A Ukrainian soldier points his gun at a military checkpoint while standing guard.
Photo: SERGEY BOBOK/AFP/Getty Images
Ukraine said it retook a strategically important Kyiv suburb on Tuesday as Russian forces pressured other areas near the capital. and pressed their attack against the besieged southern port of Mariupol.
Explosions and volleys of gunfire shook Kyiv, and black smoke billowed from a point to the north.
Increased artillery fire was heard from the northwest, where Russia has been trying to encircle and capture several suburbs of the capital, a key target.
the Russian forces also continued the siege of Mariupol after defenders of the southern port city refused surrender demands.and fleeing civilians described relentless shelling and bodies littering the streets.
but the Kremlin’s ground offensive in other parts of the country progressed slowly or not at all, repulsed by deadly Ukrainian attacks.
Ukrainian troops earlier Tuesday drove Russian forces out of the Kiev suburb of Makariv after a fierce battle, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said.
The regained territory allowed Ukrainian forces to regain control of a key highway and prevent Russian troops from encircling Kyiv from the northwest.
Still, the Defense Ministry said Russian forces have been able to partially take other northwestern suburbs, Bucha, Hostomel and Irpin, some of which have been almost under attack since the Russian army invaded nearly a month ago.
Faced with unexpectedly strong resistance, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s troops are increasingly concentrating their air force and artillery on Ukrainian cities and the civilian population living there.
A senior US defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the evaluation of the army, said Russia has stepped up its airstrikes, conducting up to 300 flights in 24 hours.
US and British officials say Kyiv remains Russia’s top target.
Most of Moscow’s forces remain miles from the center, but rockets and artillery have destroyed homes and a large shopping center that has been left in smoldering ruins after it was hit by attacks on Sunday night that killed eight people, emergency services said.
US President Biden, who is due to travel to Europe later in the week to meet with allies, hinted Monday night that the worst could be yet to come.
“Putin has his back against the wall,” Biden said. “He did not anticipate the size or strength of our unit. And the more your back is against the wall, the stricter you can be tactically.
Talks to end the fighting continued via video but failed to bridge the rift between the two sides.
the ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukrainian television on Monday night that he was ready to drop any offer by Ukraine to join NATO, a key Russian demand, in exchange for a ceasefire.the withdrawal of Russian troops and a guarantee of Ukraine’s security.
Zelensky also suggested Kyiv is open to further discussions on the status of Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014, and areas of the eastern Donbass region held by Russianbacked separatists. But he said that was a different topic.
The Russian invasion has displaced more than 10 million people from their homes, almost a quarter of Ukraine’s prewar population, according to the United Nations.
In all, more than 3.5 million people have fled Ukraine, while another 6.5 million have been displaced within the country.
Matthew Saltmarsh, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency, called the speed and scale of people fleeing the danger in Ukraine “unprecedented in recent memory”.
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