Kyiv, Europe Brief News – Russian forces are aiming to take full control of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, capital after the lethal shelling of civilian areas in Kharkiv. Russian forces are trying to manoeuvre their tactics after facing unexpected resistance from the Ukrainian army.
It’s been nearly a week since Russia has launched an invasion on its neighbouring country but failed to seize any major city until now.
Western Allies are afraid that Russian forces could now unleash the tactics they employed in Syria and Chechnya in recent decades when they crushed civilian areas and ended up killing thousands of innocent civilians.
Oil company Shell has decided to pull out from Russia and become the first western company to do that. Severe sanctions from Western Allies and global financial isolation has dented the Russian economy as the ruble experienced a record low against the US dollar.
Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message “ For the enemy, Kyiv is the key target. We did not let them break the defence of the capital. Moreover, If they send saboteurs to us, we will neutralise them all”.
Ukrainian officials have claimed that they have lost almost 70 soldiers from a rocket attack in a town between Kyiv and Kharkiv.
The British Defence Ministry said, “The Russian advance on Kyiv has made a little progress over the past 24 hours probably as a result of continuing logistical difficulties”.
Risk To Civilians
The British Defence Ministry also mentioned that a subtle change in tactics from the Russian army is putting civilians at high risk. The use of heavy artillery in densely populated urban areas ultimately increases the fear of more civilian casualties.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said, “ The Kremlin would continue its operation in Ukraine until it achieves its goal. It aimed to protect itself from threats created by the West and Russia was not occupying Ukraine’s territory”.
Russian forces attacked the second-largest city Kharkiv with artillery missiles and bombing which killed almost dozens of people and leave the number of people injured.
Human rights groups and Ukraine’s officials have accused Russia of using cluster bombs and vacuum bombs which were deemed illegal by many disciplinary organizations around the world.
The first round of talks was held on the Belarusian border but delegant teams failed to negotiate on the terms.
Public health experts suggest that Ukraine is running out of medical supplies and that is setting a stage for a wider public health crisis.
