Russia threatens to assault Ukrainian safety amenities in Kyiv with ‘high-precision weapons’

Zelensky’s argument

Russia’s navy is way bigger and extra highly effective than Ukraine’s in nearly each measure, however Ukraine’s allies, together with the European Union, are scrambling to ship extra weapons to help within the nation’s defence.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday urged European leaders to right away grant Ukraine membership of the European Union, saying his nation was preventing for survival.

“We have proved our strength. We have proved that, at least, we are exactly like you,” he informed the European Parliament by way of video hyperlink. “So prove that you are with us. Prove that you will not let us go. Prove that you are really European.”

Zelensky’s petition comes as Russia has stepped up assaults on Ukraine’s second largest metropolis, Kharkiv. In the previous two days, Russian assaults have attacked civilians, suggesting a shift in direction of a much less restrained bombing marketing campaign. The first Russian assaults had been extra targeted on navy bases.

The United Nations says at the very least 102 civilians have been killed and 304 injured throughout the nation, although these figures might have underestimated the precise toll.

After a gathering on Capitol Hill on Monday the place Ukraine’s ambassador to the US requested extra weapons, high-ranking US Republican Senator Jim Riske stated Ukraine was struggling. “It’s David vs. Goliath,” he stated.

US officers – who had beforehand been baffled by fierce resistance from Ukraine, which had seen common civilians take up arms – now worry the state of affairs is turning into “much more challenging” for Ukrainians.

US officers informed the briefing on Monday that Russia would doubtless lay siege to Kyiv, resulting in ugly scenes of city warfare, one of many individuals accustomed to the matter stated.

Kharkiv residents sleep dressed, able to run

On Tuesday, Kharkiv was rocked by a large explosion that burned automobiles, blown out home windows and destroyed a big authorities constructing in the principle Freedom Square.

Emergency companies say at the very least 10 individuals had been killed and 24 injured in a Russian rocket assault, which Zelensky described in a Facebook publish as an “act of terror” on civilians.

Late on Monday, at the very least 5 totally different residential areas in Kharkiv had been hit by rockets, in response to a CNN evaluation of social media movies.

During a go to to Poland on Tuesday, Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson referred to as the Russian offensive “worse than our predictions” like these seen within the Kharkiv neighborhood.

“It is obvious that Vladimir Putin is able to use barbaric and indiscriminate ways towards harmless civilians to construct bombs, ship missiles into tower blocks, kill youngsters, as we’re seeing in rising numbers. ,” They said.

A Kharkiv resident named Tetyana, 66, told CNN that a shell struck her home on Tuesday morning, breaking her windows.

Tetyana – who has slept in her boots and coat since the attack began – fled to her basement where her relative, Oleg, told her that her car had burned down and “the varsity within the yard was fully destroyed.”

A day earlier, CNN confirmed military attacks on five residential areas of the city on Monday using a video shared on social media.

Dramatic video, taken by a surveillance-type camera in an apartment complex on Velika Kiltseva St., shows repeated explosions from a strike that landed in a parking lot and walkway.

The intense firefight – at least eight explosions are seen but more are heard – lasted 20 seconds. As munitions fall down, people are seen fleeing as blasts: one person falls to the ground as explosions surround them. The explosion occurred due to a direct collision with a parked car.

On Klochkiwska Street, graphic videos show blood and body parts outside a small grocery store.

“It’s horrible, guys,” says a voice in the video. “Right in my metropolis half. Shoes and toes had been eliminated, listed below are the components of the mind.”

circling in kiev

The Russian Defense Ministry said two government facilities in Kyiv – a city considered Russia’s main target – will be hit by airstrikes on Tuesday, according to Russia’s state news agency TASS.

In the statement, the Russian military asked nearby residents to leave their homes.

it comes like this A massive 40-mile-long Russian military convoy – made up of armored vehicles, tanks, towed artillery and other logistical vehicles – has reached the outskirts of Kyiv, according to satellite images from Maxar Technologies. Maxor said he saw plumes of smoke rising from several houses and buildings near the streets where the convoy was traveling, though it was not clear what caused it.

On Tuesday, Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko warned that “the enemy is on the outskirts of the capital,” but that the Ukrainian military is “getting ready to defend Kyiv.”

“Fortifications and checkpoints have been erected on the metropolis entrances. I ask everybody to stay calm. Don’t exit unnecessarily and keep in shelters in case of alarm,” he said in a video message.

According to two people familiar with the briefing, US officials told lawmakers in a classified briefing on Monday that a second wave of Russian troops would strengthen the country’s position within Ukraine, and may be able to overcome Ukrainian resistance by sheer numbers. .

“That half was disappointing,” one lawmaker told CNN.

Russian army enters port city

Russian-backed forces have also made gains in the south. In the port city of Kherson – west of Mariupol and north of the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014 – Ukrainian defensive lines have collapsed and Russian military vehicles have been seen driving inside the city.

The chief of the self-proclaimed separatist area in Donetsk stated he anticipated his forces to encompass the Ukrainian port metropolis of Mariupol on Tuesday. The metropolis of Volnovakha, midway between Mariupol and Donetsk, was nearly fully surrounded, stated Denis Pushilin.

Ukraine has accused Russia of committing conflict crimes concentrating on civilians, and on Monday, the International Criminal Court stated it might launch an investigation into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – a transfer that Kyiv welcomed.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in a late night time tackle that the assaults on Kharkiv on Monday had been “clearly a conflict crime”.

“Kharkiv is a peaceable metropolis, peaceable residential areas, no navy amenities. Dozens of eyewitness accounts show this isn’t a false volley, however a deliberate destruction of individuals. The Russians knew the place they had been capturing.” were,” he stated.

“No one in the world will forgive you for killing the peaceful Ukrainian people.”

The Kremlin has denied Zelensky’s allegations of conflict crimes in Ukraine, saying repeatedly that it’s not concentrating on civilian areas.

humanitarian disaster looms giant

As the bitter battle is occurring throughout the nation, The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) stated on Tuesday that many Ukrainians are fleeing the nation in what may grow to be “Europe’s biggest refugee crisis in this century”.

UNHCR stated in an announcement that greater than 660,000 refugees have fled to neighboring international locations up to now six days.

Other Ukrainians have opted to remain and be part of the resistance. Volunteers are thronging the capital, the place there’s a sense of defiance amongst many. Some Molotovs are gathering bottles to make cocktails.