Mar 14, 2022: According to a report by the AP, residents of besieged Ukraine on Monday expressed hope that new diplomatic talks with Russia could pave the way for more evacuations, a day after Moscow stepped up its operations by shelling dangerous areas near the Polish border.

President Zelenskyy has warned that the attacks could spread to neighboring countries.

Russian missiles struck a military base in western Ukraine on Sunday, killing at least 35 people in an attack on the facility, a key hub for cooperation between Ukraine and NATO countries supporting its defense.

The attack at a facility in Yavoriv, which has long been used to train Ukrainian troops, often with instructors from the United States and other Western Alliance countries. More than 30 Russian cruise missiles hit the site. In addition to the casualties, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said 134 people were injured in the attack.

The attack was also a symbol of a conflict that has revived old Cold War animosities and threatened to rewrite the current global security order. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called it a “black day” and reiterated his call on NATO leaders to establish a no-fly zone over the country, a request so far denied by the West in hopes of avoiding nuclear war.

Yavoriv base is less than 25 kilometers from the Polish border and appears to be the westernmost target during Russia’s 18-day offensive. It has hosted NATO training exercises, a strong sign of Russia’s long-standing concern that the inclusion of the former Soviet Union in the 30-member Western military alliance threatens its security – which NATO denies.

Nevertheless, the perceived threat from NATO is central to the legitimacy of Moscow’s war, and it has called on Ukraine to abandon its intentions to join the alliance.

“If you do not close our sky, it is only a matter of time before Russian missiles fall on your territory. NATO territory. On the homes of citizens of NATO countries,” Zelenskyy said, urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet with him directly, a request that has gone unanswered by the Kremlin.

Diplomats were due to resume talks on Monday, according to the Russian state news agency Tass. Meanwhile, U.S President Joe Biden is sending his national security adviser to Rome to meet with a Chinese official over fears that Beijing is spreading Russian misinformation and could help Moscow avoid Western economic sanctions.

Russian fighters also opened fire on the airport in the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk, less than 150 kilometers north of Romania and 250 kilometers from Hungary, two other NATO allies.

NATO said on Sunday that it had no troops in Ukraine at the moment, although the United States had increased its troop numbers in Poland. White House National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan said the West would respond if Russia’s attacks went beyond Ukraine and targeted any NATO member.

Meanwhile for Russia, the fight for besieged Mariupol is crucial because its capture could help Russia establish a land corridor to Crimea, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014.

Fighting also intensified around the capital, Kyiv, a major political and strategic target of the attack, with overnight shelling in the northwestern suburbs and a missile attack on Sunday that destroyed a warehouse in the east.

An American filmmaker and journalist has been killed in an attack by Russian troops.

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