On Wednesday, the Russians took control of the first Ukrainian city. The mayor said this on Wednesday. He also asked his citizens to follow the ‘armed persons who entered the city’s management’ on Facebook.
Kherson is located 300 miles from Kyiv and home to over 290,000.
Strategically, the city sits on the Black Sea inlet 260 miles west from the separatist enclave at Donetsk.
Mayor of Kherson Ihor Kolkhaiev had earlier Wednesday maintained that Kherson was under Ukrainian control. But it has since fallen.
Volodymyr Zilensky, Ukraine’s president, gave a video address to nation on Thursday morning. He offered a positive assessment of war conditions and urged Ukrainians to continue resisting.
He said that ‘We’re a people who have in just a week destroyed all plans of our enemy’ in the video posted to social media.
“They won’t have peace in this place. They won’t be able to eat. They won’t have one moment of silence.
Zelensky didn’t comment on the Russians seizing several cities including Kherson.
“If they were to go somewhere else, it would be only temporary. He said, “We’ll drive them away.”
The fighting was affecting Russian soldiers’ morale, he said. He suggested that they ‘go into supermarkets and try to get something to eat’.
You can see the Russians looting and destroying towns in video clips that were shared via social media.
Some claim that Russians captured in captivity were discovered with expired 2015 rations.
According to Western officials, some young Russian soldiers are not willing to fight. They are instead sabotaging vehicles and putting gas tanks in their place.
Zelensky stated that these are not superpower warriors. These are children confused by being used.
He stated that the Russian death toll had reached approximately 9,000.
He stated that Ukraine does not wish to be covered by soldiers. ‘Go home.’
Kherson was at the center of intense fighting throughout Wednesday.
Earlier on Wednesday, a U.S. official told AP: ‘Our view is that Kherson is very much a contested city.’
Kolykhaiev stated later that Russian soldiers arrived in the city to visit the administration building.
He claimed that he requested them not to kill civilians and allowed crews access to the streets to pick up bodies.
In a statement, he stated that he had simply asked the police not to fire at anyone.
“We do not have Ukrainian troops in the city. We only have civilians here to LIVE.”
Kolykhaiev claimed that he didn’t know he would be dealing with war.
He said, “Everything is happening right now in our town is politics that you hate,”
“I was elected to the office in order to improve infrastructure and invest in Kherson. I also wanted to build roads, houses, parks, and create a better life for my home town.
“Now, I am looking for special packages to be sent out to those who have been killed.”
On Wednesday, Kherson was seen with Russian forces in apparent control. Kherson falls to Russia’s first major city.
A Russian military truck and tanks are seen moving along the streets of Kherson Wednesday
Volodymyr Zilensky, Ukraine’s president, posted another video on his social media early Thursday morning. It gave an optimistic assessment of the country’s resilience, and said that the Russian advance wasn’t going according to plan.
Kherson is located 300 miles from Kyiv and lies on an inlet of the Black Sea.
The capture of Kherson came as Western officials told CNN that they believe the Russian strategy is moving toward a ‘slow annihilation’ of the Ukrainian military.
The Russians could resort to bombardment of civilian and urban targets due to the conflict’s ferocious pace.
So far, the Ukrainian forces were able to resist Russia’s initial push while maintaining control in Kyiv as well other large cities.
According to US intelligence, Russia lost approximately 3-5% of its aircraft and tanks in Ukraine. Two US officials have been able to confirm this.
Ukraine lost approximately 10 percent its capability, but they are still vastly outgunned.
The officials stated that Russia now has heavier and more deadly weaponry, as well as an increasing impact on civilian infrastructure after initially focusing on military targets.
Unsuccessful intervention or fundamental changes in the dynamics are not possible, one official claimed.
Dmytro Kuleba was Ukraine’s foreign Minister. He told Antony Blinken, Secretary of State, that Ukraine needed additional weapons deliveries ‘now’. Kuleba tweets.
According to a senior intelligence officer, they need bullets. They require bandages. Fuel is going to be a necessity. In addition to fuel, they will also need ammunition.
“And they’re going need to have a lot more ammunition and weapons resupply because the Russian force has both numerical and qualitative superiority.”
Moscow became more isolated as the rest of the world backed it at United Nations to demand its withdrawal from Ukraine.
The International Criminal Court prosecutor opened an investigation into war crimes.
On Thursday, a second round of negotiations was scheduled to end the fighting. However, there seemed little agreement between the sides.
Russia announced its first official military casualties report since the invasion began last week. It said that nearly 500 troops were killed and more than 1,600 injured.
Ukraine didn’t disclose military losses, but claimed that more than 2000 civilians had died. This claim could not independently be verified.
