乌克兰利沃夫-一名地区官员周二表示，俄罗斯军队控制了争夺激烈的东部城市Sievierodonetsk约80%的地区，并摧毁了所有三座通往该市的桥梁，但乌克兰人仍在试图疏散伤员。
东部卢甘斯克州州长Serhiy Haidai承认，由于无情的炮击和战斗，从Sievierodonetsk大规模疏散平民现在“根本不可能”。他说，由于“俄罗斯人使用的焦土方法和重炮”，乌克兰军队已经被逼到该市的工业郊区。
“伤员仍有机会撤离，与乌克兰军方和当地居民沟通，”他在电话中告诉美联社(Associated Press)，并补充说，俄罗斯士兵尚未完全封锁这座战略城市。
战前人口为100，000人，现在约有12，000人仍留在Sievierodonetsk。据Haidai称，500多名平民正在Azot化工厂避难，该厂正遭到俄罗斯人的无情打击。
州长说，在最后一天，总共有70名平民从卢甘斯克地区撤离。
与此同时，一名俄罗斯将军表示，周三将开放一条人道主义走廊，从阿索特工厂疏散平民。米哈伊尔·米津采夫(Mikhail Mizintsev)将军说，被疏散的人将被带到60公里(35英里)以北的Svatovo镇，该镇在俄罗斯和分离主义势力的控制下。
他说，该计划是在乌克兰呼吁建立通往其控制领土的疏散走廊后制定的。
乌克兰指控国防管理中心负责人米津采夫在马里乌波尔长期被围困期间指挥部队侵犯人权。马里乌波尔是乌克兰位于亚速海的重要港口，现已被俄罗斯人接管。
过去几周，俄罗斯军队一直在努力夺取乌克兰东部工业顿巴斯地区，该地区与俄罗斯接壤，由卢甘斯克和顿涅茨克地区组成。
“情况很困难，”乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽伦斯基(Volodymyr Zelenskyy)周二在与丹麦媒体的新闻发布会上说。“我们的任务是反击。”
泽伦斯基请求更多更快地运送西方武器。
乌克兰国防部副部长汉娜·马尔亚尔(Hanna Malyar)周二表示，军方只收到了其要求的大约10%的西方武器，“以与俄罗斯军队平起平坐”
“无论乌克兰做出多大努力，无论我们的军队多么专业，没有西方伙伴的帮助，我们都无法赢得这场战争，”马尔亚尔在电视新闻发布会上说。
她说，乌克兰每天使用5000到6000发炮弹，而俄罗斯使用的炮弹是乌克兰的10倍。
最近几天，乌克兰官员谈到了这场战争的沉重人员代价，东部的激烈战斗变成了一场火炮战，基辅的部队在武器和人数上都处于劣势。
马尔亚尔说，每拖延一天，就意味着更多乌克兰士兵和平民丧生。“因此，不幸的是，我们不能等太久，因为形势非常困难，”她补充说。
随着冲突进入第四个月，顿巴斯战役可能会决定战争的进程。
如果俄罗斯获胜，乌克兰将不仅失去土地，还可能失去大部分最有能力的军事力量，这为莫斯科夺取更多领土并向基辅发号施令铺平了道路。
然而，俄罗斯的失败可能会为乌克兰的反攻埋下伏笔，也可能会给克里姆林宫带来政治动荡。
挪威难民理事会秘书长扬·埃格兰(Jan Egeland)是向顿巴斯平民提供食品的援助组织之一，他表示，过去几周的战斗已经使得定期发放食品变得不可能。他说，现在，Sievierodonetsk剩余的平民“在最后一座桥被摧毁后，几乎完全被切断了援助供应。
乌克兰其他地区也传来了夜间炮击的报道，东北部的哈尔科夫地区有5人受伤。根据英国国防部周二发布的最新情报，俄罗斯军队似乎几周来首次在哈尔科夫地区取得了小幅进展。
一名乌克兰地区军事官员表示，该国防空部队击落了两枚俄罗斯巡航导弹，目标是乌克兰黑海主要港口敖德萨附近的地区。
其他发展:
美国总统拜登表示，他正在与欧洲伙伴密切合作，争取让两千万吨乌克兰谷物进入国际市场。目前，由于俄罗斯入侵，这些谷物被禁止离开黑海港口。
他周二表示，该计划将包括在乌克兰边境建设临时储存筒仓，以应对乌克兰和欧洲铁路系统使用的不同铁路轨距的问题。
拜登说:“乌克兰有一个系统，就像俄罗斯一样，它的轨距不同于欧洲其他轨道的轨距。”“所以我们将在乌克兰边境，包括波兰，建造发射井，临时发射井。所以我们可以把它从那些汽车里转移到那些筒仓里，转移到欧洲的汽车里，然后把它运到海洋里，让它传遍世界。但这需要时间。”
乌克兰是世界上最大的小麦、玉米和葵花籽油出口国之一。世界市场上乌克兰谷物的缺乏可能会加剧世界范围内的粮食短缺和通货膨胀。许多非洲和中东国家严重依赖乌克兰的谷物，如果没有这些谷物，他们可能会面临吃饭问题。
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据上周访问该国的一名联合国官员称，乌克兰近三分之二的儿童在战争中背井离乡。
“乌克兰的战争是一场儿童权利危机，”阿夫山·汗在周二的新闻发布会上说。她是联合国儿童基金会的欧洲和中亚主任。
汗说，乌克兰已有277名儿童死亡，456名受伤，主要是因为在城市地区使用的炸药。她说，受损学校的数量可能有数千所，而乌克兰只有大约25%的学校可以运作。
自今年2月俄罗斯入侵以来，数百万乌克兰妇女和儿童逃离了该国。
