Shelling of Ukrainian cities: More attacks, more civilian casualties

Regardless of the negotiations about escape corridors, the attacks continue, especially on major Ukrainian cities. Russia reported territorial gains. According to the UN, the number of civilian casualties is increasing.

The Russian army continued its attacks in Ukraine today and claims to have gained ground in eastern Ukraine. Russian troops have captured five settlements on the border of the Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions, the Defense Ministry said in Moscow. In addition, fighter jets and bombers destroyed 26 other military objects, the ministry said.

According to Ukrainian data, the Armed Forces of Ukraine inflicted heavy casualties on the attackers. Some Russian units lost up to 50 percent of their personnel in battles for Konotop and Ochtyrka in the north-east of the country. “The moral and psychological state of the enemy remains extremely low,” the General Staff said in Kyiv. Russian soldiers would desert in droves. The General Staff accused the Russian troops of flying even heavier airstrikes on Ukrainian cities. The information could not be independently verified.

Dead in a bakery shelling

Several cities are also still under fire. At least 13 civilians have been killed in a Russian airstrike west of Kyiv, according to Ukrainian sources. A grenade hit the premises of a large bakery in the town of Makariv, the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior said. Five people were rescued from the rubble. A total of about 30 people were on the premises. The bakery is currently not in operation.

Russian troops are located north-west of Kyiv and are also attempting to advance towards the Ukrainian capital from the west. Apparently, the suburb of Irpin was taken by the Russian military. TV pictures show how numerous residents are leaving the region with only the most necessary belongings. They report looting by Russian soldiers and several deaths.

Checkpoints in Kyiv

In the capital itself, soldiers and volunteers set up hundreds of checkpoints, often reinforced with sandbags, stacked car tires and barbed wire. “Every house, every street, every checkpoint, if necessary we will fight to the death,” said Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko.

In Mariupol, around 200,000 people hope to escape the embattled city. There is a lack of water, food and electricity. Cell phone networks are down and shops have been looted. Police urged residents to remain in shelters until evacuation orders were issued over the loudspeaker.

Shelling of nuclear lab

Kharkiv, a city of over a million inhabitants, was again the target of air raids, in which, according to local residents, residential buildings were also hit. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a nuclear laboratory was also destroyed in the city. According to Ukrainian sources, it was shot at on Sunday. But no radiation escaped. According to the IAEA, the Physics and Technology Institute had a neutron generator that was used to produce neutrons for scientific purposes. However, only very small amounts of nuclear material were stored in the institute.

UN: At least 400 civilians dead

As the attacks increase, so does the number of victims. In all, the UN Human Rights Office has confirmed the deaths of 406 civilians since the Russian invasion began. It was also confirmed 801 injured civilians, it said. The actual numbers are probably much higher, it said.

Even the recommended escape routes are not always safe. The head of operations of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Dominik Stillhart, reported on the BBC about the danger of mines. Some ICRC employees tried to leave Mariupol on Sunday on an agreed route, but found that “the road indicated to them was mined”.

However, the negotiations between a Russian and a Ukrainian delegation brought little improvement. There are positive signals against it, said the Ukrainian negotiator. But no breakthrough was achieved on the issue of humanitarian corridors.

Macron accuses Putin of “political cynicism”.

Previously, Kyiv had strictly rejected escape routes for civilians to Belarus and then on to Russia. “This is not an acceptable option,” said Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk. A government spokesman accused Russia of only “exploiting the suffering of the people” with its push for the evacuations “to create the desired TV pictures”.

French President Emmanuel Macron also accused Moscow of “moral and political cynicism”. He “doesn’t know any Ukrainians who wanted to flee to Russia, that’s pure mendacity.” The alleged offer from Russia is “a mere PR number that I despise,” Macron said.