C T Online Desk: KYIV, March 11, 2022 (AFP) – Russian troops edged closer to Kyiv on Friday, as officials said the Ukrainian capital was being transformed into a “fortress” and President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of again targeting humanitarian corridors.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians remain holed up in Ukrainian cities,
including besieged Mariupol, under a Russian bombing campaign after the first
talks between Moscow and Kyiv’s top diplomats ended without any progress.
The Ukrainian military in a statement warned “the enemy is trying to
eliminate the defences of the Ukrainian forces around” regions to the west
and northwest of the capital “to block Kyiv.”
“We can’t rule out a movement of the enemy to the east towards Brovary,”
the statement added.
In the capital, mayor Vitali Klitschko said half the population had fled,
adding that the city “has been transformed into a fortress”.
“Every street, every building, every checkpoint has been fortified.”
Russian forces are currently encircling at least four major Ukrainian
cities and armoured vehicles have rolled up to Kyiv’s northeastern edge,
where suburbs including Irpin and Bucha have endured days of heavy
bombardment.
Ukrainian soldiers there described fierce fighting for control of the main
highway leading into the capital, and AFP reporters saw missile strikes in
Velyka Dymerka just outside Kyiv’s city limits.
“It’s frightening, but what can you do?” said Vasyl Popov, a 38-year-old
advertising salesman. “There is nowhere to really run or hide. We live here.”
Britain’s defence ministry said in an intelligence update that “Russian
forces are committing an increased number of their deployed forces to
encircle key cities.”
“This will reduce the number of forces available to continue their advance
and will further slow Russian progress,” a statement tweeted by the ministry
said.
– Desperation in Mariupol –
But there has been no let-up in the onslaught on several major cities,
with the besieged southern port city of Mariupol suffering relentless
bombardment, including on attempted aid deliveries, according to Zelensky.
He said Moscow had launched a “tank attack” targeting a humanitarian
corridor where he had dispatched a convoy to try to get food, water and
medicine into the city.
The attack, which Zelensky described in a video statement as “outright
terror”, came a day after the bombing of a children’s hospital there that
local officials said killed three people, including a young girl.
Zelensky branded that attack a Russian “war crime”, a position backed by
top Western officials, while Russia’s army claimed the bombing was a “staged
provocation” by Ukraine.
In a video, Mariupol mayor Vadym Boichenko said Russian warplanes had
targeted residential areas in the city “every 30 minutes” on Thursday,
“killing civilians, the elderly, women and children.”
The situation in city has been described as “apocalyptic”, with more than
1,200 civilians killed in 10 days of constant attacks, according to the
mayor.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said some residents had
started fighting for food, and many had run out of drinking water.
“Some people still have food but I’m not sure for how long it will last.
Many people report having no food for children,” said Mariupol-based ICRC
representative Sasha Volkov in an audio recording.
Some humanitarian corridors out of cities under attack have held.
Around 100,000 people have been able to leave the northeastern city of
Sumy, the eastern city of Izyum, and areas northwest of Kyiv in the last two
days, Ukrainian officials said.
Moscow said it would also open daily humanitarian corridors to evacuate
civilians to Russian territory, but Kyiv has rejected routes leading to
Russia.
The UN’s refugee agency estimates more than 2.3 million refugees have left
Ukraine since Russia shocked the world by invading its neighbour on February
24, and some 1.9 million Ukrainians have been internally displaced.
Overall, at least 71 children have been killed and more than 100 wounded in
Ukraine since the war began, said Lyudmyla Denisova, the Ukraine parliament’s
point person on human rights.
And the UN says two other Ukrainian maternity hospitals have been attacked
and destroyed, including one in Zhytomyr, west of Kyiv, in addition to the
Mariupol attack. – ‘No progress’ in Turkey talks –
In Turkey, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said his talks with his
Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov ended with “no progress,” even on a 24-hour
ceasefire.
Lavrov said the two sides would keep talking, but also insisted Russia’s
invasion was purely defensive.
Asked by a reporter if Moscow was planning to attack other nations, he
insisted “we don’t plan to attack other countries” and Russia “did not attack
Ukraine”.
He said Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the operation as the
situation in Ukraine “posed a direct threat to the Russian Federation”.
Russia has also ramped up its claims about alleged biological weapons
development in Ukraine, which Western officials have said could be an attempt
to lay the ground for their possible use by Moscow’s forces in the country.
On Friday, the UN Security Council will hold an urgent meeting on the
subject at Moscow’s request.
The conflict has so far caused around $100 billion in damage to roads,
bridges and businesses, according to Oleg Ustenko, Zelensky’s chief economic
advisor.
Western nations and allies have offered military and humanitarian support,
and on Friday the US congress passed a budget including $14 billion for
Ukraine.
But the US has ruled out enforcing a no-fly zone, and rejected a Polish
plan to transfer fighter jets to Ukraine via a US air base for fear of being
drawn directly into the conflict.
The State Department said Thursday that Washington would “continue to
provide our Ukrainian partners with the surface-to-air systems that they
need” though Moscow has warned supplying deadly weapons was “creating a
colossal danger.”
With global anger surging online as the war rages, Facebook said late
Thursday it has temporarily eased its rules on violent speech to allow
statements like “death to Russian invaders”, while still barring threats
against Russian civilians.
Western sanctions have targeted Russia’s financial system and its
oligarchs, including Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich, who was
hit Thursday by a UK assets freeze and travel ban.
