Russia on Wednesday said it had test-launched its Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, a new addition to its nuclear arsenal which President Vladimir Putin said would give Moscow’s enemies something to think about. “This truly unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure Russia’s security from external threats and provide food for thought for those who, in the heat of frenzied aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country,” Putin said.
Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Wednesday that roughly five million Ukrainians have fled the country after the Russian invasion, and claimed that it is Europe’s fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II. Briefing the UN Security Council from Hungary about the present crisis, deputy head of UNHCR Kelly Tallman Clements said, “Eight weeks into the conflict, we are at five million and counting, with five million unique stories of loss and trauma.” He also said that out of the total people who had fled the war hit region, more than 85 percent are children and women as Ukraine had banned men aged between 18 to 60 years from leaving the country.
Beyond the refugees, the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) says that more than two lakh third-country nationals, primarily students and migrant workers have left to neighbouring countries like Poland effectively meaning more than five million people in all have fled Ukraine since 24 February. “In all two-thirds of all Ukrainian children are forced to flee from their homes, the scale and speed of displacement is immense, we must not lose sight of what these figures mean,” Clements added. As per various media reports quoting UN officials out of the total five million people who had fled the country, roughly three million Ukrainian have fled to Poland while five lakh have gone to nearby Romania.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol could fall to Russian forces very soon, a European official said, saying it may suffer more than the town of Bucha, where Russian forces have been accused of atrocities that the Kremlin has denied. “At the end of the day, we do expect a complete destruction of the city and many civilian casualties in Mariupol,” said the European official who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the topic. “My fear is that it is going to be worse than Bucha. And by 9 May, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin could declare he liberated the city of Mariupol … So, I guess Mariupol will be controlled in the coming days,” the European official told US reporters.
The entire urban area of Mariupol city has been fully cleared of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and foreign mercenaries, the Russian military had said on Saturday. The remnants of the resistant forces have been blocked inside the Azovstal iron and steel works plants, Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told a briefing. He said 1,464 Ukrainian servicemen have surrendered during the fighting in the city. WITH INPUTS FROM MAYANK KUMAR IN NEW DELHI