Russian forces bombing Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv since Monday. The city of Kharkiv is again under bombardment today, with air raid sirens sounding and a massive explosion at Independence Square in the city center, according to Ukraine-based news website The Kyiv Independent.
A missile struck the regional administration building in Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv on Tuesday. In a video, the building can be seen bursting into flames after an explosion. Significant damage has been reported.
The Russian army has moved closer to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and Russian tanks and other military vehicles are traveling in a convoy of about 40 miles. At the same time, the ongoing talks to stop the war have ended only with further rounds of talks being agreed.
According to satellite images provided by Maxar Technology, the convoy of armored vehicles, tanks, cannon and other auxiliary vehicles is about 25 kilometers from the city and its length is about 40 miles.
On Monday, at least 11 civilians have been killed in Russian shelling on Ukraine’s second most populated city Kharkiv on Monday, the regional governor said, adding dozens more had been injured.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the escalation in the bombings was aimed only at putting pressure on him. He issued a video message saying that Russia is trying to pressure (Ukraine) with these easy means. Although Zelensky did not give details of the lengthy talks between the two sides earlier in the day, he said that Kyiv was not ready to make any concessions, that too when rocket and cannon attacks were being launched on one side.
It is noteworthy that Russia is becoming isolated from the ongoing war for the last 5 days, while it has also faced unexpected resistance from Ukraine. Domestically, Russia has also suffered financially.
Explosions were heard in Kyiv as Russia and Ukraine held talks on the Belarus border on Monday and Russian troops were moving towards Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, which has a population of 3 million. Zelensky said Kyiv is the main target for the Russians. He said that they want to ruin the nationality of our country and hence the capital is in constant danger.
Videos from Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city with a population of nearly 1.5 million, showed residential areas being bombed. The loud explosions continued to vibrate apartment buildings and a plume of fire and smoke could be seen in the sky.
Kharkiv officials said seven people were killed and dozens more wounded in the attack. He warned that the casualties could rise.
At the same time, the Russian military has refused to accept attacking residential areas, despite several images of bombings on homes, schools and hospitals.
Fighting is also going on in other cities and towns of Ukraine. Zelensky’s adviser, Oleksey Arestovich, said the situation in Mariupol, a strategically important port city on the Azov Sea, was “in balance”. There are also reports of a bombing of an oil depot in the eastern city of Sami.