Residents of Kyiv on Saturday braced for the much-feared Russian offensive to take the capital, as the latter’s troops surrounded the city and stepped up air strikes on its suburbs. The port city of Mariupol also saw intense fighting with Russian forces taking control of parts of its suburbs.
Beyond Kyiv and Mariupol, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Sumy remain encircled and continue to suffer heavy shelling. The northwest suburbs of Kyiv, including Irpin and Bucha, have endured days of heavy bombardment. Russian tanks are advancing on the northeastern edge.
However, Ukraine claims they will defeat the invaders. With the sound of enemy’s boots growing louder, those left in Kyiv are staying strong and are in no mood to surrender. The capital city’s mayor reported that every street and every house is being fortified.
Satellite images on Saturday showed buildings on fire as Russia bombed cities near Kyiv as it made its final push to take the capital. Air raid sirens were heard in the capital and surrounding cities early in the morning.
Meanwhile, in Mariupol, cut off from the rest of Ukraine for nearly two weeks now, a mosque reportedly sheltering more than 80 people, including children, came under heavy shelling. Aid workers on Saturday warned of an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in the city, which has been under siege for nearly two weeks with water and power supply cut off amid a harsh winter.
Taking Mariupol and other ports on the Azov Sea could allow Russia to establish a land corridor to Crimea, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014.Elsewhere in Vasylkiv, south of Kyiv, Russian strikes destroyed an airport, local officials said. An ammunition depot was also hit. Around 1,300 Ukrainian troops have been killed since the attacks started on February 24, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed on Saturday.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden again ruled out any direct intervention by the United States, warning that such conflict pitting the NATO alliance against the Kremlin “is World War III”.