Russian troops regroup after Ukraine setbacks; assault on Kyiv seen within days

LVIV: Russian forces bearing down on Kyiv are regrouping northwest of the Ukrainian capital, satellite pictures showed, and Britain said on Friday Moscow could now be planning an assault on the city within days.

Russia’s main attack force that earlier formed a snaking line of some 60-km in northern Ukraine has been stalled on a highway north of Kyiv since the initial days of the invasion, having failed in what Western countries believe was an initial plan for a lightning assault on the capital.

But images released by private US satellite firm Maxar showed armoured units manoeuvring in and through towns close to Antonov airport at Hostomel northwest of Kyiv, which has been the site of intense fighting since Russia landed paratroops there in the first hours of the war.

Other elements had repositioned near the small settlement of Lubyanka just to the north, with towed artillery howitzers in firing positions, Maxar said.

“Russia is likely seeking to reset and re-posture its forces for renewed offensive activity in the coming days,” Britain’s Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update. “This will probably include operations against the capital Kyiv.”

The update said Russian ground forces were still making only limited progress, with logistical issues that had hampered their advance persisting and Ukrainian resistance strong.

Ukraine’s general staff also said Russian forces had regrouped after taking heavy losses.For a seventh straight day, Russia announced plans to cease fire to allow civilians to leave the besieged southeastern port of Mariupol. Ukraine said it would try yet again to mount an evacuation from the city: “We hope it will work today,” Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden on Friday vowed that Russia would pay a “severe price” if it used chemical weapons in Ukraine, while also pledging to avoid provoking Moscow into “World War III.”

Biden reacted after Russia accused Ukraine and the United States of developing biological and chemical weapons — in what Western nations says is a ruse to lay the ground for Moscow´s own possible use of them in the conflict.

“I´m not going to speak about the intelligence, but Russia would play a severe price if they used chemicals,” Biden said as he announced a raft of new sanctions against Moscow. At the request of Russia, the UN Security Council is holding an emergency meeting Friday on the alleged manufacture of biological weapons in Ukraine.

Biden also moved Friday to end normal trade relations with Russia, further racheting up pressure on President Vladimir Putin after the bloody invasion of Ukraine.

The United States, like other Western nations, is sending millions of dollars of weapons such anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, as well as sharing intelligence.But Biden again underlined that US forces would not fight in Ukraine, despite the desperate pleas of many Ukrainians.

“We will not fight a war against Russia in Ukraine. Direct confrontation between Nato and Russia is World War III — something we must strive to prevent,” Biden said.

“The United States and our allies and partners continue in lockstep to ramp up the economic pressures on Putin and to further isolate Russia on the global stage,” Biden said. “He cannot pursue a war that threatens the very foundation of international peace and stability and then ask for help from the international community.”

A key principle of the World Trade Organisation, the so-called favored status known in the United States as permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) requires member countries to guarantee one another equal tariff and regulatory treatment. Ukraine´s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday the European Union “should do more” for his embattled country, a day after EU leaders doused its hopes of quick accession to the bloc.

“The European Union should do more. It must do more for us, for Ukraine,” he said in a video statement on Telegram more than two weeks after Russia invaded his country.

“The decisions of politicians must coincide with the mood of their people,” he added.EU leaders have been meeting in France´s Versailles since Thursday to urgently address the fallout of the Russian invasion.On Friday, they sought to double financing for military aid to Ukraine by an extra 500 million euros (around $550 million).