Ukraine: Talks Of Ceasefire To Prevent More Russian Attacks On Fleeing Civilians
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) -- Three days of failed ceasefires have turned to horror on the streets of Ukraine as those fleeing the war have been killed by the Russian military's non-stop assault.
"The Russian military I think is guilty of war crimes. You've seen indiscriminate shelling by artillery and even some unguided missiles going into residential areas," said former US Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer.
The plan with this ceasefire is to allow those Ukrainians trapped in cities encircled by Russian troops to escape and for desperately needed supplies to come in.
"The first three days of attempts haven't worked out. I hope it does work out. It remains to be seen if the Russians deliver as promised," Pifer told KPIX5.
The World Health Organization says at least 10 hospitals have also been targeted by Russian shelling.
While outnumbered, the Ukrainian military and citizens are knocking out Russian planes and tanks. Pifer says nothing about this invasion has likely gone the way Russian President Vladimir Putin has planned.
"My guess is in the Kremlin that they've been surprised maybe even stunned by the impact of the sanctions, the scale of the sanctions and they probably surprised too how NATO has come together, both in terms of re-inforcing the Eastern flank near Russia as well as the defense assistance and the arms that you see flowing from about 20 countries into Ukraine."
Putin has more than 4,500 nuclear warheads in the Russian arsenal. Dr. Gloria Duffy worked on nuclear disarmament during the Clinton Administration - including getting more than 1700 warheads out of Ukraine and converted to fuel for power plants.
"I am glad that there are fewer nuclear weapons in that region than there were when we started," said Dr. Duffy. She worries about what lengths Putin will reach to rebuild the Russian empire. "This is completely unhinged in my view."
According to the United Nations some 1200 Ukrainian civilians have died in days of Russian bombardment and nearly 1.5 million have fled the country, the largest mass exodus in Europe since World War 2.
