The fate of the Ukrainian city of Kherson is still unclear after the US denied Russian claims that it had fallen to Vladimir Putin’s forces, insisting fighting was continuing.
It comes as leaders in another important southern city, Mariupol, warned “we are being destroyed” in a “genocide” after attacks wiped out water and power supplies.
Russian tanks entered Kherson on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, and Ukrainian officials in the city of 280,000 people said President Putin’s forces had seized the local government headquarters, in what is a vital Black Sea port.
However, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s armed forces said Kherson had not been captured, the UK said the situation was unclear, and the US said Russian troops had not yet taken the city, though they could use it for potentially moving further west to Mykolaiv and then Odessa.
Speaking to Sky News, one resident trapped in her Kherson apartment described seeing soldiers “all over the city” and hearing “a lot of explosions… late at night and early in the morning”. If Kherson does fall, it would be Russia’s first seizure of a major Ukrainian city.
Also, Ukrainian and Russian officials have held a second round of discussions in neighbouring Belarus, with both sides agreeing to create humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians and that the agreement involved a possible ceasefire. This is the first sign of progress on any issue since the invasion began last Thursday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for direct talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, saying: “I don’t bite. What are you afraid of?”
Heavy fighting is continuing on the outskirts of another strategic port, Mariupol, on the Azov Sea, as leaders said critical infrastructure was being targeted by Russian forces and that constant attacks meant people could not be evacuated.
“They are breaking food supplies, setting us up in a blockade, as in the old Leningrad,” the city’s council said in a statement.
“Deliberately, for seven days, they have been destroying the city’s critical life-support infrastructure. We have no light, water or heat again. We are being destroyed as a nation. This is genocide of Ukrainian people.”
Mariupol mayor Vadym Boichenko claimed troops were attacking rail links in an apparent bid to prevent civilians from escaping.
The city is surrounded by Russian forces but Ukrainian officials say they still control it.
If troops take Kherson and Mariupol they will be able to link Russia with occupied territories in Donetsk and Luhansk, in the east, and Crimea in the south – as they attempt to cut Ukraine off from the sea.
Also in the south, Russian forces have reportedly opened fire in the town of Energodar, next to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – Europe’s largest – and were trying to seize control of the facility.
At a news conference, Mr Zelenskyy appealed for direct talks with Mr Putin, saying: “Sit down with me to negotiate, just not at 30 metres.”
He was apparently referring to Mr Putin recently sitting at one end of a very long table when he met French President Emmanuel Macron.
Invasion will continue ‘until the end’ unless negotiations meet Putin’s terms – France
Meanwhile, Mr Putin said in a TV address that his country’s “special military operation” was going according to plan.
And he made a series of allegations against Ukrainian forces for which he did not provide evidence, including that they were holding foreign citizens hostage and using human shields.
The Kremlin has demanded Ukraine’s “demilitarisation”, that it declares itself neutral, and formally renounces its bid to join NATO.
Mr Putin has told France’s leader Mr Macron that the invasion will continue “until the end” unless negotiations meet his terms, according to a French official, who added Mr Putin said they must centre on the “neutralisation and disarmament of Ukraine”.
’33 civilians killed in airstrike in Chernihiv’
Ukrainian authorities say at least 33 civilians have been killed in a Russian airstrike on a residential area in the northern city of Chernihiv.
Dashcam footage earlier showed the moment a missile struck a residential building, although it is not clear whether they are the same incident.
Attacks have also been continuing in the second-largest city of Kharkiv, in the east of the country.
Russian convoy ‘hit by Ukrainian resistance and mechanical breakdown’
A major assault on the capital Kyiv was believed imminent but appears to have been delayed after a Russian convoy – pictured on Monday and estimated at 40 miles long – apparently ground to a virtual standstill.
It remains about 18 miles (30 km) from the centre of Kyiv after being delayed by “staunch Ukrainian resistance, mechanical breakdown and congestion”, according to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Food and fuel shortages have also plagued the convoy, according to a US defence official.
As Russian attacks on cities intensify, the UN said more than a million people had now fled to neighbouring countries in just a week – with many more expected to follow.
Ukraine’s president Zelenskyy again struck a powerful note of defiance on Thursday as he claimed nearly 9,000 Russian soldiers had been killed in the first week of the war.
He said the invaders would be “destroyed” wherever they go, and compared them to the “disease” of the coronavirus pandemic.
“They will not have calm here, they will not have food, they will not have one quiet moment,” he said.
Source: Sky News
