Status: 03/03/2022 02:04 am
Attacks on major cities in Ukraine continue. Mariupol can no longer maintain the power supply – a cruise missile was apparently shot down in Kyiv. Russian soldiers are said to have taken Cherson in the meantime.
Even after seven days of war, the Russian army continues to fire on the major cities of Ukraine. According to its mayor Wadym Boitschenko, the strategically important port city of Mariupol in particular is under constant fire. The city had been attacked continuously for more than 14 hours, he said in a speech. “Today was the hardest of all seven days of the war.”
After the most recent air raids, the water and energy supply in the city with around 440,000 inhabitants failed – the heating also stopped working. “Our municipal utilities will start restoring the critical infrastructure,” he said. According to the authorities, more than 130 people have been injured in air raids in Mariupol. The information could not be independently verified.
According to officials, in addition to the port, civilian targets were also attacked, including a maternity ward and a school. There are attacks on areas where there is “no military infrastructure,” said the head of the regional military administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko. Boichenko accused the Russian army of trying to prevent civilians from leaving the city. The Russian army is currently advancing along the coast of the Sea of Azov from two sides – from the annexed Crimea peninsula and from the Russian border. Taking Mariupol would make it easier for Russian troops to unite.
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.
Explosion at Kiev railway station
There have also been new airstrikes in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. According to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, a Russian cruise missile was shot down. Falling debris caused detonations at the main station. “The station building held up and was slightly damaged,” said a statement from the state-owned railway company Ukrzaliznytsia. Nothing was initially known about possible victims.
A video posted to social media showed smoke billowing near the tracks. Train traffic continues, said Ukrsalisnytsia. The Ministry of Defense is near the train station. Air raid alarms were raised in Kyiv, as in many other cities in the country. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote in the Telegram news channel: “The situation is complicated.” Several explosions could be heard in the city of millions. “Several cars caught fire.” A police station was also damaged. There was fighting in the northern suburbs.
Alleged invasion of Cherson
The eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkov also experienced renewed attacks. Ukraine has urged Russia to cease fire in eastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv and Sumy regions to evacuate civilians. The Russian side is asked to “immediately end its hostilities in Kharkiv and Sumy so that we can arrange for the evacuation of the civilian population, including foreign students, to safer Ukrainian cities,” the Ukrainian foreign ministry said in a statement.
The situation in the city of Cherson in the south of the country is unclear. According to the mayor, Russian soldiers have broken into the mayor’s office. In a statement, Igor Kolychayev called on Russian troops in the city not to shoot at civilians. They should only take to the streets during the day and alone or in pairs. “We have no armed forces in the city, only civilians and people who want to live here,” it said. The government in Kyiv had previously denied reports that the city had been taken by the Russian army. Fighting in the port city would continue. Russian officials, on the other hand, said the city was under their “complete control”.