Ukraine retakes key Kyiv suburb

Ukrainian forces said they retook a strategically important suburb of Kyiv early Tuesday as Russian forces squeezed other areas near the capital and their attack on the embattled southern port of Mariupol raged unabatedExplosions and bursts of gunfire shook Kyiv and black smoke rose from a spot in the north Intensified artillery fire could be heard from the northwest where Russia has sought to encircle and capture several suburban areas of the capital a crucial targetTwo girls from Ukraine in Berlin on Monday where classes are being held for refugees by two volunteers who raised funds for them PicsAPResidents sheltered at home or underground in a 35hour curfew imposed by authorities up to Wednesday morningRussian forces also carried on with their siege of Mariupol after the southern port cityrsquos defenders refused to surrender with fleeing civilians describing relentless bombardments and corpses lying in the streets Kremlinrsquos ground offensive in other parts of the country advanced slowly or not at all knocked back by lethal hitandrun attacks by the UkrainiansWorkers set antiRussian placards by printing house Zovnishnya Reklama Outdoor advertising in Lviv on Monday PicAFPEarly Tuesday Ukrainian troops forced Russian forces out of the Kyiv suburb of Makariv after a fierce battle Ukrainersquos Defense Ministry said The regained territory allowed Ukrainian forces to retake control of a key highway and block Russian troops from surrounding Kyiv from the northwest Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Ukrainian television late Monday that he would be prepared to consider waiving any NATO bid by Ukraine mdash a key Russian demand mdash in exchange for a ceasefire withdrawal of Russian troops and a guarantee of Ukrainersquos security He also suggested Kyiv would be open to future discussions on the status of Crimea which Russia seized in 2014 He also repeated his call for direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin Unless he meets Putin it is impossible to understand whether Russia even wants to stop the war Zelensky said 353million people have left Ukraine as per UNHCR430mnRussian assets frozen by The NetherlandsBoris Romanchenko PicAFPSurvivor of Nazi camps killed in UkraineGermanyrsquos parliament on Tuesday paid tribute to Boris Romanchenko who survived several Nazi concentration camps during World War II but was killed last week during an attack in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv He was 96 The Buchenwald concentration camp memorial said on Monday that Romanchenko was killed on FridayKremlin rejects Bidenrsquos warningKremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has rejected US President Joe Bidenrsquos warning that Russia may be planning a cyberattack against the United States Asked about Bidenrsquos comments Peskov said Tuesday that ldquoThe Russian Federation unlike many Western countries including the United States does not engage in banditry on the state levelrdquoJapan protests Russian halt to talksJapan reacted angrily on Tuesday after Russia withdrew from peace treaty talks with it and froze joint economic projects related to the disputed Kuril islands because of Japanese sanctions over Russiarsquos invasion of Ukraine The nations have not formally ended World War Two hostilities because of their standoff over the islands seized by the Soviet UnionRussian Nobel winner to sell medalRussian journalist Dmitry Muratov says he wants to auction off his 2021 Nobel Peace Prize medal to raise funds for Ukrainian refugeesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever