Russian President Vladimir Putin said that what is happening regarding Ukraine is linked to what he called the wrong policy of the West, and while the Russian Defense Ministry announced targeting US and European arms shipments near the city of Lviv, Kyiv is seeking to remove the remaining defenders at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.

Putin believed that the West ignored Russia's fears and encouraged neo-fascism, as he put it.

He added - during a government meeting on the development of the energy sector - that the European Union countries are imposing sanctions on Russia under US pressure, and that this will harm their economies.

The Russian president warned that the Europeans' abandonment of Russian energy would make Europe the most expensive region for energy resources in the world for a long time.

Since the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine on February 24, the 27 member states of the European Union have been seeking to reduce their dependence on Russian fuel, but have so far failed to agree to gradually stop buying Russian oil.

Hungary is currently obstructing the Russian oil embargo project, after Budapest realized that stopping the purchase of Russian oil would cost it between 15 and 18 billion dollars.

Since Putin came to power in Russia at the beginning of the 21st century, the authorities have been promising changes to enable the country to get rid of its heavy dependence on oil and gas exports and develop other economic sectors, and these promises are still ink on paper.

Putin warned that the Europeans' abandonment of Russian energy would make Europe the most expensive region for energy resources in the world (Reuters)

pretext and measures

In similar statements, the Secretary of the Russian National Security Council Nikolai Patrushev said that Ukraine had become just a pretext for the West to wage an undeclared war against Russia.

He added that his country was forced to start the special military operation as a preemptive and coercive measure, and that the level of threat to Russia's security had reached the level of an existential threat.

Patrushev stated that the intentions to launch this war arose long before February 2022, and it could have been carried out regardless of Russian measures.

Smoke rises above the Azovstal plant (Reuters)

field developments

The Russian Defense Ministry announced targeting US and European arms shipments near the city of Lviv (western Ukraine).

And the pro-Russian separatist authorities in Donetsk announced that they had launched a military operation to destroy the defenses of the Ukrainian army in the town of Pesky, adjacent to Donetsk airport.

Donetsk forces published pictures that they said were of the process of targeting fortified defenses that Ukrainian forces had built over 8 years.

The separatists accuse the Ukrainian army of targeting residential neighborhoods in the city of Donetsk from this town.

At the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that more than 260 Ukrainian soldiers had surrendered, including 51 seriously wounded.

The ministry released pictures it said were of the surrender of Ukrainian soldiers who had been trapped inside the industrial complex for more than 80 days, including members of the Azov National Battalion.

The ministry added in a statement that it would provide the necessary medical care to the wounded in a hospital in the city of Novoazovsk, which is under the control of pro-Russian separatists.

Moscow declared control of the strategic port city of Mariupol last month after a weeks-long siege, but hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers remained in tunnels under the vast industrial complex, surrounded by Russian forces.


developments and procedures

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry had announced earlier the evacuation of 264 Ukrainian fighters to areas under Russian control, 53 of whom were "seriously wounded".

Announcing the developments of events on Tuesday morning, the ministry said that "exchange procedures will be implemented to return these Ukrainian heroes as soon as possible."

She added that for the besieged people in Azovstal, Kyiv is "doing everything necessary to rescue them," but unfortunately, Ukraine currently cannot break (the siege) of Azovstal by military means.

The ministry praised their efforts in the largest battles that followed Russia's war on Ukraine on February 24, which led to the deaths of thousands and the displacement of millions.

"Thanks to the defenders of Mariupol, Ukraine got the necessary time to accumulate reserves, regroup and mobilize forces and get help from the allies," she said.


defense and gains

The Ukrainian military said the defense of the industrial complex contributed to delaying the transfer of 20,000 Russian soldiers to other regions of Ukraine and prevented Russia from quickly seizing the city of Zaporozhye.

Despite its gargantuan neighbour's resources, Ukraine has held off the Russian army for longer than many expected, thanks to military supplies and money from its Western allies.

After encircling the capital Kyiv in the first weeks of the war, Moscow increasingly focused its efforts on the eastern Donbass region, which borders Russia.

Ukrainian officials say that Russian forces are withdrawing from the vicinity of Kharkiv (the country's second largest) to redeploy to Donbass.

On Monday, Kyiv announced the restoration of control over the border region.


investigation team

In related developments, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, announced today, Tuesday, the deployment of a team of 42 investigators and experts in Ukraine, the largest on the ground to investigate crimes committed during the Russian intervention.

"I can confirm that my office today dispatched a team of 42 investigators, forensic experts and other support personnel to Ukraine," Karim Khan said in a statement, adding that it was "the largest mission in terms of numbers deployed to date in a single batch area."

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, which was established in 2002, opened an investigation to look into the most heinous crimes committed in the world, on the third of last March, into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine after obtaining the green light from about 40 member states.