The Russian Defense Ministry announced early on Saturday that its forces targeted Ukrainian military facilities with cruise missiles launched by air and sea, on the third day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had warned Friday night that Russian forces would try tonight to capture Kiev, where fierce battles are taking place.
According to testimonies from inside Kiev, a major humanitarian crisis is emerging in the Ukrainian capital, a crisis that the Russian forces have targeted, according to experts inside Ukraine, who expect the battle to intensify in the coming hours, amid the outbreak of high prices and the scarcity of basic commodities.
In this context, Imad Abu Al-Rub, head of the Ukrainian Arab Council, said from the capital, Kiev, in an interview with “Sky News Arabia”: “The situation has calmed down a little compared to the midnight and dawn hours, but there is, of course, the possibility of the situation erupting again at every moment, especially With the evening hours, many have left the capital over the past two days, and there are those who remain, but they are sheltering in public shelters, or private ones located under buildings and houses.
“For example, I am now speaking to you from the shelter under my house,” Abu Al-Rub confirmed, adding: “There is an incredibly sharp and terrible rise in prices, despite their availability in general so far, but because of the crisis and people rush to buy and store them, perhaps they are on the way to shortage.”
For his part, Khalil Azima, an academic and political researcher, from the capital, Kiev, said in an interview with Sky News Arabia: “I am talking to you now while I am in the supermarket near my house, where I took the opportunity, with the bombing stopped a little, to go out of the house and buy the food we need. And drink, as the situation in the capital has deteriorated dramatically and things are heading for the worst militarily and humanitarianly.”
And Azima adds: “I am trying to find some of the goods and materials we need, but to no avail. The supermarket is almost empty, and basic and necessary commodities such as bread are not available, and the prices are doubled, and I cannot go away from home much to shop in other stores, and measure the seriousness of the situation in Kiev and Ukraine as a whole.