Partial success on the outskirts
Russian troops are advancing on Kyiv
03/12/2022, 03:55 am
The Russian army is expanding its attacks on Ukrainian cities. In addition to Chernihiv in the northeast of the country, she is targeting the capital Kyiv. The Ukrainian head of state Selenskyj speaks of a “humanitarian catastrophe” because the cities lack electricity, gas and water.
The Russian army is advancing on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv while at the same time expanding its offensive in the east of the country. According to the Ukrainian army, attacks by Russian troops in the country are continuing. Around the capital Kyiv, there are Russian offensives on the northern city limits at Sazymya and in a southerly direction at Vyshenky, according to a report published on Facebook by the Ukrainian General Staff. These offensives were partly successful in some areas.
The north-western suburbs of Kiev have been shaken by heavy air raids for days. In the meantime, the Russian army is also approaching the capital from the north-east. Ukrainian soldiers reported fierce fighting for control of the main highway leading to Kyiv at Welyka Dymerka.
In order to block the north-east Ukrainian city of Chernihiv from the south-west, Russian units also attempted to capture Mykhailo-Kozyubinske and Shestovytsya, some 15 kilometers away. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that an important water pipe in Chernihiv had been damaged by shelling.
As a result, the city with almost 280,000 inhabitants was without water supply. The report goes on to say that Russian Air Force strategic bombers used cruise missiles in the cities of Lutsk, Dnipro and Ivano-Frankivsk. Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk are located north and south of the city of Lviv, not far from the Polish border. The information could not be independently verified.
Zelenskyj appeals to mothers of Russian soldiers
In addition, the Russian army attacked the industrial city of Dnipro for the first time. According to the rescue workers, several civilian buildings were bombed, at least one person was killed. The situation in the port city of Mariupol is particularly dramatic. Meanwhile, the United States and its allies announced new trade sanctions against Russia.
The Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyj spoke on Friday of a “humanitarian catastrophe”. In Kyiv and other cities there is no electricity, no gas, no water. Russia wants to “destroy” Ukraine and is also using “Syrian murderers” to do so, he warned. Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously approved the deployment of 16,000 “volunteer” fighters in Ukraine, mostly from the Middle East.
Zelenskyj made an appeal to the mothers of Russian soldiers. “Don’t send your children to war in a foreign country,” he said in a video message. “Ukraine never wanted this terrible war.” But his country will defend itself against the Russian attack.
300,000 residents in Mariupol further encircled
The Russian army has recently expanded its offensive in Ukraine significantly. In addition to Kyiv and Mariupol, Russia is targeting several cities in the center and east, the Ukrainian military said. The Russian army is also bombing the cities of Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk in the west of the country.
On Friday, Russia also attacked the eastern industrial city of Dnipro for the first time. According to the rescue workers, the airstrikes hit several civilian buildings, including a kindergarten and a shoe factory. At least one person was killed. According to Ukrainian sources, Mayor Ivan Fedorov was kidnapped by Russian soldiers in the occupied southern Ukrainian city of Melitopol.
The situation in Mariupol, which has been surrounded by the Russian army for more than ten days, is particularly dramatic. According to local authorities, at least 1,500 people have been killed since the siege; the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported catastrophic conditions for the around 300,000 civilians still trapped in the city. The aid organization Doctors Without Borders warned of an “unimaginable tragedy”.
The capital is now also in a “state of siege,” said presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak on Friday. Kyiv is “ready to fight” and will “stand firm to the end,” he tweeted.
EU is considering military aid for a billion euros
The Ukrainian General Staff warned that the Russian army was trying to disable defenses in the regions west and north-west of the capital in order to “blockade” Kyiv. Numerous Ukrainians are on the run because of the Russian war of aggression. According to the UN, 2.5 million people have now fled the country, plus two million internally displaced persons.
At their summit at the Palace of Versailles, the EU heads of state and government discussed further aid for Ukraine. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell proposed doubling military aid to the country to €1 billion. According to several summit participants, this met with cautious approval.
Meanwhile, the West is planning further sanctions against Russia. US President Biden announced that the US and its G7 partners and the EU would withdraw Russia’s status as a “most favored nation”. Such a move would pave the way for tariff impositions and further trade restrictions. The USA also announced further import and export bans in trade with Russia and Belarus.
Meanwhile, Biden reiterated that the United States and its NATO partners “would not wage war against Russia in Ukraine.” “A direct confrontation between NATO and Russia is World War III,” he said.