'Putin must pay the price'As Russia widens its bombardment and talks between Moscow and Kyiv seemingly go nowhere, pleas by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for NATO to intervene have grown increasingly desperate. The attacks on civilians prompted a new flurry of warnings on Friday that Russia is committing war crimes. A furious Zelensky accused Russia of hiring “murderers from Syria, a country where everything has been destroyed … like they are doing here to us”. In southern Ukraine, Russian soldiers abducted the mayor of Melitopol, which Zelensky said was a “sign of weakness” and a “crime against democracy”. Biden warned Russia would pay a “severe price” if it used chemical weapons — but added: “We will not fight a war against Russia in Ukraine”.

Source: Bangkok Post March 13, 2022 01:20 UTC