Moscow, 3/3: Russian forces on Wednesday seized the first major Ukrainian city in their onslaught, the strategic port of Kherson, as they stepped up bombardment of civilian targets across the country, put other cities under siege and pushed to encircle and cut off the capital, Kyiv.
Russian troops and tanks rolled into Kherson, on the Dnieper River near the Black Sea, after days of intense fighting that left as many as 300 Ukrainian civilians and fighters dead, said the mayor and another senior Ukrainian government official who confirmed that it had fallen. “There is no Ukrainian army here,” the mayor, Igor Kolykhaev, said in an interview.
Other Russian columns besieged Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city, and the port city of Mariupol. And most ominously, a huge convoy of military vehicles stood north of Kyiv in apparent preparation for a major offensive.
Capturing Kherson could clear the way for Russian forces to push westward toward Odessa—a much bigger prize—as they try to seize Ukraine’s entire Black Sea coast, cutting it off from world shipping.
Russian troops have gained ground near Mariupol while naval forces gathered offshore, raising fears of an amphibious assault on a city where local officials said there was no power or heat. Russian artillery and rocket fire have cut off essentials like electricity, medicine, water and heat to many Ukrainian communities.
The Ukrainian government said Wednesday that Russian attacks had killed more than 2,000 civilians and an unknown number of Ukrainian troops. Russia said 498 of its troops had died. But all such figures are unverifiable estimates.
A Pentagon official said that Russian forces were suffering logistical problems, and warned that they were likely to become less precise in targeting their missile and artillery attacks as the fighting continues. The official briefed reporters, on the condition of anonymity, to discuss intelligence assessments.
The European Union for the first time will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons for Ukraine, said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.
In an emergency meeting on the crisis, the UN General Assembly voted 141-5 in favour of a resolution condemning Russia’s actions, with only Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Syria and Eritrea opposed. Thirty-five countries abstained, including China, India, Pakistan and Iran.
The European Union and the United States both announced a fresh round of sanctions Wednesday against Belarus, which Russia has used as a base for its drive on Kyiv.
Putin on Wednesday banned anyone in Russia from taking more than $10,000 in foreign currency out of the country. He had built up an enormous reserve of foreign cash to weather such a crisis, but US officials say the sanctions are blocking access to much of it. After Russian stocks plummeted following the first rounds of sanctions, the government shut down the Moscow Stock Exchange Monday, and it remained closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
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