On the thirteenth day of the fighting in Ukraine, failing to achieve symbolic or overwhelming victories, Russia continues to strike intensely at Ukrainian positions, critical infrastructures, residential buildings, universities or schools. “The grouping of the air defense forces of the Ukrainian armed forces is more successful in the fight against missiles and air strikes” Russian, announced this Tuesday morning the Ukrainian general staff. However, hundreds of thousands of civilians are waiting to flee the besieged cities. On Monday, Russia had offered exit routes to Ukrainians, but they mainly led to Russia and Belarus, and Ukraine, like France, had denounced an “immoral” and “cynical” proposal.
Ukraine accepts humanitarian corridor in Sumy
At 8 a.m. French time, Russia will cease its artillery fire to allow civilians to leave the cities of Kiev, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol. But an hour earlier, Ukraine had still not officially responded to the Russians. Like Monday, the proposed humanitarian corridors mostly lead to Russia or Belarus.
- From Kiev and Chernihiv, to Gomel, to the Belarusian ally, with subsequent air transport to Russia;
- From Sumy to Belgorod, Russia, or Poltava, Ukraine, to then go to temporary accommodation centers “by plane, train or by road”, the location of which has not been specified. Around 8:30 a.m., Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk announced that the corridor would open at 9 a.m. French time and that civilians would start leaving the city by bus;
- From Kharkiv to Belgorod;
- From Mariupol towards two Russian cities: Rostov-on-Don, via Novoazovsk, and Taganrog. But the Russians have again proposed that another route leads to Zaporozhzhya, where the nuclear power station is located which was targeted last Friday by Russian shells;
Lieutenant General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Defense Control Center, said overnight that in addition to the corridor leading from Kiev to Gomel, Belarus, it was possible to evacuate civilians to South. “In order to take practical measures to evacuate the civilian population and foreign citizens along the agreed routes within the framework of a humanitarian operation, it is decided to establish continuous communication between the Russian and Ukrainian sides from 9 a.m. 30 (Moscow time) on March 8, 2022, in order to share information on the progress of preparations and the progress of the evacuation of the civilian population and foreign citizens,” he offered.
Mykhailo Podoliyak, the head of the Ukrainian delegation which took part in the 3rd round of negotiations with Russia on Monday, announced this morning, via Twitter, that Ukraine had given its agreement for the city of Sumy, to allow civilians to leave it. and humanitarian aid to enter.
Governor Dmitro Zhivitskiy called for people with disabilities or injuries, pregnant women and orphanages to be given priority. Ukrainian journalist Nataliya Gumenyuk posted a short video of buses leaving Sumy for Poltava, 175 km away. Between the buses are inserted private cars which take advantage of the path thus opened.
The version battle continues
After giving the green light to the evacuation of the inhabitants of Mariupol, a strategic port besieged by the Russians, the Ukrainian authorities accused the Russian forces of not respecting the humanitarian corridor and of preventing 300,000 people from leaving. “The enemy launched an attack exactly in the direction of the humanitarian corridor”, denounced the Ministry of Defense on its Facebook page, assuring that the Russian army had “not let children, women and the elderly leave the city “. A foreign journalist confirmed, with video support, that trucks and buses were on their way to Mariupol. They must, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, deliver humanitarian goods before leaving with civilians in the direction of Zaporozhzhya.
Since the beginning of the confit on February 24, many contradictory information are impossible to verify independently. Propaganda is running at full speed on both sides. Thus the Joint Coordination Headquarters of Russia for the humanitarian response in Ukraine affirmed Monday evening to have received “2,000,417 requests” for evacuation “between March 5 and 7, 2022 alone”. He also assures that 173,773 people, including 44,187 children, and 19,969 personal vehicles, were evacuated from the surroundings of Luhansk and Donetsk to Russia, two territories where the separatists are mobilizing with Russia.
Many cities under grapeshot
In the oblasts of Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv and Kiev, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian forces, the Russian forces, “demoralized”, are increasingly engaged in looting, the confiscation of housing and violence against the inhabitants.
Skhidnaya, Pivnichnaya, Siversky try to defend themselves. In Pivdenny, a sanitary cordon is being developed on the side. Ukrainian forces are also mobilizing to retake Mykolayev and Kherson from the Russians. By means of “ten tactical groups of psychological struggle”, according to the Ukrainian army, the Russians would carry out propaganda work among the population. The FSB, the former KGB, would also be at work to identify the wills of resistance.
Civilians hard hit
Russian planes dropped bombs on the city of Sumy overnight Monday, damaging houses in residential areas, Dmytro Zhivitsky, the head of the city’s military administration, said on Telegram. “There are dead and injured,” he said. The death toll from the Russian strikes on Sunday on a residential building in the city rose to ten victims. A child was found dead in the rubble, according to regional governor Dmytro Zhivitsky.
Ukrainian media said on Tuesday that on March 4, Russian soldiers coldly fired on young Ukrainians who were bringing food to a dog shelter in Bucha, near Kiev. According to this account, the bodies of Serhiy Ustymenko, 25, Maxym Kuzmenko, 28, and Anastasia Yalanska, 26, were still on Monday in the cellar of Serhiy Ustymenko’s father, who took them in and protected himself there from the bombardments. .
A Russian general killed?
Ukrainian military intelligence claimed at dawn that a Russian general had been killed near Kharkiv. Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, first deputy commander of the Russian 41st Army, was reportedly killed eight days after the death of General Andrei Sukhovetsky, also deputy commander of the 41st Army.
Ukraine says its forces have killed more than 11,000 Russian troops. Russia has confirmed around 500 casualties. Neither side revealed Ukrainian losses.