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法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙周二抵达罗马尼亚，与驻扎在那里的法国军队举行会谈和会晤，这是北约对俄罗斯入侵乌克兰做出的回应。
马克龙对罗马尼亚的访问是地区之行的开始，包括周三对非北约摩尔多瓦的访问。罗马尼亚自2007年以来一直是欧盟成员国，自2004年以来一直是北约成员国。这两个国家都与乌克兰接壤。
“没有人知道未来几周和几个月我们会遇到什么，但我们将尽一切努力结束俄罗斯的入侵，帮助乌克兰人并继续谈判，”马克龙在东部米哈伊尔·科加尔尼恰努空军基地说，他在那里受到了罗马尼亚总理尼古拉·丘卡的欢迎。
在向部署在北约基地的法国士兵发表的简短讲话中，马克龙称赞他们“在战争再次爆发时，履行了我们保卫欧洲的承诺。”
法国在罗马尼亚部署了大约500名士兵。
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克里姆林宫表示，俄罗斯准备考虑英国就两名因支持乌克兰而被判死刑的英国人的命运提出的上诉。
克里姆林宫发言人德米特里·佩斯科夫表示，无论是莫斯科还是做出判决的乌克兰东部亲俄分裂分子，都没有收到伦敦方面关于此事的消息。
“你需要申请...佩斯科夫说:“我要向做出判决的国家的当局道歉，那不是俄罗斯联邦。”。“但是，当然，一切都将取决于来自伦敦的上诉。我相信俄罗斯方面会愿意倾听。”
英国人艾登·阿斯林(Aiden Aslin)和肖恩·平纳(Sean Pinner)以及摩洛哥国民布拉欣·萨阿东(Brahim Saadoun)被指控在自称的顿涅茨克人民共和国为乌克兰充当雇佣军。他们在被伦敦称为“骗局”的诉讼中被判死刑。
分离主义当局表示，这三人都有一个月的时间对判决提出上诉。基辅已经承诺通过与俄罗斯交换囚犯来确保他们的释放。
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国有能源巨头俄罗斯天然气工业股份公司(Gazprom)周二表示，俄罗斯通过一条主要管道向欧洲输送的天然气今年将减少40%左右，此前加拿大因乌克兰战争实施制裁，阻止德国合作伙伴西门子能源公司(Siemens Energy)运送经过检修的设备。
据德国新闻机构德新社报道，德国公用事业网络机构表示，它认为天然气供应没有受到威胁，通过波罗的海下方北溪1号管道的流量减少与商业行为以及俄罗斯此前宣布切断对丹麦和荷兰的天然气供应一致。联邦网络机构表示正在监控情况。
欧洲天然气现货价格上涨，表明市场对战争可能对俄罗斯天然气供应产生的进一步影响感到不安。俄罗斯天然气为欧洲大陆的工业和发电提供动力。
欧盟概述了到今年年底将对俄罗斯天然气的依赖减少三分之二的计划。经济学家表示，完全切断天然气供应将对经济、消费者和天然气密集型产业造成严重打击。
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俄罗斯外交部表示，已经禁止数十名英国媒体和国防人士进入俄罗斯。
周二，外交部网站上的一份声明称，对29名记者和评论员的禁令是对其声称的英国媒体在俄罗斯及其在乌克兰的战争中“故意传播错误和片面信息”的回应。
名单中包括BBC、泰晤士报和卫报的资深编辑和记者。
同样被禁的还有20人，包括英国海军司令、一名初级国防部长以及国防和航空航天公司泰雷兹英国公司和BAE系统公司的高管。
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应乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽伦斯基的邀请，北约成员国阿尔巴尼亚和黑山的总理正前往基辅。
阿尔巴尼亚的埃迪·拉马在社交媒体上宣布了此行，并附有他周二在黑山的德里坦·阿巴佐维奇陪同下登上飞机的照片。
这两个巴尔干国家都谴责俄罗斯入侵乌克兰，并加入了对莫斯科的制裁。
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乌克兰当局周二表示，在与俄罗斯的最新一次尸体交换中，他们收到了马里乌波尔Azovstal钢铁厂64名捍卫者的遗体。
被占领土统一部的声明说，交换发生在Zaporizhzhia地区，但没有澄清有多少尸体被送回俄罗斯。
这是交战双方进行的几次交换中的一次。本月早些时候，莫斯科和基辅各交换了160具尸体。莫斯科方面没有立即证实乌克兰周二报道的互换交易。
Russians control 80% of key Ukraine city, cut escape routes
LVIV, Ukraine --Russian troops control about 80% of the fiercely contested eastern city of Sievierodonetsk and have destroyed all three bridges leading out of it but Ukrainians were still trying to evacuate the wounded, a regional official said Tuesday.
Serhiy Haidai, governor of the eastern Luhansk region, acknowledged that a mass evacuation of civilians from Sievierodonetsk now was “simply not possible” due to the relentless shelling and fighting. Ukrainian forces have been pushed to the industrial outskirts of the city because of “the scorched earth method and heavy artillery the Russians are using," he said.
“There is still an opportunity for the evacuation of the wounded, communication with the Ukrainian military and local residents,” he told The Associated Press by telephone, adding that Russian soldiers have not yet completely blocked off the strategic city.
About 12,000 people remain in Sievierodonetsk, from a pre-war population of 100,000. More than 500 civilians are sheltering in the Azot chemical plant, which is being relentlessly pounded by the Russians, according to Haidai.
In all, 70 civilians were evacuated from the Luhansk region in the last day, the governor said
A Russian general, meanwhile, said a humanitarian corridor will be opened Wednesday to evacuate civilians from the Azot plant. Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev said evacuees would be taken to the town of Svatovo, 60 kilometers (35 miles) to the north in territory under the control of Russian and separatist forces.
He said the plan was made after Ukraine called for an evacuation corridor leading to territory it controls.
Mizintsev, head of the National Defense Management Center, is accused by Ukraine of human rights violations while commanding troops during the long siege of Mariupol, Ukraine's key port on the Sea of Azov, which has been taken over by the Russians.
Russian forces in the past few weeks have pressed hard to capture Ukraine's eastern industrial Donbas area, which borders Russia and is made up of the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.
“The situation is difficult,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a news conference Tuesday with Danish media. “Our task is to fight back.”
Zelenskyy has pleaded for more and faster deliveries of Western arms.
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said Tuesday the military had only received around 10% of the Western weapons it had requested “to create parity with the Russian army."
“No matter how much effort Ukraine makes, no matter how professional our army, without the help of Western partners we will not be able to win this war,” Malyar said in a televised news conference.
She said Ukraine uses 5,000 to 6,000 artillery rounds a day, while Russia uses 10 times more.
In recent days, Ukrainian officials have spoken of the heavy human cost of the war, with the fierce fighting in the east becoming an artillery battle that has seen Kyiv’s forces outgunned and outnumbered.
Malyar said every day of delay means the loss of lives of more Ukrainian soldiers and civilians. "And therefore, unfortunately, we cannot wait very long, because the situation is very difficult,” she added.
With the conflict now in its fourth month, the battle of Donbas could dictate the course of the war.
If Russia prevails, Ukraine will lose not only land but perhaps the bulk of its most capable military forces, opening the way for Moscow to grab more territory and dictate its terms to Kyiv.
A Russian failure, however, could lay the grounds for a Ukrainian counteroffensive — and possible political upheaval for the Kremlin.
Jan Egeland, the secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, one of the aid organizations supplying food to civilians in the Donbas, said fighting in the past few weeks has made regular food distributions impossible. Now, he said, the remaining civilians in Sievierodonetsk "are almost entirely cut off from aid supplies after the destruction of the last bridge.”
Reports of overnight shelling came from other Ukrainian regions as well, with five people wounded in the northeastern Kharkiv region. According to an intelligence update Tuesday by the U.K. Defense Ministry, Russian forces appear to have made small advances in the Kharkiv region for the first time in several weeks.
A regional Ukrainian military official said the country’s air defense shot down two Russian cruise missiles targeting the region around Odesa, Ukraine's main port on the Black Sea.
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
U.S. President Joe Biden says he’s working closely with European partners to get 20 million tons of Ukrainian grain, currently blocked from leaving Black Sea ports due to Russia’s invasion, onto international markets.
He said Tuesday the plan would involve building temporary storage silos on Ukraine’s borders to deal with the problem of the different rail gauges that Ukrainian and European railway systems use.
