Fighting near Ukrainian capital intensifies: Kyiv mayor
Kyiv, Mar 7 (EFE).- Fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces on the outskirts of Kyiv has intensified in recent hours, the mayor of the besieged Ukrainian capital, Vitali Klitchko, said on Monday.
“Heavy fighting is going on outside Kyiv, where the enemy is trying to wipe out Hostomel, Bucha, Vorzel and Irpin and killing civilians with extreme violence,” Klitschko said in a video statement.
Klitchko said that Yuri Prilipko, the mayor of Hostomel, a small town north of Kyiv, “has been killed while distributing bread and medicines to his people. He was my partner, we worked together in the Association of Ukrainian Cities – may he rest in peace!” he added.
“The army and civilians are heroically defending Ukrainian cities against the occupiers,” the mayor, who is also a former professional boxer, said .
He explained how municipal authorities were doing their best to ensure reliable services “in the city. We distribute aid among the most vulnerable population and collect food, basic necessities and medicines,” he said.
Ukraine’s army general staff reported Monday that Russian “occupiers” were encircling the capital and had resumed their offensives on Hostomel, Irpin and Stoyanka.
Kyiv has also sent humanitarian aid to Chernigov and “strives to deliver it to Bucha and Hostomel, as well as other towns besieged or blockaded by Russian troops.”
“I urge residents to stay in their homes or in shelters while the city intensifies defensive measures,” Klitchko said.
The Ukrainian presidency, meanwhile, has said that some 900 towns and cities across the country have been left without electricity, heating or running water.
More than 1,500 residential buildings, more than 200 schools and about 30 hospitals since the war began 12 days ago, one of president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s top aides, Mykhailo Podolyak, said.
“Barbarians of the XXI century (…) The Russian army doesn’t know how to fight against other armies. But it’s good at killing civilians,” Podolyak said on Twitter. EFE
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