Status: 03/03/2022 10:54 a.m
According to Russian sources, troops have completely surrounded the port city of Mariupol. Local authorities report heavy shelling. The military convoy to Kyiv, on the other hand, has apparently come to a standstill.
According to Russian sources, pro-Russian separatists have advanced further in the war against Ukraine. The strategically important southern Ukrainian port of Mariupol is now surrounded, Moscow Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said, according to Russian agencies.
The day before, the population had been offered a withdrawal to the east, i.e. in the direction of the separatist areas. Mariupol on the Azov Sea has almost 450,000 inhabitants. Taking the city would make it easier for Russian troops to unite.
There has been fierce fighting in the city for days. The result: after air raids, the supply of water, heating and electricity collapsed, according to Mayor Wadym Boytschenko.
More than 130 people are said to have been injured in the bombings. According to officials, civilian targets were also attacked, including a maternity ward and a school. The city is still in Ukrainian hands.
Attacks on Ukraine continue unabated
Mathea Schülke, WDR, daily news 09:00 a.m., March 3, 2022
Russians take Cherson
Moscow is also reporting conquests elsewhere: In the east, separatists with the support of the Russian army have conquered the city of Balakliya, southeast of the city of Kharkiv, as well as several settlements, said Konashenkov.
In the embattled settlement of Borodjanka, a good 50 kilometers northwest of the capital Kyiv, the “peaceful population” was offered a “humanitarian corridor,” said Konashenkov. The Russian military will not hinder a withdrawal. The offer is often seen as a harbinger of a major Russian attack.
The first major city is now in the hands of Russia. Ukrainian authorities confirmed that the Russian army has captured the southern port city of Kherson. Regional head of administration Gennady Lakhuta wrote in the Telegram message service that Russian occupiers were in all parts of the city and were “very dangerous”.
Cherson Mayor Igor Kolychayev wrote on Facebook that he had “made no promises” to the Russians and “urged them not to shoot at people.”
Russian convoy on Kyiv is stuck
However, there are apparently difficulties with the Russian advance to other metropolises. A large Russian military convoy is making little headway on its way to Kyiv, according to the British Defense Ministry. The military column has made “little discernible progress” in the past three days and is still about 30 kilometers from the center of the capital, it said. The convoy’s progress was delayed by Ukrainian resistance, breakdowns and blocked roads, the ministry said.
Several heavy explosions occurred in Kyiv during the night. According to the Unian agency, an air alarm was triggered. The residents were called on to seek protection immediately, it said. Up to 15,000 people are currently hiding from attacks in the subway, wrote the head of the Kiev Metro.
Fight in suburbs
Ukrainian media also reported on fighting in the suburbs of the metropolis. A Russian plane is said to have been shot down. The information is not independently verifiable. Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on the Telegram news channel: “The enemy is trying to break through to the capital.”
Heavy shelling of Kharkiv
Despite heavy Russian shelling, the cities of Kharkiv and Chernihiv are still in Ukrainian hands, it said. Ukraine urges Russia to cease fire in Kharkiv and Sumy regions to evacuate civilians.
In Kharkiv, after days of shelling by Russian artillery and bombs, a large crowd thronged the train station. Apparently they want to leave the city to the west out of fear.
conflicting parties as a source
Information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict parties cannot be directly checked by an independent body in the current situation.