Kharkov, the country’s second largest city, is the scene of fierce fighting and one of the places where both sides are suffering the most casualties.
The command of the Ukrainian troops reported this morning the presence of contingents of Russian forces in considerable numbers in the vicinity of Kiev, Kharkiv, Kherson and Mariupol, which indicates that they are preparing to try to take these cities perhaps in the next few hours. . At the same time, missile and heavy artillery bombardments continue, especially against Kharkov.
According to different news agencies, which cite data from images obtained from satellites, a Russian military column of armored vehicles, tanks, artillery pieces, tankers and other vehicles extends over 60 kilometers north of Kiev. Apparently, a day before the length of the convoy was half. It is also reported that in the southern part of Belarus, along the Ukrainian border, ground forces and helicopter gunship units are being concentrated to also intervene in the battle to take the Ukrainian capital.
Meanwhile, for the sixth consecutive day, the Russian Army is trying to take over the city of Kharkov, the country’s second largest city, the scene of fierce fighting and one of the places where both sides are suffering the most casualties, although the Russian side seems to be taking worst part. The outskirts of the city are strewn with burnt-out Russian tanks. An entire Russian column was destroyed in the first days of the invasion.
The city woke up today in the midst of an intense bombardment from the Russian multiple launchers «Grad», which began the day before. The governor of the region, Oleg Sinegúbov, wrote on his Telegram channel that “this morning the central square of our city and the seat of the Kharkov local government were criminally attacked (…) the Russian occupier continues to use heavy weapons against the civil population”.
The city of Kherson, in the south of the country, is also under severe siege by Russian troops. The southern part of the province, which borders Crimea, fell under the control of the Moscow Army days ago. The mayor of Kherson, Igor Kolijáyev, has just assured through Facebook that «the Russian army is installing checkpoints at the entrances of Kherson. It’s hard to say how the situation will evolve.” He added that “Kherson will resist, it will remain Ukrainian.” Meanwhile, the Ukrainian agency Ukrinform claimed that “the assault on the city of Kherson, completely surrounded by Russian forces, has begun.”
Mariupol, a port on the Sea of Azov and belonging to the part of Donetsk hitherto under Ukrainian control, is also surrounded by Russian soldiers and rebel forces from Donbass could fall in the coming hours. Neighboring Berdyansk, also on the Azov Sea coast, was already taken by Moscow troops over the weekend. The governor of Mariúpol, Pavlo Kirilenko, reported today on Facebook that, after several Russian attacks, the city is without electricity.
Delegations from Russia and Ukraine met yesterday in the Gomel region (Belarus), next to the Alexandrovka border crossing, and for five hours discussed without any results how to stop hostilities and find a way out of the conflict. They agreed to hold a new meeting in the coming days.
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