Of . – 03/27/2022 14:40 (act 03/27/2022 14:40)
Attack on fuel depots near Lviv. ©REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
Ukraine on Sunday accused Russia of having started to destroy Ukrainian fuel and food depots. Agreed escape routes again were not followed on Sunday – especially in Mariupol.
This means that the government in Kiev will soon have to distribute the relevant shares more widely, Interior Ministry adviser Vadym Denysenko said on television. The Ukrainian authorities, however, still cannot directly help besieged civilians to escape the heavily contested city of Mariupol.
Evacuation from Mariupol failed again on Sunday
Mariupol refugees were due to be picked up by a bus convoy from the nearby city of Berdyansk on Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Wereshchuk announced. 15 buses were supposed to take people to the central Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia. Anyone who manages to escape Mariupol in a car can refuel for free in Berdyansk, Vereshchuk said in a video message in Kiev. The strategically important industrial and port city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov has been almost completely destroyed by fierce fighting since early March. About 440,000 people once lived there.
Escape from Luhansk through the corridors
A second escape corridor was designated for Sunday in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region. On Saturday, 5,200 people managed to save themselves from particularly difficult areas through ten defined routes, as reported by the UNIAN agency. According to unverifiable Russian information, more than 90% of the Luhansk region is under the control of Moscow-backed separatists.
Russia’s Troop Swap Is Imminent
In addition to destroying the camps, Russia is moving forces to the border to exchange troops, Denysenko said. This could mean that Russia wants to make new attempts to invade Ukraine.
Destroyed fuel depot near Lviv
Russian forces destroyed a large fuel depot near the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, Moscow said. Ukrainian military personnel in the west of the country and near Kiev were refueled from the fuel depot, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Sunday in Moscow. This coincided with information from Ukraine on Saturday and Sunday. Several military installations in the Lviv and Kiev regions were destroyed by rockets fired from planes and warships, the Russian general said.
The Ukrainian regional military administration reported three violent explosions on the eastern outskirts of Lviv on Saturday. A thick cloud of black smoke could be seen in the sky. A fuel depot was hit, said Mayor Andriy Sadowyj. He spoke of five victims without giving further details. Civilian infrastructure was not affected. According to the Ukrainian civil defense, the fire in the fuel depot could only be extinguished after 14 hours on Sunday.
Great desolation in Chernihiv
In the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, surrounded by Russian troops, the population has to survive without electricity, heating and water. Only the gas supply is still partially working, the regional administration announced on Sunday. Infrastructure was destroyed by “active combat operations” in the city. Attempts are being made to repair the damage, administration chief Vyacheslav Tschaus wrote on Telegram.
Russian troops have been besieging the city near the border with Russia and Belarus for a long time. A strategically important road leads 125 kilometers south from Chernihiv to the capital Kiev. Already on Saturday, Mayor Wladyslaw Atroschenko complained about the great destruction caused by Russian troops. “The city is completely devastated,” he said. More than 200 civilians have been killed in recent weeks. Of the more than 285,000 residents of Chernihiv before the war, not even half are left now. The information could not be independently verified. The urban landscape is characterized by numerous medieval churches and monasteries, of which at least two were damaged according to Ukrainian sources. Ukraine is seeking UNESCO World Heritage status for downtown Chernihiv.