NAfter the city of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine came under increased attack by the Russian army in recent days, the city's mayor is being combative. In an interview with the Ukrainian media LIGA.net, Ihor Terekhov said that neither the administration nor the military saw any reason to evacuate Kharkiv.
“Evacuation from the area where fighting continues is underway and these people are on their way to Kharkiv,” he said. The city currently has 1.3 million inhabitants. According to Terekhov, the Russian army is currently attacking the city with more advanced weapons that have a larger effective radius. Most often, drones and the S-300 missile system from the Belgorod region are used, whose projectiles reached Kharkiv in 40 seconds.
The city is only 40 kilometers from the Russian border. At the end of March, the Russians shelled Ukraine's energy infrastructure, with Kharkiv particularly affected. Terekhov now said that almost all of the critical energy infrastructure was virtually destroyed, including all substations. The thermal power plant was also damaged. There were problems with the electricity, water and heat supply.
According to Ukrainian reports, Kharkiv was also shelled on Monday night. As the governor of the region announced on Telegram, one man was killed in rocket attacks, an educational institution, a student dormitory and an apartment building were damaged.
Remembering Butscha
The Kharkiv region was partially occupied by Russian troops at the start of the large-scale invasion in winter 2022. The following autumn, Ukraine was able to recapture most of the towns with its counteroffensive. A little later, as in the suburbs of Kiev, mass graves with hundreds of dead were discovered there after the Russians withdrew.
On Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyj recalled the atrocities near the capital. Bucha, Borodianka, Irpin and other once-contested places represent the fight of Ukrainians for their land and for their lives, he said in a video message.
In Bucha he commemorated the massacre of civilians, which was honored with a new monument. Ambassadors from several countries also gathered there to commemorate the victims. “The presence of us ambassadors testifies that the international community stands with Ukraine. Butscha’s crime must be atoned for,” wrote German Ambassador Martin Jäger on the X platform. On April 2, 2022, shortly after the Russian withdrawal, the images of the bodies lying on the street went around the world.
Russia began its annual conscription of 150,000 conscripts on Monday. The Russian Defense Ministry had previously announced that the soldiers would be regularly called up for twelve months of basic military service, but would not be deployed in the war zone in Ukraine.
It published a corresponding decree from President Vladimir Putin, which also provides for the dismissal of those who have completed basic military service. The trained soldiers can also undertake military service in Ukraine. Observers assume that there is great pressure within the force to sign such a contract.
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