According to a senior US State Department official, Russian President Vladimir Putin is apparently unwilling to commit to ending the war in Ukraine.
“Everything I’ve seen points to that,” the source told Reuters. According to its mayor, the town of Irpin, near Kiev, is once again completely in Ukrainian hands. “There is good news today,” Alexander Markuschyn explained in a Telegram video. “Irpin has been released.”
The information cannot be independently verified. According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, more than 100 people have died in Kiev since the start of the war. Among them are four children, he emphasized in a speech to the council of the Italian twin city of Florence. Meanwhile, 82 multi-story buildings were destroyed in the capital, he said.
recaptured city
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces have recaptured a town near the city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine. An AFP journalist reported on Monday that Russian soldiers died and military vehicles destroyed in Mala Rohan, which was under Russian control until a few days ago. According to the mayor of Kharkiv, Russian troops fired artillery on the town from the village. “Our troops are releasing Mala Rohan, and this is of great importance because from there they are constantly bombing residential areas of the city,” said Ihor Terekhov. The village is located about four kilometers east of Kharkiv.
According to the Ukrainian military, the attack on Russian positions in Mala Rohan began in the middle of last week. It took several days to secure the village as Russian soldiers were hiding in basements and surrounding forests, a Ukrainian soldier said. He estimated that at least 25 Russian soldiers were killed.
On Monday it was quiet in the largely destroyed village. The bodies of two Russian soldiers lay in an alley, and at least two other bodies were thrown into a well. A few kilometers to the north, the Ukrainian army attacked Russian positions in the village of Vilkhivka, where Russian artillery is also stationed.