Peace talks with Russia risk failing, Ukraine has warned, after Russian troops continued to bomb positions on the Donbas frontline. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, explained the people are furious with the discovery of war crimes and atrocities committed by the Russian army. Over 1,000 civilians were found dead after the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Kyiv oblast, many of whom appear to have been summarily executed. They add to the thousands of civilians killed in Russian shelling targeting civilian objectives, including homes, hospitals, schools and cultural centers. In other news, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, said peace negotiations continue, although with great difficulty. Mariupol, a city devastated by the war, lies mostly in ruins, while the situation is desperate for the few fighters and civilians who are trapped in the Azovstal steelworks, the last bastion of Ukrainian resistance in the city. The Russian army continues its attacks along the eastern frontline, but Ukrainian forces are fighting back and succeed in repelling most of the attacks.
