A way out of the horror of the war that has cost thousands of soldiers and civilians is being sought in the coming hours as it has been announced that the third round of negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations is scheduled to take place tomorrow - barring any contingency.
Hopes for a ceasefire agreement in principle are dwindling, as the Russian side seems unmoved in its positions and Russian President Vladimir Putin does not seem to want to put the brakes on military operations.
If all goes well and there is no new postponement for the third round of negotiations, the two delegations will sit at the same table again on Monday.
Ceasefire in Mariupol
A few hours ago it was announced that a ceasefire in Mariupol was decided from 10:00 to 21:00. However, the same was decided yesterday and amidst recriminations the ceasefire was blown up.
Russia, however, continues its military operations undeterred. A few hours ago the Russian Ministry of Defence announced that it had struck and destroyed the Starokostiadiniv air, military base in Ukraine using long-range and high-precision weapons.
"Russia's armed forces continue to hit Ukraine's military infrastructure," said ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov."
"On the morning of March 6, strikes were launched with high-precision and long-range weapons. The Ukrainian air base near Starokostiadiniv was put out of service," he added."
Konashenkov noted that a Ukrainian S-300 air defense system was destroyed by Russian rockets, adding that Russia had shot down 10 Ukrainian aircraft and helicopters in the past 24 hours.
Over 11,000 Russian military dead, Ukraine says
Meanwhile, Ukraine's army general staff said today that more than 11.000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the country since the start of Russia's invasion on February 24.
Yesterday Saturday the same source had reported that more than 10,000 Russian soldiers had been killed.
However, the Ukrainian General Staff of the Army has not announced the casualties on the Ukrainian side.
Zelensky's dramatic warning
Meanwhile, late Saturday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces were moving towards the third nuclear power plant.
Russian forces have captured two Ukrainian power plants and are moving towards a third, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
In a conversation with US senators earlier yesterday, Zelensky said the third station currently under threat is the Yuzhnoukrainsk nuclear power plant, located 120 kilometers north of Mykolaiv, one of several cities that Russian forces are trying to keep surrounded.
Russia currently controls the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the southern city of Enerhodar, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, and Chernobyl, which is not active but is still manned and maintained.
Source: in.gr
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