The world’s attention on Wednesday remained fixed on the horrific devastation taking place in predominately Orthodox Ukraine, 14 days after a Russian invasion of the eastern European country.
In quick order, US President Joe Biden announced a ban on Russian energy imports to the United States, as Ukraine’s president urged the parliament of the United Kingdom to strengthen sanctions against Moscow, while vowing that the embattled country will “…fight to the end.”
At the same time, Washington is sending two Patriot anti-aircraft missile batteries to Poland as a “defensive deployment”, as it said, to counter any potential threat to NATO allies. However, the US Pentagon dismissed Poland’s proposal to transfer their Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets to the US air force for subsequent delivery to Ukraine.
On the battlefield, roughly 5,000 people evacuated the north Ukrainian city of Sumy on Tuesday, local officials said. At least 21 civilians were killed in a Russian airstrike in the city on Monday, Ukrainian authorities added.
As of Wednesday, more than 2 million refugees had fled Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion, the UN estimated.
On its part, EU leaders agreed to increase sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
Conversely, the Russian military said it would hold fire and open humanitarian corridors in several Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kiev.
Separately, the Ukrainian deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, said people would be allowed to evacuate Kiev, Mariupol, Kharkov, Chernihiv and Sumy, while warned Russian forces against military actions in those areas.