“Nobody can forgive. After the bloodshed in Kharkiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised that “Nobody will forget.”
The U.S. President Joe Biden had planned to deliver his first State of the Union address Tuesday night to pledge to make Russian President Vladimir Putin pay a “price” for the invasion. Biden’s goal was to emphasize the determination of a reenergized Western alliance that worked to rearm Ukraine’s military and to adopt harsh sanctions.
According to White House excerpts, Biden stated that “Throughout our history, we have learned this lesson — when dictators don’t pay a price to their aggression, they cause even more chaos.” They keep moving. The costs and threats to America, and the rest of the world, keep increasing.”
According to two people familiar, Biden was to also announce that the U.S. will close its airspace to Russian aircrafts as a retaliation to the invasion. The two men spoke under the condition that they remain anonymous in order to discuss the speech beforehand.
A convoy of hundreds, including Russian tanks, advanced slowly on Kyiv (the capital of almost 3 million people) in what the West believed was a bid to overthrow the government and install a Kremlin friendly regime.
Other cities and towns were also attacked by the invading force, including Odesa and Mariupol to the south.
Day 6 of Europe’s largest ground war since World War II saw Russia becoming increasingly isolated. The country was beset by sanctions that have caused economic turmoil and rendered it practically inhospitable to other countries like China, Belarus, and North Korea.
The death toll from the conflict in Ukraine was unclear as it raged. According to a senior Western intelligence official, more than 5,000 Russian soldiers were captured or killed. The total troop loss estimate for Ukraine was not available.
According to the U.N. human rights officer, it had recorded 136 civilian deaths. It is believed that the real death toll is much higher.
The Defense Ministry of Britain said that it has seen an increase in Russian artillery and air strikes on urban areas. The Russian forces also encircled three cities, Kharkiv and Kherson, according to the Defense Ministry.
Many military experts fear that Russia might be changing its tactics. Moscow used artillery and aerial bombardments in Syria and Chechnya to crush the resolve of fighters and pulverize their cities.
Five people were reported to have been killed by the Ukrainian authorities in the attack on the TV Tower, located a few miles from central Kyiv. It is also a short distance from many apartment buildings. Officials said that at least some Ukrainian channels were temporarily cut off after the attack on the TV control room.
After Russia had announced that it would bomb transmission facilities used in Ukraine’s intelligence agency, the bombing occurred. It advised people who live near these places to evacuate their homes.
Zelenskyy’s bureau also reported that a powerful missile strike was made on the Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial, located near the tower. The memorial spokesperson said that the site’s Jewish cemetery, where Nazi occupiers killed over 33,000 Jews in two days in 1941 was damaged. However, the extent of the damage would not be known until daylight.
Kharkiv has a population of 1.5 million. At least six people died when Freedom Square, a Soviet-era administrative building in the region, was struck by what was believed was a missile.
According to the Slovenian Foreign Ministry, the attack on Kharkiv destroyed its consulate in Kharkiv. It is located in another large building. Between a bank and a jewelry shop, the consulate’s entrance was found.
Many Ukrainians saw the attack on Freedom Square, the largest square in Ukraine and the heart of city life as brazen evidence that Russia was not only intent on destroying their spirit but also hitting military targets.
The bombardment destroyed windows and walls of the buildings that surrounded the huge square. It also piled up dust and debris. One building was awash with plaster chunks and doors were ripped off their hinges.
“People are living under the rubble. Yevhen Vasylenko (an emergency official) stated that we have pulled out the bodies.
Zelenskyy called the attack on the square “frank and undisguised terror” as well as a war crime. He said, “This is Russian Federation state terrorism.”
Zelenskyy made an emotional appeal to Europe’s Parliament later and said that “We are fighting to be equal members” of Europe. Today, I believe we are showing everyone that we are what we are.
A second Russian airstrike struck a residential area in Zhytomyr’s city center, Mayor Serih Sukhomlin stated in a Facebook post. The emergency services in Ukraine said Tuesday’s strike resulted in at least two deaths, three homes being set on fire, and the hospital windows being smashed. Zhytomyr, located 85 miles (140 km) west of Kyiv is where the elite 95th Air Assault Brigade is located. It may have been the intended target.
Zelenskyy claimed that 16 children were killed in Ukraine on Monday and mocked Russia’s claims that it is only targeting military targets.
“Where are the children?” Which military factories are they working at? Zelenskyy stated that they are going at what tanks.
Human Rights Watch reported that it had seen a cluster bomb attack at a hospital in Ukraine’s eastern region in the past few days. Local residents reported that cluster bombs were used in Kharkiv, and Kiyanka. The Kremlin has denied the use of cluster bombs.
Cluster bombs are small “bomblets” that shoot over large areas. Many of them fail to explode long after they have been dropped. Their use in Ukraine would be a new level in war brutality and could result in further isolation of Russia.
Although the first talks between Russia & Ukraine since the invasion ended on Monday, there was only a tentative agreement to meet again. Zelenskyy stated that Russia should cease bombing first on Tuesday.
He said that dialogue is possible, but that he would stop bombarding people and instead start negotiating.
Moscow has made fresh threats of escalation just days after raising concerns about nuclear war. Top Kremlin officials warned that Russia’s “economic war against the West” could become a “real one.”
After Russian authorities threatened to shut down the station, the top radio station was removed from the air. The Kremlin does not allow the fighting to be called an “invasion” of a “war.”
Nearly 660,000 people fled Ukraine and many others sought refuge underground. Martin Griffiths, U.N. humanitarian coordinator, stated that bomb damage has rendered hundreds of thousands of families without water.
It is a nightmare and it seizes your insides very strongly. Ekaterina Babenko from Kharkiv, who took refuge in a basement together with her neighbors for the fifth consecutive day, said that this cannot be described with words. “We have small children and elderly people, and it is quite frightening,” she said.
According to a Ukrainian military official, Belarusian troops participated in the war in northern Ukraine on Tuesday. However, he did not provide any details. However, Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian President, stated that his country did not intend to join the conflict.
According to Maxar Technologies satellite imagery, the leading edge (or the front) of the Russian advance on the capital was located 17 miles (25 km) away from the center.
According to a senior U.S. defense officer, Russia’s military advancement — including that of the huge convoy — has slowed due to logistical and supply issues. According to the official, some Russian military columns are running out of fuel and food and morale has been affected.
Overall, the Russian military was hampered by strong resistance on the ground as well as an inability to control Ukraine’s airspace.
According to a senior Western intelligence official, this huge convoy of vehicles packed along narrow roads would be “a big fat target for Ukrainian forces”, he said under anonymity.
The official stated that it was also evidence that the Russians are comfortable in open areas in these concentrations, as they don’t fear being under attack by air, rocket, or missile fire.
The Russian advance was stopped by the Ukrainians who used every tool at their disposal. Residents piled tires of tractor trucks with sand on a highway in southern Ukraine between Odesa & Mykolaiv to stop Russian convoys.