“Ukraine has a system, like Russia has, a rail gauge that is different than the gauge of the rest of the tracks in Europe,” Biden said. “So we’re going to build silos, temporary silos, in the borders of Ukraine, including in Poland. So we can transfer it from those cars into those silos, into cars in Europe and get it out to the ocean and get it across the world. But it’s taking time.”
Ukraine is one of the world's biggest exporters of wheat, corn and sunflower oil. The lack of Ukrainian grain on world markets is threatening to exacerbate food shortages and inflation across the world. Many African and Middle Eastern countries rely heavily on Ukrainian grain and could face problems feeding their people without it.
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Nearly two-thirds of the children in Ukraine have been uprooted during the war, according to a U.N. official who visited the country last week.
“The war in Ukraine is a child rights crisis,” Afshan Khan told a news briefing Tuesday. She’s the Europe and Central Asia director for UNICEF, the U.N. children’s agency.
Khan said 277 children in Ukraine have been killed and 456 injured, mostly due to explosives used in urban areas. She said the number of damaged schools is likely in the thousands, and only about 25% of schools in Ukraine are even operational.
Millions of Ukrainian women and children have fled the country since the Russian invasion in February.
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French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Romania on Tuesday to hold talks and meet with French troops stationed there as part of NATO’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Macron’s visit to Romania, a European Union member since 2007 and a NATO member since 2004, was the beginning of a regional tour that includes a visit Wednesday to non-NATO Moldova. Both countries share long borders with Ukraine.
“Nobody knows what is in store for us in the coming weeks and months, but we will do all we can to put an end to the Russian invasion, to help Ukrainians and continue with negotiations,” Macron said at the eastern Mihail Kogalniceanu air base, where he was greeted by Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca.
In a brief address to French soldiers deployed at the NATO base, Macron praised them for “honoring our commitment to defend Europe as war is being waged again.”
France has around 500 soldiers deployed in Romania.
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The Kremlin says Russia would be ready to consider a U.K. appeal over the fate of two Britons sentenced to death for fighting for Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said neither Moscow nor the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine who passed the sentence had heard from London on the issue.
“You need to apply ... to the authorities of the country whose court passed the verdict, and that is not the Russian Federation,” Peskov said. “But, of course, everything will depend on appeals from London. And I am sure that the Russian side will be ready to listen.”
Britons Aiden Aslin and Sean Pinner, and Moroccan national Brahim Saadoun, were accused of fighting as mercenaries for Ukraine in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. They were sentenced to death in proceedings that London called “a sham.”
Separatist authorities said all three had a month to appeal their sentence. Kyiv has pledged to try to secure their release through a prisoner swap with Russia.
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Russian natural gas deliveries through a major pipeline to Europe will drop by around 40% this year, state-controlled energy giant Gazprom said Tuesday, after Canadian sanctions over the war in Ukraine prevented German partner Siemens Energy from delivering overhauled equipment.
Germany’s utility network agency said it did not see gas supplies as endangered and that reduced flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline under the Baltic Sea aligned with commercial behavior and Russia’s previously announced cutoff of gas to Denmark and the Netherlands, the German news agency dpa reported. The Federal Network Agency said it was monitoring the situation.
Spot gas prices rose in Europe, a sign of jitters over possible further effects of the war on supplies of Russian gas, which powers industry and generates electricity on the continent.
The European Union has outlined plans to reduce dependence on Russian gas by two-thirds by year’s end. Economists say a complete cutoff would deal a severe blow to the economy, consumers and gas-intensive industries.
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Russia's foreign ministry says it has banned dozens of British media and defense figures from entering the country.
A statement on the ministry website Tuesday said the ban on 29 journalists and commentators was a response to what it claimed was the British media’s “deliberate dissemination of false and one-sided information” on Russia and its war in Ukraine.
The list included senior editors and correspondents for the BBC and the Times and Guardian newspapers.
Also banned were 20 people including Britain's navy chief, a junior defense minister, and senior executives at defense and aerospace firms Thales UK and BAE Systems.
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The prime ministers of NATO members Albania and Montenegro are heading for Kyiv after an invitation from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Albania's Edi Rama announced the trip on social media, with a photo of him boarding a plane Tuesday accompanied by Montenegro's Dritan Abazovic.
Both Balkan countries have denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and joined the sanctions against Moscow.
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Ukrainian authorities said Tuesday they had received the remains of 64 defenders of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol in the latest body swap with Russia.
The statement by the Ministry for Reintegration of Occupied Territories said the exchange took place in the Zaporizhzhia region, but didn’t clarify how many bodies were returned to Russia.
It was one of the several swaps the warring sides have conducted. Earlier this month Moscow and Kyiv exchanged 160 bodies each. There was no immediate confirmation from Moscow on the swap reported by Ukraine on Tuesday.
