The Russian invading force intensified its assault on Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv and other cities as the offensive enters its fourth day. Amid fierce resistance from the Ukrainian military, Kremlin ordered Russian forces to hit the defenders “from all directions.”
“All Russian units in Ukraine were on Saturday given the order to resume their offensive from all directions,” the Reuters reported quoting the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
The Russian troop movement around Kyiv suggest that a major offensive on the capital is on its way. “Fighting on the city’s outskirts suggested that small Russian units were trying to clear a path for the main forces,” the Associated Press reported Sunday morning.
Russian missiles and artillery fire caused huge explosions in Kyiv and other besieged cities, Western news outlets confirm. “Russian forces launched coordinated missile and artillery attacks on Ukrainian cities on Saturday including the capital, Kyiv,” TV channel France24 reported. “Russian missiles have hit the Ukrainian town of southwest of the capital, Kyiv, setting an oil terminal ablaze.”
The Russian military is targeting the Ukrainian oil and gas infrastructure. The invading forces destroyed a major oil depot near Kyiv, as well as a gas pipeline in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, Ukrainian sources say.
It is worth noting that before the offensive began Ukraine was a major transit country for Russian gas to Western Europe. With the undersea Nord Stream 2 pipeline connecting Russia directly to Germany now almost complete, Russia could have lessened its reliance on Ukraine for its gas delivery to European countries.
The Associated Press reported the latest wave of Russian assault:
Russia unleashed a wave of attacks on Ukraine targeting airfields and fuel facilities in what appeared to be the next phase of an invasion that has been slowed by fierce resistance. The U.S. and EU responded with weapons and ammunition for the outnumbered Ukrainians and powerful sanctions intended to further isolate Moscow.Huge explosions lit up the sky early Sunday south of the capital, Kyiv, where people hunkered down in homes, underground garages and subway stations in anticipation of a full-scale assault by Russian forces.Flames billowed into the air before dawn from an oil depot near the Zhuliany airport, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of the capital, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office and the mayor of the nearby town of Vasylkiv. (…)The curfew forcing everyone in Kyiv inside was set to last through Monday morning. The relative quiet of the capital was sporadically broken by gunfire.Fighting on the city’s outskirts suggested that small Russian units were trying to clear a path for the main forces. Small groups of Russian troops were reported inside Kyiv, but Britain and the U.S. said the bulk of the forces were 19 miles (30 kilometers) from the city’s center as of Saturday afternoon.
The Kremlin’s order to intensify the assault comes in the face of unexpected and stiff resistance from the Ukrainian military, which has reportedly slowed the Russian advance.
“Intense fighting overnight appeared to stem some of the Russian advance towards the capital, creating frustration amongst the Russian military and political leadership,” the French TV channel Euronews reported citing Western intelligence sources.
President Vladimir Putin has deployed notorious Muslim fighters from Chechnya against the defending Uranian forces, the leader of the Chechnya region, Ramzan Kadyrov, confirmed.
In the past, Kadyrov, a close ally of President Putin, has sympathized with acts of jihad terror in the West, including the 2020 beheading of a French teacher over Muhammad cartoons by a Chechen immigrant.
Reuters reported Kadyrov’s statement confirming the presence of Chechen fighters in Ukraine:
Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s Chechnya region and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said on Saturday that Chechen fighters had been deployed to Ukraine and urged Ukrainians to overthrow their government.In a video posted online, Kadyrov boasted that Chechen units had so far suffered no losses and said Russian forces could easily take large Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv, but that their task was to avoid loss of life.”As of today, as of this minute, we do not have one single casualty, or wounded, not a single man has even had a runny nose,” Kadyrov said, denying what he said were false reports of casualties from Ukrainian sources.
With Russian forces closing in on Kyiv from multiple sides, the Biden administration and the Europeans have agreed to fly in urgent military aid.
On Saturday, President Joe Biden approved $350 million in military aid to Ukraine. “With Ukraine struggling to repel Russia’s tanks, bombers, helicopters and missiles, the new tranche would supply Ukrainian forces with anti-armor and anti-aircraft systems, ammunition for firearms and body armor, according to the State Department,” the U.S. weekly Defense News noted.
Germany revised its long-standing policy and pledged to supply weapons to the besieged country. The German military will send 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 “Stinger” class surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian invasion, the government announced.
That military aid may fail to halt the Russian advance so late in the game. Russia has destroyed or occupied all military and civilian airfields, and has “complete air superiority” above Ukrainian skies, Western intelligence analysts say. According to media reports, nearly half of the Russia’s estimated 150,000 invading force has now entered Ukrainian soil.
As Russia invades a country bigger than France, with a population of over 44 million, Europe is bracing for a massive refugee wave. As of Saturday, 100,000 Ukrainians, mostly women and elderly, managed to cross into Poland.
The number of refugees fleeing to Europe could rise up to 5 million, U.S. officials estimate. “Neighboring Poland, Romania, Czechia and Slovakia have already begun making preparations for inflows of up to a million people,” the CNBC noted.
UKRAINE AGREES TO PEACE TALKS WITH RUSSIA
“Ukraine says it was ready to negotiate with Russia and sending its representatives to Belarus border,” Germany’s Deutsch Welle reports. Moscow will send a delegation to meet the Ukrainian negotiators, German state broadcaster ARD confirmed.
However, it remains unclear if Moscow will cease military hostilities during the talks.
PUTIN PUTS NUCLEAR FORCES ON ALERT
Meanwhile Putin has escalated the situation by placing Russian nuclear forces on alert. “Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his military command to put nuclear-armed forces on high alert on Sunday as Ukrainian fighters defending the city of Kharkiv said they had repelled an attack by invading Russian troops,” Reuters reported.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY