The sixth day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in relative calm in Kiev, but the center of Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city, was bombed by Moscow on Tuesday morning.
The region’s ruler, Oleg Sinegubov, reported that Grad and cruise missiles hit residential areas and the official administration building, but that the city continued to resist. “Such attacks are a genocide of the Ukrainian people, a war crime against the civilian population!” Sinegubov said.
India’s Foreign Ministry said a student from the country was killed in the attack. There is no information about more victims.
The capital had a peaceful night, despite the threat of a 64km Russian convoy that is already about 25km northwest of the capital, according to satellite images.
In a message on Telegram, the Kiev City Council reported that the night had passed peacefully, despite clashes between what it called “terrorists and saboteurs”. It also reports that protective structures are being set up at the entrances to the city and reinforced the request for residents not to leave their homes and move unnecessarily. As of this Tuesday, the sale of alcoholic beverages is prohibited.
There are, however, reports in the local media of explosions in the surroundings. The director of the Adonis Maternity Hospital, in Buzova, a city east of the capital, posted on Facebook that a grenade hit the establishment, which was evacuated. Despite the damage, Vitalii Girin says there were no casualties and that the building is still standing.
In Borodianka, northwest of Kiev, the rehabilitation center of Ukraine’s Ministry of Veterans Affairs was bombed, according to Ministry Minister Iulia Laputina in a video. “It is an act of violation of international humanitarian law, an act of violence that will be punished,” she said. The city has been occupied by Russian tanks, which have started to destroy infrastructure and housing in the city, according to the daily Pravda.
The Ukrainian army warned on Facebook that in the last 24 hours, Russian forces had accumulated armor and artillery to “surround and take control of Kiev and other major cities”. Mariupol, for example, is under constant bombardment, according to the mayor, and there are troops on the outskirts of Kherson, near the Crimean peninsula in southern Ukraine.
The city’s mayor, Igor Kolikhaiev, published in the early hours of Tuesday that it is difficult to predict how the situation will evolve, but that “Kherson is and will continue to be Ukrainian”. On social media, including some local media profiles, videos showed Russian forces entering the city of 290,000.
British intelligence, on the other hand, says the advance on the capital has made little progress in the past 24 hours due to logistical difficulties. At the same time, the Ministry of Defense bulletin reports increased use of artillery in northern Kiev and in the Kharkiv and Chernihiv region.
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s adviser said on Tuesday that Russia is actively bombing city centers, launching missiles and artillery strikes directly into residential areas and government sites. “The objective is clear: mass panic, civilian casualties and infrastructure damage,” said Mikhailo Podoliak. Another adviser, Oleksii Arestovich, said Russian forces were trying to form a siege in Kiev and Kharkiv.
For Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, the bombing of peaceful regions “is proof that they are incapable of fighting more armed Ukrainians,” he said in a Facebook post.
With a victorious tone, he begins by saying that on the fifth day of intervention, this Monday (28), the Russians “revealed themselves incapable of hiding that their agony begins”. He also points out that on the economic side, Moscow has also suffered “devastating destruction”. Sanctioned by the British, the country’s central bank said the situation is dramatic and is trying to avoid suffocation and financial failures.
On the Ukrainian side, more than 70 soldiers were killed on Monday in a bombing in Okhtirka, in the northeast of the country, according to the ruler of the region, Dmitro Zhivitskii. Among civilians, the government says that 350 have already been killed, including 14 children. The UN confirmed 102 deaths and 304 injuries, as well as more than half a million refugees, although it acknowledges that the numbers could be higher.
Reznikov also claims that the supply of weapons from Europeans is increasing. According to the country’s Air Force, 70 European Union fighter jets are due to arrive this Tuesday, coming from Bulgaria, Poland and Slovakia. Australia also promised anti-armor missiles.
The atmosphere of tension continues while there is expectation for a second round of negotiations, after the first on Monday ended with no clear progress. Representatives of the two countries agreed to return to their capitals to discuss points of the conversation and are expected to arrange a second round of meetings, Russian state agency RIA reported, citing a Ukrainian government official.