There was fighting on several fronts in the country. The Defense Ministry of Britain stated that Mariupol on the Azov Sea was being encircled and occupied by Russian forces.
Vadym Bouchenko, Mariupol Mayor, stated that there were constant attacks.
Interfax quoted him as saying, “We can’t even take the injured from the streets and from homes or apartments today because the shelling doesn’t stop.”
According to the U.S. Defense Secretary, an important official stated that the huge column of thousands of tanks and vehicles was stuck about 16 miles south of Kyiv. They had not made any progress the past two days.
According to the official, the convoy that appeared poised earlier in the week to attack the capital has now been confronted by fuel shortages as well as food shortages.
Volunteer fighters in their 60s stood guard at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Kyiv to stop the Russian advance.
Andrey Goncharuk, age 68, said that he had to get up in arms when he reached old age.
He claimed that the fighters required more weapons but that they would still kill their enemies.
Russian warplanes bombarded Gorenka in Ukraine, about a half hour drive away from the capital. Residents said that the bombing left the corpses of the villagers scattered among the ruins of their homes.
Two cruise missiles were fired at a hospital in Chernihiv (northern Ukraine), according to UNIAN.
Russia also bombarded Kharkiv (Ukraine’s second-largest, home to 1.5 million residents) in an aerial attack that destroyed buildings and lit up its skyline.
Oleg Sinehubov of Kharkiv Regional Administration stated that over the course of the day at least 21 were killed and 112 others were hurt.
According to Oleksiy Arkestovich (a high adviser to Zelensky), several Russian aircraft were downed over Kharkiv.
“Kharkiv today, is the Stalingrad” Arestovich declared, referring to what was considered the greatest heroic episode in Russian history: the five-month defence of Harkiv from Nazis during World War II.
Igor Terekhov from Kharkiv was heard telling the BBC that his basement bunker had been converted into a shelter.
According to videos and photos from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, Russians attacked Kharkiv with many missiles. They blew off the five-story roof of Kharkiv’s regional police headquarters.
Officials confirmed that residential properties were also affected.
Ihor Kolkhaiev (mayor of Kherson) stated Wednesday that his city was under the control of the Armed Forces
Outside the capital Kyiv, a woman weeps in the basement of her house, which was crowded by people looking for shelter from Russian bombingstrikes.
A street in Bucha to the south-west of Kyiv is lined with remains from a Russian military convoy.
Unarmed man stands near the remains of a Russian Military Vehicle in Bucha. This is close to Kiev, Ukraine.
Seven days after Russia invaded Ukraine, the United Nations announced that over 934,000 refugees fled the country in an increasing refugee crisis across Europe. The head of U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency, however, warned that there is a risk to Ukraine’s fifteen nuclear reactors.
Rafael Grossi from the International Atomic Energy Agency stated that it was the first time that a military conflict had occurred in the midst of large, well-established nuclear power programs. Grossi said he is gravely concerned.
He stated that “When there’s a conflict going on, there’s a chance of being attacked or an accident hit.”
Russia already holds the Chernobyl nuclear power station, which was destroyed in the 1986 worst nuclear catastrophe.
Russian armed forces released footage Wednesday showing a group of vehicles parked on a road in Ukraine.
Officers remove the corpse of a pedestrian who was killed by Tuesday’s attack on Kyiv’s main TV tower.
At the scene of the Tuesday airstrike on Kyiv’s main TV tower, police officers are standing guard
New York: The U.N. General Assembly voted in favor of Russia’s cease-fire and immediate withdrawal. Small island states and world powers alike condemned Moscow. It was 141 votes to 5, 35 abstentions.
Although they aren’t legally binding, Assembly Resolutions can influence the world of opinion.
After the emergency session that was convened by 193 members, the vote took place.
Russia was the only country that voted for Eritrea and Syria. Cuba took part in Moscow’s defense, but ultimately abstained.
Ukraine’s U.N. Ukraine’s U.N.
He stated, “The crimes were so horrific that it was difficult to grasp.”
On Wednesday night, a large explosion rocked central Kyiv in what was claimed to be a missile attack near the capital’s southern railway station.
It was not immediately clear if there were any injuries or deaths.
Numerous Ukrainians are fleeing from the capital city by taking refuge in the vast railway system.
Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov was the spokesperson for Russia’s Defense Ministry. He released figures on military casualties from his side and denied reports of greater losses.
According to the leader of Ukraine, almost 6 000 Russian soldiers died.
Konashenkov stated that over 2,870 Ukrainian troops were killed and nearly 3,700 others wounded. More than 570 of them have also been captured.
Russia’s rhetoric has been boosted as well.
Sergei Lavrov, Foreign Minister of Russia, reminded the entire world about his country’s nuclear arsenal in an interview with Al-Jazeera.