However, they are much heavier on the Russian side, said presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych on Friday: “Their losses are colossal.” The Azovstal steel mill in the southeastern port city of Mariupol is still under Russian siege. The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced an operation to remove civilians from the compound.
The British Ministry of Defense reported particularly heavy fighting around the cities of Lysychansk and Severodonetsk in the Donbass. “Russia’s territorial gains are limited and have been achieved at a significant cost to the Russian armed forces,” it said of the military situation. For its part, the Russian Defense Ministry announced an attack on Ukrainian military targets with cruise missiles from a submarine in the Black Sea. According to the Interfax news agency, it was the first time that Russia made such an attack public. The respective information could not be verified by an independent party.
The Russian advance is apparently focused on eastern Ukraine, where parts of the country have long been controlled by pro-Russian separatists. The Ukrainian military leadership reported on Friday there that their positions had been shelled in order to prevent a reorganization of the defenders. Russian authorities reported shelling of their territory near the border from Ukraine.
evacuation planned
In the meantime, according to media reports, the evacuation of civilians from the besieged Azovstal steelworks in the completely destroyed Ukrainian port of Mariupol is planned for this Friday. An “operation” is planned to rescue the trapped people, the Ukrainian newspaper “Ukrajinska Pravda” reported, citing a source in the presidential office. A first attempt at evacuation on Thursday failed because Russian troops fired on a military hospital on the factory premises. There was initially no official confirmation of the report.
The mayor of Mariupol, Vadym Boychenko, expressed the hope that in the ongoing “negotiation procedures” an agreement on the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol could be reached. According to the Ukrainian agency Unian, Boychenko said there was almost no food, water or medicine left in the besieged steel mill. “It’s no longer about days, it’s about hours.”
Previously, during a Russian attack on the last defenders of Mariupol, who were holed up in the steelworks, the field hospital set up there had come under heavy fire. According to a report by “Ukrajinska Pravda”, at least one soldier was killed on Thursday evening and around 100 patients suffered further injuries. According to the defenders, the hospital, in which around 500 wounded and doctors were staying, was specifically attacked. The information could not be independently verified.
100,000 residents in mortal danger
According to the city council, about 100,000 residents in Mariupol are in mortal danger from Russian shelling and lack of supplies and hygiene. There is a catastrophic shortage of drinking water and food. Russia announced victory in Mariupol last week. President Vladimir Putin has announced that the remaining Ukrainian soldiers will not be allowed to withdraw.
Meanwhile, Russian authorities accused Ukraine of shelling another border crossing. Russian border guards in the village of Byelaya Beryozka in the Bryansk region were shot at from grenade launchers on Friday, regional governor Alexander Bogomas said, according to the Interfax agency. There were no victims. Power and water lines were damaged. A cemetery was also hit.
Previously, Russia had also reported Ukrainian attacks on the village of Krupez in the western Russian region of Kursk – about 100 kilometers as the crow flies from Byelaya Beryozka. The information could not be independently verified. There was no official reaction from the Ukrainian side.
A day after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ visit to Kyiv, Russia’s military confirmed attacks on the Ukrainian capital. Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in Moscow on Friday that high-precision, long-range missiles had hit the factory buildings of the Ukrainian missile manufacturer “Artem”. He did not give the exact time of the Russian attacks.
According to Ukrainian sources, the attacks happened on Thursday evening while Guterres was still in town. A house was also hit. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported on Friday that a body had been recovered from the rubble. Ten people were also injured. Guterres told the British broadcaster BBC: “I was shocked to hear that two rockets exploded in the city where I am staying.”
US broadcaster reported the death of an employee
In this context, the US broadcaster Radio Liberty reported the death of one of its employees in Kyiv. Ukrainian rescue workers recovered Vira Girich’s body from the rubble of a house hit by a rocket. Girich has worked as a producer in the broadcaster’s Kiev office since 2018. The attack apparently happened on Thursday during the visit of UN Secretary-General Guterres to Kyiv.
The German government sharply condemned the Russian rocket attack on Kyiv on the day of UN Secretary-General Guterres’ visit. “The actions of the Russian side are inhuman,” said deputy government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner on Friday in Berlin. “It also reveals once again before the eyes of the world community that Putin and his regime have absolutely no respect for international law.”
In the area around Kyiv, meanwhile, the number of dead after the withdrawal of Russian troops almost two months ago has risen to almost 1,200, according to official figures. “As of today, 1,187 of our fellow citizens (have been found), our peaceful citizens who perished at the hands of the Russian army,” said Kiev region police chief Andriy Nebytov on Ukrainian television on Friday. The day before, 26 other bodies were found. Around 200 people are still considered missing.
Russia attacked Ukraine at the end of February and occupied areas north of the capital Kyiv for more than a month. After the withdrawal, hundreds of civilians were found dead, many of them in the small town of Bucha. The images caused horror around the world. Moscow denied any guilt and spoke of a “staging” by the Ukrainian side – without presenting any solid evidence for this accusation.
Russia arrested two British aid workers
Russian forces, meanwhile, captured two of their volunteers in Ukraine, according to a British aid agency. The organization Presidium Network announced that the two Britons were arrested on Monday at a checkpoint south of Zaporizhia. According to the organization, the two men, both civilians, were distributing food and medicine and helping with evacuations as part of a humanitarian aid project in Ukraine.
The British Foreign Office initially did not comment. “The Foreign Office is doing everything in its power to assist and investigate both individuals,” UK Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan told Sky News.
Ukraine asked the international community for help in clearing mines in the combat zones. Specialists and technology are needed, said Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyj, according to Ukrajinska Pravda on Friday. “For every day of active combat there are 30 days of demining.” The fighting in the area around the capital Kyiv alone would have lasted 30 to 35 days. It would theoretically take more than two years to clean up the territory there.
The minister warned that with the arrival of spring, grass could grow over mines, making them only detectable with special search equipment. Ukraine had too few special forces and therefore asked international organizations to send helpers and equipment.
The day before, Kiev’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko had pointed out the danger of mines in the suburbs of the capital. People have already been killed.
Source: Nachrichten
