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CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has urged the cadres not to expect to win the elections in the name of alliance.

He requested the cadres to make the party organization stronger in elections and to win the hearts of the people with their own strength.  

At a news conference organized by Press Organization Lumbini at Butwal on Thursday, Chair Dahal urged the people to be confident about the local level elections scheduled for May 13. 

Asking the cadres to involve in preparations with making alliance in elections as the first priority and getting maximum results in second priority, he urged not to cast doubt regarding the elections. 

Also the former Prime Minister, Daha said, "We are presently in an alliance. Hence, there is no possibility of immediate alliance with the CPN-UML." 

He shared that though some leaders of the Nepali Congress have been saying that the alliance with the Maoist would not exist, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is in favour of keeping the alliance intact. 

Similarly, senior leader Narayankaji Shrestha said that the dispute that surfaced due to MCC has already been resolved and the alliance has been moving ahead in the election campaign with unity. RSS

CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said that the alliance has become even more stronger after the endorsement of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

Speaking at a press conference organized in Lumbini on Thursday, Chairman Dahal said that the senior leaders of the coalition are for keeping the alliance intact till the elections.

Meanwhile, he directed the party cadres to start the election campaign on their own.

"Our first priority is to win the elections on our own strength," he said.

Dahal further said that the Maoist Centre is also focusing on saving the alliance.

Saying that the House is being obstructed without any reasons, he urged the main opposition CPN-UML to end the stalemate.

A Russian airstrike ripped apart a theater where hundreds of people have been living in the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukrainian officials said, as Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a “self-purification” to rid his country of anyone who questions his invasion, Associated Press reported.

The bombardment Wednesday of the theater, which had become a makeshift shelter as combat tore across the port city over the past three weeks and made thousands homeless, left many people buried in the burning rubble, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said in a statement. There was no immediate word on how many people were killed or injured. 

At least as recently as Monday, the pavement in front of and behind the once-elegant theater was marked with huge white letters spelling out “CHILDREN” in Russian, according to images released by the Maxar space technology company.

"My heart breaks from what Russia is doing to our people,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday night, hours after he delivered a speech via video to the US Congress that garnered several ovations, according to the Associated Press.

The Russian defense ministry denied bombing the theater or anywhere else in Mariupol on Wednesday.

Russian attacks have battered cities and villages across large parts of Ukraine, including the capital, Kyiv, where residents have been huddling in homes and shelters. Russian troops shelled areas in and around the city on Wednesday, including a residential neighborhood just 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) from the presidential palace. A 12-story Kyiv apartment building erupted in flames after being hit by shrapnel.

Putin went on television to excoriate Russians who don’t back him, even as both sides expressed optimism over efforts to negotiate an end to the fighting, 

Russians “will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors and will simply spit them out like a gnat that accidentally flew into their mouths,” he said. “I am convinced that such a natural and necessary self-purification of society will only strengthen our country.”

He said the West is using a “fifth column” of traitorous Russians to create civil unrest. 

“And there is only one goal, I have already spoken about it — the destruction of Russia,” he said. 

The speech appeared to be a warning that his authoritarian rule, which had already grown tighter since the invasion began on Feb. 24, shutting down Russian news outlets and arresting protesters, could grow even more repressive, Associated Press reported.

In a sign of that, Russian law enforcement announced the first known criminal cases under a new law that allows for 15-year prison terms for posting what is deemed to be “false information” about the Ukraine war. Among those charged was Veronika Belotserkovskaya, a Russian-language cookbook author and blogger living abroad. 

But is also came amid signs that talks were finally making progress. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after Tuesday’s meeting that a neutral military status for Ukraine was being “seriously discussed” by the two sides, while Zelenskyy said Russia’s demands for ending the war were becoming “more realistic.”

Wednesday’s talks, held by video, appeared to wade more deeply into technicalities. 

Zelenskyy adviser Mikhailo Podolyak said Ukraine demanded a cease-fire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and security guarantees for Ukraine from several countries.

“This is possible only through direct dialogue” between Zelenskyy and Putin, he tweeted.

An official in Zelenskyy’s office told The Associated Press that the main subject under discussion was whether Russian troops would remain in separatist regions in eastern Ukraine after the war and where the borders would be.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks, said Ukraine was insisting on the inclusion of one or more Western nuclear powers in the negotiations and on a legally binding document with security guarantees for Ukraine. In exchange, the official said, Ukraine was ready to discuss a neutral status, according to the Associated Press.

