Five weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine there are no signs that Russia has taken any major cities. According to the U.N. top human rights official, Moscow had attacked 50 homes and hospitals in Ukraine. This could be considered war crime.
Ukrainian officials criticised Russian officials for saying that Russia had stated Tuesday that it would cease operations in the area of Kyiv/Chernihiv “to increase mutual distrust” in peace negotiations.
Vitali Klitschko (the Kyiv mayor) said it wasn’t true in a video address to European Union Regional Officers. We heard massive explosions to the east, north and east of Kyiv as we listened to sirens and rocket strikes all night. Still, people die in the midst massive battles.
On Wednesday morning you could hear a heightened bombardment of Kyiv from suburbs where Ukrainian forces had regained territories in the last days. You could hear the constant artillery firing from its outskirts shaking windows.
The southeast of Irpin, a Kyiv suburb, has been the site of intense fighting for several weeks. It was surrounded with shelling and heard the explosion of ordnance on the ground. Ukrainians fleding the area reported heavy shelling in Irpin’s north and landing of shells in Irpin.
The leaders of Ukraine and the West warned that Moscow’s gesture of peace at Tuesday’s talks was an attempt by Moscow to reorganize forces that failed in seizing Kyiv.
Russia claimed Wednesday that its forces had achieved their objectives near Kyiv and Chernihiv. They are now reorganizing to focus on the “liberation” of the eastern Donbass.
According to the Pentagon’s estimates, Russia began to reposition its forces around Kyiv. Moscow was warned however that it would refit the forces and resupply them in order to redeploy.
Russia was subject to Western sanctions for its invasion. However, Moscow is still the largest supplier of natural gas and oil to Europe. Russia’s request to be paid in roubles has been rejected by the West. This raises concerns over energy scarcity in Europe and increases the chance of recession.
Germany, Russia’s largest customer of gas, has issued an “early warning” Wednesday about a possible emergency if Russia cuts off supplies. Robert Habeck, Economy Minister, advised people to not consume too much and stated that “every kilowatt hours counts”.
Russian sources claimed that Russia may continue to use the energy contract currency but would make final payments in roubles.
Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that payments in euros could be made to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Gazprombank would then convert the money to roubles.
Gazprombank is Russia’s main channel for oil and natural gas payments.
The spokesperson said that Scholz did not agree to the procedure during their conversation, but asked for written information to help him better understand it.
Chernihiv Mayor Vladyslav Astroshenko stated that the Russian bombardment had intensified over the past 24 hours and that more than 100,000 people were trapped inside with enough food, medical supplies, and shelter for a week.
CNN reported that he said, “This is yet another proof that Russia always lies.” He claimed that 25 civilians had been injured by a mortar attack in the city’s center.
Reuters could not verify the situation in Chernihiv. Reuters reached Russia’s defense ministry for no comment.
Reuters journalists were captured by Ukrainian forces on Tuesday when they entered Kyiv’s suburb Irpin. Ukrainian troops were seen on Tuesday patrolling an abandoned ghost town of ruined buildings, containing the bodies of an old man and a female.
25 percent of Ukrainians have been expelled from their homes. The United Nations announced Wednesday that more than 4 million people are fleeing Ukraine. More than half of the refugees are children.
The Ukrainian forces have retaken villages and towns in the outskirts of Kyiv, broken the siege at Sumy, the eastern capital, and pushed back Russian forces to the southwest.
Two tanks and their turrets, which had been destroyed, were found close to houses in Mala Rohan (eastern Kharkiv). Maksym, a Ukrainian soldier, said that the Russians were being pushed away slowly but steadily.
“Most of them realize that they made a horrible mistake when they arrived in this country. They are out of luck. We will prevail.
Russia’s defense ministry claimed that Kharkiv was experiencing a worsening humanitarian situation and accused Ukrainian forces shooting at civilians. Russian news agencies reported the accusations without providing any evidence.
Russia claims that it is carrying out a “special operations” to disarm and denazify its neighbor. According to the West, Moscow’s invasion invading Ukraine was unprovoked.
Russia stated that it would now focus its efforts on the Donbass region. This includes Mariupol which was again the subject of heavy fighting on Wednesday.
Mariupol, which had a population of more than 400,000 people, was demolished in less than one month. The United Nations estimates that there were thousands of people killed in Mariupol.
According to Donetsk’s governor (which is part the Donbas), Russian forces attacked nearly all the cities along the frontline of the territory of the region on Wednesday.
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