to a Kremlin statement, Putin briefed Bettel on Moscow's "special military operation" in Donbas and ongoing peace talks with Ukraine.

According to the statement, Putin also updated Bettel on the current status of negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian representatives. On the other hand, Bettel told him about "contacts with the leadership of Ukraine and other nations," according to the statement released by Kremlin.

Putin also stated that "incessant missile strikes by Ukrainian forces on Donetsk and other cities" in eastern Ukraine's self-proclaimed separatist Donetsk and Luhansk republics are "leading to numerous civilian casualties."

Bettel also tweeted about his call with Putin on Saturday. "Just spoke to Vladimir Putin again. Since our last exchange, the situation on the ground has worsened, especially in the city of Mariupol. The images that reach us are intolerable. The goal needs to remain de-escalation, adoption of ceasefire & furthering negotiation processes," Bettel wrote on Twitter.

According to Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, evacuations from Ukraine's besieged cities continued on Saturday through eight of ten humanitarian corridors, with a total of 6,623 persons evacuated, including 4,128 from Mariupol who were moved northwest to Zaporizhzhia.

Russia-Ukraine War 

Moreover, Russian soldiers stepped up their assault on Mariupol, the damaged port city, with heavy combat on Saturday forcing the closure of major steel production, according to the Associated Press. Meanwhile, the municipal council of Mariupol, Ukraine, claims that Russian forces forcibly ejected thousands of civilians from the besieged city last week, after Russia claimed that "refugees" were arriving at the crucial port.

Further, local police announced in a statement on Saturday that a Russian mortar bombardment on the Ukrainian town of Makariv in the Kyiv region killed seven persons and hospitalised five more on Friday. "Seven people were killed as a result of hostile shelling of Makariv," the statement claimed. According to an IFX report, Russia's defence ministry claimed the employment of hypersonic Kinzhal missiles in Ukraine.

The statement also claimed that the Ukrainian military's radio reconnaissance centres had been destroyed near Odesa. According to the Associated Press, a bipartisan delegation of US congressmen visiting Poland said Saturday that the most pressing necessity in Ukraine's struggle against a Russian invasion is for the country to be equipped and supported in any way that will help it protect its independence.

Image: AP