Russia has demanded that NATO pledge never to admit Ukraine to the alliance or station forces there.

Earlier Wednesday, Zelenskyy went before the US Congress via video and, invoking Pearl Harbor and 9/11, pleaded with America for more weapons and tougher sanctions against Russia, saying: “We need you right now.”

US President Joe Biden announced the US was sending an additional $800 million in military aid to Ukraine. He also called Vladimir Putin a “war criminal,” in his sharpest condemnation since the invasion began.

Russian forces destroyed a theater in Mariupol where hundreds of people were sheltering Wednesday and rained fire on other cities, Ukrainian authorities said, even as the two sides projected optimism over efforts to negotiate an end to the fighting, Associated Press reported.

The airstrike ripped apart the center of the once-elegant building, where hundreds of civilians had been living since their homes had been destroyed in the fighting, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said in a statement. 

Many people were buried in the rubble, the statement said, though there was no immediate word on how many had been killed or injured. Satellite imagery from Monday showed the word “CHILDREN” written in Russian in large, white capital letters on the pavement in front of and behind the building, the Maxar space technology company said.

“My heart breaks from what Russia is doing to our people,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address, calling for more sanctions on Russia after the bombing.

The Russian defense ministry denied bombing the theater or anywhere else in Mariupol on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.

In Kyiv, residents huddled in homes and shelters during a citywide curfew that was set to run until Thursday morning, as Russian troops shelled areas in and around the city, including a residential neighborhood 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) from the presidential palace. A 12-story apartment building in central Kyiv erupted in flames after being hit by shrapnel. 

And 10 people were killed while standing in line for bread in the northern city of Chernihiv, the Ukrainian General Prosecutor’s Office said.

Earlier Wednesday, Zelenskyy went before the US Congress via video and, invoking Pearl Harbor and 9/11, pleaded with America for more weapons and tougher sanctions against Russia, saying: “ We need you right now.”

US President Joe Biden announced that the US is sending an additional $800 million in military aid to Ukraine, including more anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons and drones. He also called Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” in his sharpest condemnation of the Russian leader since the invasion began, Associated Press reported.

International pressure against the Kremlin mounted and its isolation deepened as the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, ordered Russia to stop attacking Ukraine, though there was little hope it would comply. Also, the 47-nation Council of Europe, the continent’s foremost human rights body, expelled Russia.

While Moscow’s ground advance on the Ukrainian capital appeared largely stalled, Putin said during a speech Wednesday that the operation was unfolding “successfully, in strict accordance with pre-approved plans.” He also decried Western sanctions, accusing the West of trying to “squeeze us, to put pressure on us, to turn us into a weak, dependent country.”

And he accused Russians who are sympathetic to the West or have adopted Western lifestyles of being a “so-called fifth column” and “national traitors.”

The anti-Western speech came as Russian law enforcement announced the first known criminal cases under a new that allows for prison terms of up to 15 years for posting what the Kremlin deems is false information about the war. Among those charged was Veronika Belotserkovskaya, a Russian-language cookbook author and popular blogger living abroad, according to the Associated Press.

Meanwhile, Ukraine and Russia resumed talks via video on Wednesday, with Zelenskyy adviser Mikhailo Podolyak saying Ukraine was demanding a cease-fire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and legal security guarantees for Ukraine from several countries.

“This is possible only through direct dialogue” between Zelenskyy and Putin, he tweeted.

An official in Zelenskyy’s office told The Associated Press that the main subject under discussion was whether Russian troops would remain in the two separatist regions of eastern Ukraine after the war and where the borders would be.

Just before the war, Russia recognized the independence of two regions controlled by Russian-backed separatists since 2014 and extended the borders of those regions to areas Ukraine had continued to hold, including the strategically important port city of Mariupol, which has endured a brutal siege.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks, said Ukraine was insisting on the inclusion of one or more Western nuclear powers in the negotiations and on the signing of a legally binding document with security guarantees for Ukraine. In exchange, the official said, Ukraine was ready to discuss a neutral status.

Russia has demanded that NATO pledge never to admit Ukraine to the alliance or station forces there.

After Tuesday’s negotiations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said a neutral military status for Ukraine was being “seriously discussed” by the two sides, while Zelenskyy said Russia’s demands for ending the war were becoming “more realistic.”

Hopes for diplomatic progress to end the war rose after Zelenskyy acknowledged Tuesday in the most explicit terms yet that Ukraine is unlikely to realize its goal of joining NATO. Putin has long depicted Ukraine’s NATO aspirations as a threat to Russia.