INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Ukraine urged its residents in the east of the country Thursday to take their "last chance" to flee mounting Russian attacks, after
devastation around the capital Kyiv shocked the world.Six weeks after Russia invaded its neighbor, its troops have withdrawn from Kyiv and
Ukraine's north and are focusing on the country's southeast, where desperate attempts are under way to evacuate civilians.The retreat from
Kyiv revealed scenes of carnage, including in the town of Bucha, that Ukraine said were evidence of Russian war crimes, and which triggered
(eastern) Donbas.""They are preparing to resume an active offensive," he said, as officials in Donbas's Lugansk and Donetsk regions begged
civilians to leave."These few days may be the last chance to leave," Lugansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday wrote on Facebook, saying that
all cities in the region were under fire and one person had died in the town of Kreminna.Meanwhile the prospect of a negotiated end to the
war seemed to fade as Russia accused Kyiv of changing its demands since face-to-face talks in Istanbul last month.Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov said a new draft agreement from the Ukrainian side suggested they were not interested in peace.Ukrainian presidential adviser
Mykhaylo Podolyak hit back on Twitter, saying that if Moscow wanted to show its readiness to talk, "it should lower the degree of
hostility."Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu of Turkey, which hosted the discussions, said the images of bodies from Bucha and other areas
had "overshadowed" what had been an "emerging positive atmosphere" in talks.'Nowhere to go'Gaiday said previously that more than 1,200
people had been evacuated from Lugansk on Wednesday, but that efforts were being hampered by artillery fire, with some areas already
standing opposite a burning building in Severodonetsk.More than 11 million people have been displaced since Russia invaded on Feb
24, with the stated aim to "demilitarize" Ukraine and support Moscow-backed separatists.It is currently believed to be trying to create a
land link between occupied Crimea and the statelets in Donbas.'Weapons, weapons, weapons'Ukrainian forces are also regrouping for the
offensive, including on a two-lane highway through the rolling eastern plains connecting Kharkiv and Donetsk.Trench positions were being
giving a thumbs up.Western allies have already sent funds and weapons to help Ukraine.But Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday made a
fresh appeal for heavy weaponry, including air defence systems, artillery, armored vehicles and jets."My agenda is very simple
It has only three items on it
It's weapons, weapons, and weapons," he told journalists ahead of a meeting with NATO ministers in Brussels.'Brutality and inhumanity'The
evacuation calls in eastern Ukraine are being fuelled by fears of fresh atrocities, after chilling discoveries in areas from which Moscow's
troops have withdrawn.U.S
President Joe Biden said "major war crimes" were being committed in Ukraine, where images have emerged in recent days of bodies with their
hands bound or in shallow graves."Civilians executed in cold blood, bodies dumped into mass graves, the sense of brutality and inhumanity
civilian deaths and President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday accused Ukrainian authorities of "crude and cynical provocations" in Bucha.But the
German government pointed to satellite pictures taken while the town was still under Moscow's control, which appear to show bodies in the
streets.Human rights groups say rape is also being used as a "weapon of war" in Ukraine.Officials have alleged that Russian troops are now
trying to cover up atrocities elsewhere to prevent further international outcry, including in the besieged city of Mariupol.Sanctions 'not
enough'Western powers have already pummelled Russia with debilitating economic sanctions and on Wednesday the United States unveiled further
measures targeting Russia's top banks and two of Putin's adult daughters.Britain sanctioned two banks and vowed to eliminate all Russian oil
and gas imports by the end of the year, while the European Union is poised to cut off Russian coal imports.On the diplomatic front, EU
nations this week have expelled more than 200 Russian diplomats and staff, mostly for alleged spying.And the UN General Assembly will hold a
Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the United States.But Zelensky has said the new sanctions were "not enough" and urged countries to
