One killed, 19 wounded in Russian shelling of Kyiv neighborhood

Kyiv, Mar 18 (EFE).- One person was killed and 19 were wounded after Russian forces shelled a residential area in the Podolsk district of the Ukrainian capital city Kyiv.

Four children were among the injured, Kyiv mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said on Friday.

“Six houses, kindergartens and a school were damaged. Rescuers and medics are working on the spot,” he said in a video of him at the site of the attack.

Despite the regular aerial bombardments from Russian forces occupying areas surrounding Kyiv, the city has withstood the onslaught.

Brigadier General Oleksandr Hruzevych, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Land Forces Command, told a briefing that Russia’s advance towards Kyiv had stalled and was making no progress.

“In some districts, namely Brovary and Boryspil, the enemy refrained from active offensive as such. There are small attempts at action on the left bank of the Dnipro River, but they’ve also been unsuccessful,” said the brigadier general, who added that the Russians had expected Kyiv to fall within three days, according to the official Ukrinform.

While he said the city’s defenses were holding, he urged residents to heed air raid sirens and to head to shelters.

“The military are calmer in performing our tasks when civilians are in shelters, in appropriate locations. Therefore, the alerts should not be ignored,” he said.

A total of 222 people, including 60 civilians, have been killed since the invasion began on February 24, city officials said Friday. EFE

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