Shelling of Ukrainian cities: Serious situation in Mariupol

In the strategically important Ukrainian coastal city of Mariupol, the humanitarian situation is getting worse as a result of the fighting. Elsewhere in the country, too, Russia is continuing its offensive despite talks about a ceasefire.

According to the city council of the southern Ukrainian municipality, the situation in the port city of Mariupol, which is besieged by Russia, is getting worse. “There is no street without broken windows, destroyed apartments or houses.” The city is without electricity, water and gas. Mariupol is near the so-called line of contact between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian army in the Donetsk region. The city is strategically important.

Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said it hopes to open humanitarian corridors on Tuesday. Russia and Ukraine discussed possible escape routes for citizens of Mariupol on Monday. In the evening, Russia announced a ceasefire for Tuesday.

Zelenskyj recalls soldiers from abroad

Fighting also continues in other regions of the country. According to the Ukrainian General Staff, Russia continues to concentrate soldiers and military equipment on the fronts in Kyiv, Mariupol in the south and Kharkiv in the northeast. According to this, the Russian forces suffered losses while trying to take the city of Izyum in the east of the country.

“The occupiers terrified the city and bombed civilian facilities and infrastructure,” the general staff said. However, the attackers should have withdrawn “demoralized”.

According to the Ukrainian parliament, President Zelenskyy ordered all Ukrainian soldiers who take part in foreign missions back to their home country to strengthen their own army.

Ukraine reports Russian general killed in fighting

According to the Ukrainian military intelligence service, a Russian general has been killed in fighting for the second largest Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Accordingly, it is Major General Vitaly Gerasimov. The 45-year-old fought with Russian troops in Syria and Chechnya and took part in the occupation of Crimea in 2014, it said. The death of Gerasimov could not be independently verified. Russia initially did not comment.

Another Russian general had previously been killed in the fighting. A local officers’ organization in Russia confirmed the death of Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky, commander of the 7th Airborne Division. He also took part in the Russian campaign in Syria.

Authorities: More than 10 dead in attacks on Sumy

According to local authorities, more than ten people have been killed in airstrikes on the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy. “In some towns, residential buildings were bombed. And almost in the center of Sumy, several houses were destroyed by a bomb hit,” said the head of the regional administration, Dmytro Shyvytskyi, on the night. More than ten people died, including children. Four Ukrainian soldiers were also killed “in an unequal fight with the Russian military,” Schywytskyi explained. “We will never forgive it.” The information could not initially be verified independently.

IAEA receives reports of war damage to another nuclear facility

Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has received reports of war damage at another nuclear facility in Ukraine. The Vienna-based UN organization announced on Monday that the Ukrainian authorities had reported an artillery attack on a nuclear research facility in Kharkiv on Sunday. However, no increase in radiation levels at the facility was found.

Because the “stock of radioactive material is very low” and is kept in a “subcritical” condition, the reported “damage would not have had any radiological consequences,” the agency said. The affected facility is part of the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology, a research institute that produces radioactive materials for medical and industrial applications. Kharkiv has been the target of intense Russian airstrikes in recent days.

Russia reports land gains

On Monday, the Russian army reported gaining 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

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.

Tactician or madman? The image of Vladimir Putin

T.Berbner/J. Jolmes/A. Bakkenbühl, NDR, daily topics 10:15 p.m., March 7th, 2022