The fighting between Ukraine and Russian forces intensified on the 19th day. With the fourth round of talks between two countries ending without a breakthrough, the civilians’ wait for peace is getting longer. The Russian forces have continued onslaught in a bid to capture the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv. Mariupol, Kherson, Yavoriv and other prominent cities continue to be attacked by Russian missiles and shells.
Here are the big events that unfolded during the day in Battleground Ukraine.
>Nine people were killed and another nine were injured after the Russian forces targeted a television tower outside Rivne. The head of the regional administration Vitaliy Koval said rescue operations were underway to evacuate survivors trapped in the debris.
> Russian forces continued their efforts to seize Kyiv, targeting the Ukrainian capital with artillery shells. According to a local official, a town councillor died fighting the Russians. Two people were killed when shells hit a nine-story residential building in northern district of the capital city. Irpin, Bucha and Hostomel have also come under heavy shelling by the Russian forces.
>The mayor of warzone Kharkiv said the Russian forces had been continuously firing at the central districts resulting in unspecified deaths. “They’re firing at us constantly,” Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on national television.
> The fourth round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian forces ended without a breakthrough after several hours. The Ukrainian president’s adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said that the negotiators took a ‘technical pause’ and that the talks will resume on Tuesday.
> The Chernobyl nuclear plant, home to the world’s worst disaster in the 1980s has lost electricity supply again, this weeks after it fell into the Russian hands during the early days of invasion.
> Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to virtually address the US Congress which will be livestreamed for the public. “The Congress, our country and the world are in awe of the people of Ukraine,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
> United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned of a global hurricane of hunger and meltdown of global food system due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “The war risks sparking far-reaching consequences for the global food supply that will have a devastating impact on the poorest,” he said.
> Top US and Chinese officials met in Rome to discuss Beijing’s support to Moscow in its invasion of Ukraine. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi spoke even as Kremlin denied requesting Chinese military assistance in the war.
>Russian president Vladimir Putin and Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett discussed the ongoing conflict in Ukraine over telephone. According to Kremlin, Bennett told Putin about his contacts with the leaders of various countries.
> Social media platform Instagram has been made inaccessible to the netizens in Russia. This comes over massive criticism faced by its parent company Meta after it allowed users to call for violence against Russians.