Ukraine military chiefs say Russia is continuing its ‘full-scale armed aggression’: Putin’s forces ‘encircle’ Ukrainian soldiers in east and missiles hit food and fuel depots – as Moscow orders more troops to border amid fears of further advances

• Russian troops are advancing towards eastern Ukraine in an attempt to surround Ukrainian troops there
• Ukrainian forces repulsed seven Russian attacks in the eastern regions in Donetsk and Luhansk 
• Russian missiles struck Ukrainian fuel and storage depots in the city of Lviv, sparking huge fires at facility 
• US President Joe Biden appeared to call for regime change in Russia during speech in Warsaw 

Russian troops are trying to encircle Ukrainian forces fighting in the separatist regions in the eastern part of the country, British intelligence chiefs said, as Russia continues its attacks on Ukraine.  

Vladimir Putin’s forces are advancing southward from the area around the city of Kharkiv and north from the port city of Mariupol to the Donbas region in an attempt to surround Ukrainian troops, the Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence briefing today.

But in a further blow to Putin’s barbaric invasion, Ukrainian forces repulsed seven attacks in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk and destroyed several tanks and armoured vehicles, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said on Sunday. 

Ukraine’s military chiefs said on Sunday that Russia is continuing with its ‘full-scale armed aggression’, with rocket attacks being launched on Ukrainian cities overnight. 

Russian missiles struck Ukrainian fuel and food storage depots in the city of Lviv, sparking huge fires and wounding at least five people. 

A security guard at the site, Yaroslav Prokopiv, said he saw three rockets strike and destroy two oil tanks. ‘The third strike threw me to the ground,’ he said.

The attack on the facilities means the government will have to disperse the stocks of both in the near future, Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Vadym Denysenko said today.   

Denysenko also said Russia was bringing forces to the Ukrainian border on rotation, and could make new attempts to advance in its invasion of Ukraine.

Western intelligence officials say Russian forces now rely on indiscriminate bombardments rather than risking large-scale ground operations, a tactic that could limit Russian military casualties but would harm more civilians.

Whilst Russian troops appear to be advancing on the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, battlefields in northern Ukraine remain ‘largely static,’ with Ukrainian counterattacks hampering Russian efforts to reorganise their forces, the UK’s MoD said.

It comes as President Joe Biden last night called for Putin to be removed from power, setting off alarm bells among US foreign policy experts, who fear that it could escalate tensions.  

‘For God’s sake this man cannot remain in power,’ Biden said in a shocking apparent call for regime change in Moscow at the end of a impassioned speech from Poland on Saturday.  

Ukrainian firefighters try to contain a major fire after Russian missiles struck a fuel storage facility in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on March 26

Dark smoke and flames rise from a fire following an air strike in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Saturday

Russian servicemen drive on the infantry armoured vehicles in downtown Volnovakha, near Donetsk, Ukraine, on Saturday

Vladimir Putin’s forces are advancing southward from the area around the city of Kharkiv and north from the port city of Mariupol to the Donbas region in an attempt to surround Ukrainian troops, the MoD said in an intelligence briefing today

Russian missiles struck Ukrainian fuel and food storage depots in the city of Lviv, sparking huge fires and wounding at least five people

Firefighters try to extinguish the fire as the flames and smoke rise after Russian guided missiles hit fuel tanks attacks in Lviv

A satellite image made available by Maxar Technologies shows damage to Ukrainian fuel storage depot at Kalynivka, Ukraine

President Joe Biden’s call for Vladimir Putin to be removed from power in Russia is setting off alarm bells among foreign policy experts. who fear that it could escalate tensions

‘For god’s sake this man cannot remain in power,’ he said of Putin, describing the Russian president as having a ‘craving for absolute power and control.’

A wrecked tank is seen near a damaged building in Mariupol on Saturday as civilians are being evacuated along humanitarian corridors from the Ukrainian city under the control of Russian military and pro-Russian separatists

The unscripted remark, which the White House scrambled to walk back as the Kremlin expressed fury, came at the end of an otherwise resolute and fiery speech in Poland rallying the free world to unite in opposition to autocracy and support of Ukraine.  

Meanwhile, in the encircled southern port of Mariupol, Mayor Vadym Boichenko said the situation remained critical, with street fighting in the centre. 

Russia said last week it had evacuated several hundred thousand people from the war zone, but Ukraine says thousands of its residents, including from Mariupol, have been illegally deported.

Ukraine and Russia have since agreed on two ‘humanitarian corridors’ to evacuate civilians from frontline areas on Sunday, including allowing people to leave by private car from the southern city of Mariupol, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

But there are fears over whether Russia will adhere to allowing Ukrainian citizens to leave via the humanitarian corridors, after previous Russian attacks have killed civilians fleeing via those routes.      

Meanwhile Russian forces on Saturday seized Slavutych, a town where workers at the defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant live, and the mayor said three people were killed, Interfax Ukraine news agency reported.

Ukrainian staff have continued to work at Chernobyl after the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident was seized by Russian forces. 

Ukraine’s nuclear watchdog said that a nuclear research facility in Kharkiv again has come under shelling by Russia and the fighting makes it impossible to assess the damage.

The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate said that the neutron source experimental facility in the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology came under fire Saturday.

Ukrainian authorities have previously reported that Russian shelling damaged buildings at the Kharkiv facility, but there has been no release of radiation. The newly built neutron source facility is intended for the research and production of radioisotopes for medical and industrial needs. 

The International Atomic Energy Agency has said that the nuclear material in the facility is always subcritical and the inventory of radioactive material is very low, reducing the risks of radiation release.

Kharkiv has been besieged by Russian forces since the start of the invasion and has come under repeated shelling of its residential buildings and critical infrastructure. 

Firefighters operate at a damaged oil depot following a Russian missile attack in the city of Lviv, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, on Sunday

Ukrainian soldier standing before a Russian self-propelled artillery gun destroyed following a battle in the town of Trostyanets, Sumy region, on Sunday

A Russian tank destroyed following a battle in the town of Trostyanets, Sumy region, in Ukraine, on Sunday

Meanwhile, Biden was criticised for calling for Putin to be removed from power. Richard Haass, the Council on Foreign Relations president, tweeted his concerns that Biden had ‘just expanded US war aims, calling for regime change.’ 

‘However desirable it may be, it is not within our power to accomplish-plus runs risk it will increase Putin’s inclination to see this as a fight to the finish, raising odds he will reject compromise, escalate, or both,’ wrote Haass.

‘Our interests are to end the war on terms Ukraine can accept & to discourage Russian escalation. Today’s call for regime change is inconsistent with these ends,’ he added. 

Haass went on to tell Politico that a senior Biden official, possibly even Secretary of State Antony Blinken, needs to reach out to their Russian counterpart immediately and explain that Biden’s comment doesn’t reflect US policy.

‘The fact that it was so off-script in some ways makes it worse,’ because it could be read as Biden’s genuine belief as opposed to his scripted words, Haas said.

Biden’s remark could also diminish Putin’s interest in compromise and increase his temptation to escalate in Ukraine, ‘because if he believes he has everything to lose then he’ll believe he has nothing to lose,’ Haass said. 

Before Biden could even board Air Force One to begin the flight back to Washington, his aides were rushing to claim that he hadn’t been calling for an immediate change in government in Moscow.

‘The President’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change,’ a White House official said. 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov quickly denounced Biden, saying ‘it´s not up to the president of the U.S. and not up to the Americans to decide who will remain in power in Russia.’ 

Biden’s alarming off-the-cuff remark comes just 24 hours after the White House rushed to clarify other awkward remarks from the president suggesting that US troops would deploy, and had already deployed, to Ukraine.

In a speech to US paratroopers in Poland on Friday, Biden said: ‘You’re going to see when you’re there – some of you have been there – you’re going to see women, young people, standing in the middle, in front of a damn tank, saying, ‘I’m not leaving’.’

Biden’s mention of ‘when you’re there’ seem to suggest that the troops would be deployed across the border to Ukraine, but the administration insisted there has been no change in his stance that the US will not enter the conflict. 

The White House was forced to clarify on Friday that American troops would not be going into Ukraine after President Biden appeared to make a slip in his speech to paratroopers in Poland

‘The president has been clear we are not sending U.S. troops to Ukraine and there is no change in that position,’ a White House spokesperson clarified to Fox News on Friday.

Biden has persistently said that troops would not be sent into Ukraine under any circumstances during Putin’s invasion, fearing it would turn into World War Three and end up becoming a lengthy combat mission like in Afghanistan. 

In his fiery speech on Saturday, Biden drew a stark line between democracy and oppression, repeatedly going after Putin and accusing the Russian president of dishonesty.

Speaking outdoors in the cobbled courtyard of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, which was lit with the colors of Poland and Ukraine, Biden accused Putin of ‘using brute force and disinformation’ to rule.

‘It’s nothing less than a direct challenges to the rules-based system of international order,’ Biden said.

President Joe Biden accused Vladimir Putin of duplicity in the run up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Biden also took a cue from Arnold Schwarzenegger – who released a video message to Russians that went viral – and spoke directly to the Russian people.

‘I’m telling you the truth. This war is not worthy of you the Russian people,’ he said. ‘Putin can and must end this war. The American people will stand with you and the brave citizens of Ukraine that want peace.’

And he warned Putin’s aggression could bring ‘decades of war’ to Europe.

‘It’s nothing less than a direct challenge for the order established since the World War II and it threatens to return to decades of war that ravage Europe before the international rule-based order was put in place. We cannot go back to that,’ Biden said.

Biden also moved to calm worried Eastern European nations. He made it clear the NATO alliance would hold together and he warned Russia not to think about expanding his invasion outside of Ukraine.

Poland and the old Eastern bloc nations – like Lativa and Estonia – are worried Putin’s ambitions might lead to their borders. But Biden made it clear NATO would protect its member nations and honor Article Five, which states if one is striked, all respond. 

‘Don’t even think about moving on one single inch of NATO territory. We have sacred obligations,’ Biden said.

Biden mentioned his own conversations with Putin before Russia’s invasion late last month.

He said Putin ‘repeatedly he asserted he had no interest in war – guaranteed he would not move.’

‘There is simply no justification or provocation for Russia’s choice of war.

President Biden walks out on stage to give his remarks at the Royal Castle in Warsaw

President Joe Biden boards Air Force One, heading back to Washington D.C. 

Polish President Andrzej Duda listens as President Joe Biden delivers a speech about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, at the Royal Castle

But Putin and Russia met each of the proposals with disinterest. ‘Russia was bent on violence from the start,’ he said.

After days of diplomacy and quiet meetings with powerbrokers in Warsaw and Brussels, the White House lined up a speech where Biden could speak in broad strokes about what was at stake, as the U.S. and allies rush to arm Ukraine.

Biden said the war has been ‘a strategic failure for Russia already’ – alluding to its battlefield losses.

‘He, Putin thought Ukrainians would roll over and not fight. Not much of a student of history. Instead, Russian forces have met their match,’ he said, in a speech with references to Pope John Paul II, the siege of Stalingrad, and Lech Walesa.

Despite Putin’s aims, ‘The west is not stronger and more united than it has ever been,’ Biden said, pointing to the international response,’ Biden said.

‘The democracies of the world are revitalized,’ said Biden. 

People listen as President Joe Biden delivers a speech about the Russian invasion of Ukraine

In contrast, he said Russia was suffering a ‘remarkable brain drain,’ with more than 200,000 leaving the country in a month.

‘We must commit now to be in this fight for the long haul,’ he said, speaking in a country that has been pushing to arm Ukraine while housing more than 2 million refugees.

Punctuating his words, he told a cheering crowd never to be discouraged. ‘Be not afraid,’ he said.

Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia,’ he vowed. ‘For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,’ he said, on a day when Russia lobbed new missiles at Lviv in western Ukraine.

Biden began and ended his remarks with a quote from the first Polish pope, Pope John Paul II, telling people: ‘Be not afraid.’

Biden has personally attacked Putin before, calling him a war criminal and said he doesn’t have a soul.

Earlier Saturday, he called Putin a ‘butcher’ after holding emotional conversations with Ukrainian refugees – including a pair who fled the horror of the siege at Mariupol.

‘He’s a butcher,’ Biden said when asked what he thought of Putin after what he has done to the people he was meeting.

Forgetting numbers, confusing Libya and Syria, calling Kamala ‘president’ and hot mic blunders: Biden’s gaffes that have raised health concerns

As the oldest person ever sworn in to the White House, President Joe Biden has faced questions and concerns over his mental as well as physical acuity since taking one one of the most stressful jobs in the world.

But aside from his advanced age, Biden, 79, has worried even supporters with numerous gaffes over the year he’s been in office.

Most recently, Rep. Ronny Jackson pointed out in a letter demanding Biden take a cognitive test that one of the first signs of Alzheimer’s Disease is erratic changes in mood or personality.

March 2022 visit to Poland: Suggesting US troops would deploy to Ukraine

As Biden visited NATO allies to rally support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s invasion, the White House rushed to clarify awkward remarks from the president suggesting that US troops would deploy, and had already deployed, to Ukraine.

In a speech to US paratroopers in Poland, Biden said: ‘You’re going to see when you’re there – some of you have been there – you’re going to see women, young people, standing in the middle, in front of a damn tank, saying, ‘I’m not leaving’.’

Biden’s mention of ‘when you’re there’ seem to suggest that the troops would be deployed across the border to Ukraine, but the administration insisted there has been no change in his stance. 

The White House rushed to clarify in a statement: ‘The president has been clear we are not sending U.S. troops to Ukraine and there is no change in that position.’ 

‘You’re going to see when you’re there – some of you have been there – you’re going to see women, young people, standing in the middle, in front of a damn tank, saying, ‘I’m not leaving’.’ Biden’s mention of ‘you’re there’ seem to suggest that the troops would be deployed across the border, but the administration insisted there has been no change in stance

Twenty-four hours later, Biden again made a potentially dangerous slip-up when he appeared to call for regime change in Russia and the removal of Vladimir Putin from power.

‘For God’s sake this man cannot remain in power,’ Biden said at the end of a impassioned speech in Poland.

Foreign policy experts immediately warned that the remark could ramp up tensions with Moscow, and provoke Putin to further escalate his aggression if he believes the US aims to remove him from power.

Before Biden could even board Air Force One to begin the flight back to Washington, his aides were rushing to claim that he hadn’t been calling for an immediate change in government in Moscow.

‘The President’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change,’ a White House official said. 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov quickly denounced Biden, saying ‘it´s not up to the president of the U.S. and not up to the Americans to decide who will remain in power in Russia.’  

March 8, 2022   – Slipping and forgetting Lloyd Austin’s name 

The president slipped up during the March 8 speech while trying to remember Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s name.

‘I want to thank Sec-, the former general, I keep calling him ‘General.’ My – the guy who runs that outfit over there,’ Biden said, before quickly adding, ‘I want to make sure we thank the secretary for all he’s done.’

A trip to Texas that same month to visit a Houston-area vaccination center saw Biden apparently lose his train of thought and become confused. He even asked, ‘What am I doing here?’ while trying to get himself back on track. 

On multiple occasions Biden has also appeared to refer to Vice President Kamala Harris as the ‘president.’ During a commencement speech at South Carolina State University in late December, Biden remarked: ‘Of course, President Harris is a proud Howard alum.’

He made the mistake again more recently, declaring during a voting rights speech in Georgia on January 11 that ‘President Harris and I stood on the United States Capitol.’

Biden has been known to get dates confused as well — in May 2021 he recalled traveling via Amtrak to see his mother while he was vice president in 2013. But his mother had died in 2010.  

The apparent issues began long before Biden took the White House. When he was on the campaign trail in September 2020, then-candidate Biden was widely mocked for saying ‘200 million people have died’ from COVID-19 under Donald Trump’s watch. The number was around 200,000 at the time.

And while president, Biden had to be corrected on a statistic regarding COVID-19 vaccinations. During a COVID-19 White House press conference, Biden attempted to say, ’57… excuse me… 570… I don’t want to read it, I’m not sure I got the right number…’ Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci aided him to say the figure was ’57 million.’

January 24, 2022 – Biden calls Peter Doocy a ‘stupid son of a b*****’

‘You displayed this type of mood change during a cabinet meeting on when you apparently did not know your microphone was on after finishing your opening remarks, and you called a White House reporter a ‘stupid son of a b****’in response to a question asked on inflation,’ Jackson claimed.

He was referring to a hot mic moment in late January during which Biden criticized Fox News reporter Peter Doocy, after which the president personally apologized to the journalist. 

Biden has also been known to have trouble with the names of his most senior officials, foreign leaders and even countries. 

At last year’s G7 in June, the president bungled the names of Syria and Libya multiple times when discussing security efforts with Russia. The White House was later forced to issue a clarification.

Another embarrassing foreign policy faux pas occurred in September 2021, when Biden appeared to forget the name of Australia’s prime minister — who was appearing via video link right beside him. 

While announcing a historic security deal between the UK, US and Australia, Biden told Britain’s Boris Johnson, ‘Thank you, Boris,’ before turning to Australia’s Scott Morrison and saying: ‘And I want to thank that fella down under. Thank you very much pal.’

Biden has seemingly even struggled with names of people he speaks to more regularly. He gave a speech marking International Women’s Day in March of last year, during which he was promoting two female officers to four-star generals. 

 Confusing Libya and Syria 

‘I’m hopeful that we can find an accommodation where we can save the lives of people in — for example, in — in Libya,’ the president said, mentioning the north African country for the third time instead of Syria, in the Middle East. Biden is pictured in Cornwall, United Kingdom on June 13

The White House later brushed the confusion off, confirming that it was indeed, Syria, the country where Russia and the US have been involved in a decade-long civil war, which the president was referring to

Biden repeatedly confused Syria with Libya while discussing ways of working with Russia during a press conference at the G7 on June 13.

