INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday visited sites of alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine, decrying war as "an absurdity in
the 21st century" and urging Russia to cooperate with an international investigation into atrocities.Making his first visit to Ukraine since
Russia launched a full-scale invasion on Feb
24, Guterres toured several towns and villages outside Kyiv where Russian forces are accused of killing civilians."I imagine my family in
one of those houses that is now destroyed and black
I see my granddaughters running away in panic," the UN chief said in Borodianka, a ruined town north-east of the Ukrainian capital."The war
is an absurdity in the 21st century
The war is evil," he added.In neighboring Bucha, where dozens of bodies in civilian clothes, some with their hands tied behind their backs,
were discovered this month after a Russian withdrawal, Guterres backed an International Criminal Court investigation into possible war
crimes in Ukraine."I appeal to the Russian Federation to accept, to cooperate with the ICC," he implored the Kremlin.The UN head will later
meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
On Tuesday, he met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, repeating calls for both Moscow and Kyiv to work together to set up "safe and
effective" humanitarian corridors in war-torn Ukraine.A UN representative to Ukraine said Thursday she was preparing for a "hopeful"
evacuation from the encircled port city in south-eastern Ukraine, where Kyiv says civilians and injured fighters are trapped."The UN is
fully mobilized to help save Ukrainian lives and to assist those in need," UN in Ukraine Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator
Osnat Lubrani wrote on Twitter.'Difficult weeks'With the war, now into a third month and claiming thousands of lives, Kyiv has admitted that
Russian forces are making gains in the east, capturing a string of villages in the Donbas region.The first phase of Russia's invasion failed
to reach Kyiv or overthrow Zelensky's government after encountering stiff Ukrainian resistance reinforced with Western weapons.The campaign
has since refocused on seizing the east and south of the country while increasingly using long-range missiles against west and central
Ukraine.Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov conceded the country faces "extremely difficult weeks" as Moscow tries "to inflict as
much pain as possible."Russia's Defense Ministry said Thursday its forces had destroyed two arms and ammunition depots in eastern and
southern Ukraine overnight with "high-precision missiles."Its air force targeted 67 Ukrainian military sites while air defense systems
destroyed a Ukrainian fighter jet in the Lugansk region, the ministry added.Russia has also in recent days targeted Western-supplied arms,
as the United States and Europe increasingly heed Zelensky's call for heavier firepower.In a defiant speech Wednesday, Putin said if Western
forces intervene in Ukraine and create "unacceptable threats," they will face a "lightning-fast" military response.'Threaten security'"We
have all the tools for this, that no one else can boast of having," he told lawmakers, implicitly referring to Moscow's ballistic missiles
and nuclear arsenal.The Kremlin reiterated the warnings Thursday, calling Western arms deliveries dangerous for European security."The
military support as Ukraine has maintained its fierce resistance.U.S
President Joe Biden is set to deliver remarks Thursday on "support for Ukrainians defending their country and their freedom against Russia's
brutal war," the White House said.In London late Wednesday, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss made a fresh call for arms deliveries to
Ukraine, including heavy weapons, tanks and planes, while demanding "the whole of Ukraine" must be liberated.Responding to Putin's latest
threats aimed at Kyiv's Western allies, U.K
Defense Secretary Ben Wallace argued he was "rolling the pitch" for a major announcement to mark Russia's World War II "Victory Day"
celebration on May 9.In its economic standoff with the West, Russia cut gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland, both EU and NATO members,
Wednesday.'Blackmail'Brussels warned it will not waver in its support for Kyiv, accusing the Kremlin of attempted "blackmail."Bulgarian and
coordinated" response.With the 27-member bloc, which has depended on gas from Russia, scrambling to diversify its energy sources, she
declared: "The era of Russian fossil fuels in Europe will come to an end."European powers have imposed massive sanctions on Russia since
Putin's invasion, while shipping weapons to Ukraine's defenders.But they have moved slowly on hitting Moscow's vast exports, with many EU
borders southwestern Ukraine.Pro-Russian separatists in the area claimed shots were fired Wednesday across the border towards a village
housing a Russian arms depot after drones flew over from Ukraine.The unrecognized region has reported a series of explosions in recent days
that it called "terrorist attacks", leading Kyiv to accuse Moscow of seeking to expand the war further into Europe."We are alarmed by the
escalation of tensions in Transnistria," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, saying Moscow expected "a thorough and
objective investigation."
