Moscow ramps up attacks on eastern Ukraine

The Ukrainian president has called on Western countries to impose a blanket travel ban on Russians. The idea, which finds support among some of his EU member states, has angered the Russian government, which has been conducting a violent military offensive in eastern Ukraine.

Zelensky’s ideas seemed likely to split the European Union, which has long had disagreements over how to deal with Russia between some of its eastern and western members. payment problem.

President Zelensky called for a one-year travel ban and the apparent expulsion of Russians living in the West, allowing them to live “in their own world until they change their philosophies,” he said in an interview with The Washington Post. . He complained that the sanctions imposed so far on Russia to punish Russia for invading Russia on February 24 were too weak.

“Any Russians, let them go to Russia,” Zelensky was quoted as saying.

“Then they will understand,” he said. “They will say, ‘This (war) has nothing to do with us. The whole population can’t be held accountable, can it?’ They can.”

The Kremlin dismissed Zelensky’s words as absurd, saying that ultimately Europe would have to decide whether to pay the bills for his “whimsy”.

“Attempts to isolate Russia and Russians are a blind process,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Other Russian officials have questioned the legality of enforcing such restrictions under international law, suggesting that they violate the human rights of Russians.

But Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Karas said the EU believes it’s time to stop issuing visas to Russians that allow them to visit the bloc of 27 countries.

“Visiting Europe is a privilege, not a human right,” Callas wrote on Twitter.

Other countries, such as Hungary, which traditionally have deepened ties with Russia, are likely to oppose an EU-wide travel ban, and the European Commission has warned against certain categories such as families, journalists and dissidents. People are questioning the feasibility of a blanket ban. Visas will always be issued.

Russia, meanwhile, unleashed ground forces, airstrikes and artillery and proceeded with a heavy offensive designed to complete the occupation of eastern Ukraine, but Kyiv, whose forces put up stiff resistance, largely held the front lines. said that

Heavy fighting was reported Tuesday in a front-line town near the city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.Ukrainian officials said Russian forces were launching a wave of attacks in an attempt to extend their control over the industrialized Donbass region. .

The Ukrainian military said it had repelled ground attacks on the cities of Bakhmut and Avdiuka.

Russia made another assessment. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov claimed that his troops had captured a Moscow factory on the eastern edge of the town of Soledar, while other Russian-backed forces had taken control of the heavily fortified Pisky. Russian media reported that they were “wiping out” the villages of A group of mercenaries from the Wagner Group dug near the town of Bahmut.

Reuters was unable to confirm either side’s battlefield account.

A British military intelligence agency backing Ukraine said the Russian push into the city of Bakhmut was the most successful operation in Donbass in the past 30 days, but it still advanced only about 10 kilometers. Russian forces in the area said they had advanced no more than 3 km in the same period.