Kyiv/Kharkiv: In eastern Ukraine, Russian forces have launched their long-anticipated offensive. They are attempting to push through defences along almost the entire front line in what Ukrainian officials described as the second phase of the war.
Here are some key developments:
- A regional governor in eastern Ukraine has said five civilians have been killed by Russian shelling, while some reports said at least four were killed. Kharkiv region Governor Oleh Synyehubov said Tuesday that another 17 residents were wounded in the Russian rocket barrage of the center of Kharkiv and its outskirts. Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, has faced Russian attacks since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24.
- Russian forces seized the city of Kreminna in eastern Ukraine and Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the city, the regional governor said on Tuesday. Kreminna, which had a population of more than 18,000 before the war with Russia, appears to be the first city confirmed to have been taken by Russian forces since they launched a new offensive in eastern Ukraine. "Kreminna is under the control of the 'Orcs' (Russians). They have entered the city," Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of the Luhansk region, told a briefing. "Our defenders had to withdraw. They have entrenched themselves in new positions and continue to fight the Russian army."
- Russia's new offensive in eastern Ukraine is going "very cautiously" and will fail because Moscow's forces lack the strength to break through Ukrainian defences, an aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
- "This is what hell looks like on earth ... It's time (for) help not just by prayers. Save our lives from satanic hands," Major Serhiy Volyna, commander of Ukraine's 36th marine brigade which is fighting in Mariupol, wrote in a letter to Pope Francis, reported Reuters.
- Russia's invasion has damaged or destroyed up to 30% of Ukraine`s infrastructure at a cost of $100 billion, a Ukrainian minister said, adding reconstruction could be achieved in two years using frozen Russian assets to help finance it.
