Moscow’s invasion of eastern Ukraine gained momentum as several areas were heavily shelled on Thursday, amid suspicions Russian President Vladimir Putin achieved a major battlefield breakthrough in time for Victory Day, one of Russia’s proudest holidays, on May 9. want to do.
Ukrainian officials reported intense Russian fire in the Donbass – the eastern industrial stronghold the Kremlin is intent on capturing – and near Kharkiv, a northeastern city outside the Donbass that is seen as the key to the offensive.
In the ruined southern port city of Mariupol, Ukrainian fighters were holed up at the steel plant, which represents the last pocket of resistance, overnight concentrated bombings killed and more wounded. And officials warned that the lack of safe drinking water inside the city could lead to outbreaks of deadly diseases.
The latest attacks came as the UN chief met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv and surveyed the destruction in small towns outside the capital, which witnessed some of the most horrific horrors of a pre-war attack.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the atrocities committed in cities such as Buka, where unexpectedly harsh resistance found evidence of mass killings of civilians after Russia withdrew. He called such cities “centres of unbearable heartbreak and pain”.
Guterres reiterated the importance of investigating alleged war crimes, saying, “Wherever there is war, the highest price is paid by civilians.”
Separately, Ukraine’s prosecutor accused 10 Russian soldiers, including a general, of being “involved in the torture of peaceful people” in Bucha. Prosecutor General Irina Venediktova did not say that her office had filed criminal charges, and she appealed to the public to help gather evidence. Russia denies that it targets civilians.
“During the capture of Bucha, they took unarmed civilians hostage, killed them with hunger and thirst, kept them with their hands on their knees and blindfolded, mocked and beat them,” said Venediktova.
It has been difficult to get a full picture of the fighting in the east as the barrage of airstrikes and artillery made it extremely dangerous for journalists to move around. Many journalists have now died in the third month of the war.
In addition, both Ukraine and the Moscow-backed rebels fighting in the east have imposed strict restrictions on reporting from the war zone.
Western officials say the Kremlin’s clear goal is to take the Donbass by encircling and crushing Ukrainian forces from the north, south and east.
But so far, Russian troops and their allied separatist forces have made only modest gains, taking many small towns as they try to advance in relatively small groups against hardline Ukrainian resistance.
Russian military units were crushed in an unsuccessful bid to attack Kyiv and had to be regrouped and repaired. Some analysts say the delay in launching a full-fledged offensive may reflect Putin’s decision to wait until his forces are ready for a decisive battle – rushing and risking another failure. Instead of putting it in a state that can shake its rule amidst the deteriorating economic conditions at home due to western countries. Sanctions
Many observers expect Putin to try to claim a major victory in the east by Victory Day, which marks the defeat of Nazi Germany during World War II.
Putin, like many of his predecessors, often uses patriotic Russian holidays and anniversaries to make announcements. In March, he appeared at a Moscow stadium at a rally marking the eighth anniversary of Russia’s occupation of the Crimean peninsula, and used the event to build support for the war.
The discovery of mass killings around Kyiv helped increase support for Ukraine in the West. Bulgarian Prime Minister Kirill Petkov vowed his country would join others in providing military aid as he visited another scene of atrocities in Borodyanka outside Kyiv.
“We cannot be indifferent. We cannot say that this is Ukraine’s problem. We cannot say that some people are dying but we are not interested in it.” This is not just a fight for Ukraine, but civilization. to choose which side to take.”
Bulgaria, under a new liberal government that last took power, has severed many of its old ties with Moscow and backed punitive measures against the Kremlin.
The Bulgarian leader’s visit came a day after Russia cut natural gas supplies to its country and fellow NATO member Poland, which was seen as an attempt to punish and divide the West.
As Russia mounted its offensive, civilians again bore the brunt.
“It’s not just scary. It’s like when your stomach contracts with pain,” said Kharkiv resident Tatiana Pirogova. Can’t get over how scary it is.”
Ukraine’s military said Russian troops fired “intense firing” at several places in the Donbass and that in the past 24 hours, Ukrainian forces had repulsed six attacks in the region.
According to the regional governor, four civilians were killed in heavy shelling in residential areas in the Luhansk region of Donbass.
Columns of smoke could be seen rising at various points in the Donetsk region of the Donbass, and artillery and sirens were heard on and off.
Satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press showed evidence of fierce Russian fires over Mariupol in recent days.
A video posted online by Ukraine’s Azov regiment inside a steel plant shows people searching through the rubble to retrieve the dead and help the wounded. The regiment said the Russians attacked an improvised underground hospital and its surgical room, killing an unspecified number of people. The video could not be independently verified.
Thousands of Mariupol residents have fled. Officials said an estimated 100,000 people are at risk of diseases such as cholera and dysentery.
“The lack of centralized water supply and sewerage could lead to a deadly epidemic in the city,” the council said on messaging app Telegram. It reported decomposition of carcasses under the rubble and “catastrophic” shortages of drinking water and food.
Meanwhile, Russia said a city under its control in the south had come under fire. In what could be a Ukrainian counterattack, a series of explosions were detonated late Wednesday near the television tower in Kherson, which has been occupied by Russian forces since the beginning of the war. The blasts shut down Russian channels, at least temporarily.
Strong explosions were reported in Russia’s Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine, but there was no immediate explanation. In recent days, there have been explosions and fires at fuel and ammunition sites on Russian soil, and suspicions have fallen on Ukraine.
Ukraine has urged its allies to send even more military equipment to deter the Russians. US President Joe Biden plans to give Congress an additional $33 billion to help Ukraine.