Ukraine's interior minister said Friday that it will take years to defuse unexploded ordnances after the Russian invasion.
Speaking to The Associated Press in the besieged Ukrainian capital, Denys Monastyrsky said that the country will need Western assistance to cope with the massive task once the war is over.
바카라A huge number of shells and mines have been fired at Ukraine and a large part haven't exploded, they remain under the rubble and pose a real threat,바카라 Monastyrsky said. 바카라It will take years, not months, to defuse them.바카라
In addition to the unexploded Russian ordnances, the Ukrainian troops also have planted land mines at bridges, airports and other key infrastructure to prevent Russians from using them.
바카라We won't be able to remove the mines from all that territory, so I asked our international partners and colleagues from the European Union and the United States to prepare groups of experts to demine the areas of combat and facilities that came under shelling,바카라 Monastyrsky told the AP.
He noted that another top challenge is dealing with fires caused by the relentless Russian barrages. He said there's a desperate shortage of personnel and equipment to deal with the fires amid the constant shelling.
KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:
바카라 Russia has attacked the outskirts of the western city of Lviv, a crossroads for people fleeing the war and for others entering to deliver aid or fight.
바카라 President Vladimir Putin appeared at a huge patriotic rally in Moscow and praised the Russian military
바카라 President Joe Biden and China's Xi Jinping spoke as the White House looks to deter Beijing from providing assistance to Russia.
바카라 Rescuers search for survivors at a Mariupol theater hit by Russian airstrike; 130 rescued, hundreds still missing
- An estimated 6.5 million people have been displaced inside Ukraine, on top of the 3.2 million who have already fled the country
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS TODAY:
UNITED NATIONS 바카라 Russia's first deputy U.N. ambassador says Twitter has blocked his account, accusing him of 바카라abuse and harassment,바카라 due to a tweet about the maternity hospital in the besieged southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol.
바카라This is very deplorable,바카라 Dmitry Polyansky told reporters after a U.N. Security Council meeting Friday, 바카라and this clearly illustrates how much alternative view and free press, and free information is valued by Twitter and in this country.바카라
Polyansky, who had more than 22,000 followers and was a prolific Twitter user, said he received a message earlier Friday from Twitter's cloud service saying he was violating Twitter's rules and was 바카라engaged in abuse and harassment.바카라
He said Twitter referred to his warning in a tweet on March 7 바카라that the hospital in Mariupol had been turned into a military object by radicals. Very disturbing that UN spreads disinformation without verification.바카라
Associated Press journalists, who have been reporting from inside blockaded Mariupol since early in the war, documented the March 10 attack on the maternity hospital and saw the victims and damage firsthand. They shot video and photos of several bloodstained, pregnant mothers fleeing the blown-out maternity ward as medical workers shouted and children cried.
PARIS 바카라 French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to lift the siege of Mariupol, allow humanitarian access and order an immediate cease-fire, Macron's office said.
Macron spoke with the Russian leader on the phone for 70 minutes. Earlier in the day, Putin had a conversation with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who also pressed for an immediate cease-fire.
Macron, who has spoken numerous times with Putin, revisited complaints over repeated attacks on civilians and Russia's failure to respect human rights in Ukraine, the presidential Elysee Palace said.
It said that Putin, in turn, laid the blame for the war on Ukraine.
Macron, who is campaigning to renew his mandate in April elections, said during a town hall-style meeting shortly before the call that he talks to Putin because he believes there is a way toward peace, between the Ukrainian resistance, tough Western sanctions and diplomatic pressure. 바카라We must do everything to find it,바카라 he said.
KYIV, Ukraine 바카라 A Ukrainian officer in charge of defending the region around the country's capital says his forces are well positioned to defend the city.
Maj. Gen. Oleksandr Pavlyuk said in an interview with The Associated Press that 바카라the enemy is halted,바카라 adding that 바카라we are improving this system of defensive lines바카라 to make Kyiv 바카라inapproachable for the enemy.바카라
Despite three weeks of Russian bombardment, Ukraine has kept up a stiff defense of its cities. Fighting continued in Kyiv's suburbs, depriving thousands of heat and clean water.
바카라From time to time, the enemy tests our defenses,바카라 said Pavlyuk, a battle-hardened officer who earned his rank by leading Ukrainian troops in the conflict with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine that erupted in 2014. 바카라But our boys are strong in their positions and also play an active role in preventing the enemy to fulfill their plans.바카라
Pavlyuk, who has been put in charge of Kyiv's defenses earlier this week, said that the Russians are using the same tactics as they used in the east to target civilian structures to try to break Ukraine's resistance.
바카라That's why now that war has been transformed into killing civilians, destroying civilian infrastructure, to frighten our people to the maximum,바카라 he said. 바카라But we will never give up."
