ukraine russia why the war does not end

Alarm in Ukraine on October 31: Russia has intensified its attacks, targeting the entire territory of the country since the morning. Peace negotiations are looming on the horizon but the negotiations have not even begun, between exchanges of mutual accusations.

The shelling hit the regions of Zhytomyr, Vinnitsa, Cherkasy, Chernivtsi, Kharkiv, Kirovograd, Nikolaev, Odessa, Poltava. Up to the kyiv region itself, with explosions that were also heard in the capital, where air defense is working effectively, the city’s military administration reported on Telegram. In particular, Russian troops attacked important infrastructure in Cherkasy, which isolated part of the region, regional military administration chief Ihor Taburets said. Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov also reported on Russian attacks on critical infrastructure in the city.

A concert by the “Uzori” folk instrument ensemble of the Mykolaiv Regional Philharmonic, on an improvised stage four meters underground, at the Mykolaiv Academic Art Drama Theater, October 30, 2022. Photo Ansa / Epa Hannibal Hanschke

The mayor of kyiv, Vitaliy Klitschko, confirmed that the Russian raids this morning on the Ukrainian capital hit energy infrastructure and that in some areas of the city there is no electricity or water. “Following airstrikes on infrastructure, part of the capital was cut off. There is no water supply in some areas, nor electricity. All other services are working,” he wrote on Telegram. Earlier, the Kyiv City Military Administration reported that Kyiv’s air defense responded to enemy fire while urging citizens to stay in shelters.

“Peace in Ukraine if you withdraw”

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has said Russia must withdraw all its troops before Ukraine begins negotiations with the Kremlin. “The only realistic proposal would be an immediate end to the Russian war against Ukraine and the withdrawal of Russian armed forces from Ukrainian territory,” ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko said on Facebook. A response to the words of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who confirmed President Vladimir Putin’s offer of dialogue.

Relatives, friends and comrades mourn next to the coffin of a fallen Ukrainian soldier on the front line during his funeral ceremony in Independence Square in central kyiv on October 29, 2022. Photo Ansa / EPA Sergey Dolzhenko

“Those who really want to negotiate do not destroy the country’s energy system to freeze its population in winter. It does not participate in the massacre of civilians, it does not bomb residential neighborhoods, it does not announce the mobilization of thousands of troops, it does not block grain and supplies, it does not issue ultimatums,” said Nikolenko. “Lavrov’s declaration of readiness for negotiations is just another smokescreen to buy time as the Russian military suffers defeats. As long as Russia continues to commit crimes in Ukraine, the response must be one, on the battlefield,” Nikolenko concluded.

Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister. Photo Ansa / Epa