Satellite images showed that the Russians were digging trenches in the vicinity of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, to hide their vehicles, while sources revealed to Reuters about US attempts to plunge Turkey into the conflict.
The Ukrainian General Staff said that the Russian forces’ control of the port of Mariupol (south) prevents Ukraine “temporarily” from reaching the Sea of Azov, but confirmed that the Russian forces have so far failed to besiege the capital, Kyiv, and confirmed the killing of a senior Russian general in the battles.
Politically, Britain urged China to abandon neutrality, and demanded that it align itself with the international community against Russia.
On the humanitarian side, the United Nations said that 6.5 million people were displaced inside Ukraine, in addition to 3.2 million who fled the country as a result of the war.
Here are the latest developments on the 25th day of this war:
Ukraine announced the suspension of trains with its neighbor Belarus, and the head of the Ukrainian Railways Corporation, Alexander Kamyshin, said that there was no longer a railway connection with Belarus.
In a statement to local media, Kamyshin called on his colleagues in Belarus not to direct Russian military trains towards Ukraine by using railways in Belarus.
There were reports in the Ukrainian press about the transfer of military equipment of the Russian army to a railway station in the Belarusian region of Gomel, bordering Ukraine.
Three informed sources revealed that the United States has informally proposed to Turkey to send Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems to Ukraine to help it fight Russian forces.
The sources told Reuters that US officials presented the proposal to their Turkish counterparts last month, but no specific or official request was made.
The sources added that this proposal was briefly discussed during the visit of US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to Turkey earlier this month. Analysts expected that Turkey would reject the US proposal.