The 78-year-old gaffe machine spoke of working with Russian President Vladimir Putin to provide economic assistance to the people of Libya, prompting some confused glances from the press pack at the G7 summit in Cornwall, England.

‘I’m hopeful that we can find an accommodation where we can save the lives of people in — for example, in — in Libya,’ the president said, mentioning the north African country for the third time instead of Syria, which is in the Middle East. The White House later brushed the confusion off, confirming that the president was indeed referring to Syria, the country where Russia and the US have been involved in a decade-long civil war.

Tripping while climbing the Air Force One stairs

Over the years, President Joe Biden has made numerous gaffes and mix-ups and has even been caught falling. Pictured: Biden falling while walking up the stairs of Air Force One on March 19

On March 19, he was caught tripping up the stairs as he boarded Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews

On March 19, video captured Biden tripping up the stairs as he boarded Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews. 

In the clip, Biden stumbles as he walks up the airstairs. He grabs the hand railing to catch his balance, but then loses his footing two additional times.

During the third stumble, he falls to his knees. However, after brushing off his leg, he reaches the top of the plane and gives a salute before disappearing inside.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre later told reporters that Biden was ‘100 percent fine’ and preparing for his trip in Atlanta. 

‘It’s pretty windy outside. It’s very windy. I almost fell coming up the steps myself,’ she said. 

Just one day earlier, during a press conference on March 18 (pictured), he referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as ‘President Harris’

Just one day earlier, Biden accidentally referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as ‘President Harris.’

The gaffe occurred during a press conference on March 18, during which he lauded his administration for being close to meeting their goal of 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in his first 100 days in office.

‘Now when President Harris and I took a virtual tour of a vaccination center in Arizona not long ago, one of the nurses on that, on that tour injecting people, giving vaccinations, said that each shot was like administering a dose of hope,’ Biden said.

Harris was standing behind Biden as the president carried on with his speech, but did not correct himself.

Later that day, when the White House released the transcript of his speech, Harris’s proper title was inserted with brackets.

On March 9, while making a speech, Biden seemed to forget the name of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (above)

In a speech on March 9, Biden seemed to fumble with his words and forget the name of his Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

‘I want to thank Sec – the former general – I keep calling him ‘General,” Biden said.

‘My – the guy who runs that outfit over there. I want to make sure we thank the Secretary for all he’s done to try to implement what we’ve just talked about, and for recommending these two women for promotion.’  The slip-occurred despite the fact that just a few minutes earlier, he had mentioned Austin’s name in the speech without an issue.

On Election Day, in November, Biden introduced a crowd to his granddaughter, but referred to her as his son

During an Election Day speech in Philadelphia, Biden stumbled over his words and confused his granddaughter with his late son, Beau Biden. 

Biden told the crowd: ‘I want to introduce you to two of my granddaughters…this is my son, Beau Biden who a lot of you helped elect to the Senate in Delaware.’

The commander-in-chief had meant to introduce the crowed to Natalie, Beau’s daughter, but hadn’t just mixed up the name but the person – he also put his arm around Finnegan Biden, Hunter’s daughter.

He finally corrected himself as he draped his arm around Natalie’s shoulder and said: ‘This is Natalie, this is Beau’s daughter.’  

Beau Biden passed away in 2015 after a months-long battle with glioblastoma, one of the deadliest types of brain cancer. 

TOLD STATE SENATOR IN WHEELCHAIR TO STAND UP

In 2008, Biden told then-Missouri state senator Chuck Graham to stand up for the crowd at a rally, before realizing he was in a wheelchair

Not all of Biden’s gaffes occurred in the 2020s or even the 2010s. In fact, some happened in the early aughts.

In September 2008, after Biden had been named former President Barack Obama’s running mate, he attended a campaign rally in Missouri.

It was there that he called on then-Missouri state senator Chuck Graham, who passed away last year. to stand up for the crowd.

‘I’m told Chuck Graham, state senator, is here. Stand up Chuck, let ’em see you,’ Biden said.

It was at that moment he realized Graham was in a wheelchair due to muscular dystrophy.

‘Oh, God love you. What am I talking about. I’ll tell you what, you’re making everybody else stand up, though, pal.’

According to the Columbia Tribune, Graham said he was never offended by the mistake.        

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