The long-suffering population of Ukraine must prepare for new major Russian attacks on numerous cities in the country: satellite images published yesterday show a 64-kilometer Russian military convoy north-west of the capital Kyiv. According to military experts, this could indicate an imminent storming of the city of three million people – or the preparation of a siege.
Yesterday, Russian rockets hit the TV tower in Kyiv. At least five people died in the attack. The Ministry of the Interior announced that the broadcast of TV programs had been interrupted “for a certain period of time”. Two rockets are said to have hit the site.
The heaviest Russian attacks were reported yesterday from the second largest city of Kharkiv. Heavy Russian rocket fire on the center killed at least 10 people and wounded 35, according to an adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry.
“Russia is waging war in violation of international humanitarian law,” the Foreign Office in Kyiv tweeted after the rocket hits in Kharkiv. Moscow is killing civilians and systematically destroying the infrastructure, it said. The bishopric in the city was also bombed.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported problems with the city’s electricity and water supply. “Today has shown that this is not just war. This is the murder of us, the Ukrainian people,” he said in a video message. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the events in Kharkiv as a war crime. “There will definitely be a tribunal for this crime. An international one. It’s a violation of all conventions.”
Occupiers wildly insulted
Yesterday, the Russian military leadership announced targeted attacks on the information infrastructure of the Ukrainian secret service. In order to smash “information attacks”, “technological objects (…) in Kyiv would be hit with high-precision weapons,” it said.
Recent reports from southern Ukraine indicate that the Russian aggressors are being abused and rejected even by the Russian-speaking population. This should make it very difficult for the occupiers in the future, as videos from the south-eastern Zaporizhia Oblast show. There were loud protests against the Russian soldiers in both the port city of Berdyansk and in Melitopol – in both cities Russian-speaking Ukrainians dominated to the end. In Melitopol, unarmed demonstrators shouted “Home! Occupiers! Fascists! Murderers!” and blocked the way of army vehicles.
Reward for deserters
In an appeal on Facebook and Twitter, Ukraine’s defense ministry has offered Russian soldiers full amnesty and a $40,000 per capita bonus if they lay down their arms.
Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov wrote: “Make a decision. Go out unarmed with a white flag. Say the code word ‘one million’.” The campaign is financed by the international IT industry. “Anyone who refuses to be an occupier brings peace closer. There will be no mercy for those who choose the path of the occupier!” Reznikov said.
Lost access to the sea?
Russian attackers reported yesterday that the Ukrainian military had lost access to the Sea of Azov north of the Black Sea. Russia would thus have created a land connection between its heartland and the Crimea peninsula, annexed in violation of international law in 2014.
Source: Nachrichten
