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Ground Report | New Delhi: Russia attacks on Kyiv; After regrouping and repositioning its troops, Russian forces returned to attack Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities this Saturday, 12, the 17th day of the conflict between the two countries. Reports on the ground indicate that the bombings against some localities already besieged were so intense that they prevented residents from burying their dead. Early in the morning, attack sirens sounded in various parts of the country.
In previous offensives in Syria and Chechnya, Russia's strategy was to crush armed resistance with successive airstrikes and bombings that flattened population centers. This is how Russian forces sealed off the southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. Kyiv and other parts of the country such as Kharkiv and the Donbas region are likely to be targets of the same tactic.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it used high-precision weapons to destroy a military airport in Vasilkov, southwest of Kyiv, and the main Ukrainian intelligence center in the city of Brovary, east of the capital. Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Russian troops had destroyed 3,491 Ukrainian military infrastructure facilities so far.
However, Western analysts said Russian forces did not expect to encounter the resistance they have faced from Ukrainian forces and people. According to conflict experts and military analysts, Ukrainian forces said on Saturday that all attempts by Russian troops to advance on any front had been halted and that they had inflicted "heavy losses" on enemies.
In a video, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk said that humanitarian corridors will be opened for the evacuation of civilians in several besieged cities, including Kyiv, Mariupol and Sumy. “I hope the day goes well, all planned routes are open and Russia fulfils its obligations to guarantee the ceasefire regime,” she said.
This week, all attempts to allow a humanitarian convoy to reach Mariupol failed, where civilians remain without power or mobile phone networks and water and food are running low. On Friday, local officials said at least 1,582 civilians had been killed as a result of the Russian bombing and a 12-day blockade. (Russia attacks on Kyiv)
Ukrainian state TV reported that in Melitopol, in the south of the country, thousands of people protested against the alleged arrest of Mayor Ivan Fedorov by Russian forces. According to a post by the Ukrainian parliament on Twitter, the mayor was allegedly kidnapped by ten Russian soldiers because he refused to cooperate. Ukrainian authorities accused Russia of violating international law. On Friday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the kidnapping in a video message, calling Fedorov a "mayor who courageously defends Ukraine and the members of his community."
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