Anastasia Vakulenko (left) comforts Natalia Chikonova as they seek refuge in a metro station on the seventh day of the Russian invasion, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 2, 2022.
Marcus Yam Los Angeles Times Getty Images
Explosions rocked the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, overnight amid widespread uncertainty over whether Russia would launch a full-scale attack on the capital in the coming hours and days.
Massive explosions were heard and filmed in the city last night, as a video on social media shows a huge fireball rising in the city sky. It is not known what the targets of the explosions were and whether there were any casualties caused by the explosions.
NBC News is working to verify footage from cameras posted online that allegedly show explosions hitting the city.
More than 1 million Ukrainians have fled the country since the Russian invasion began a week ago, but many remained and took up arms to fight Russian forces.
Many Kyiv residents, including children, also remain in the city, living or seeking shelter in metro stations, basements and underground bunkers, when air raid sirens warn of impending strikes.
A girl is sitting with her dog and cat at the Dorohozhichi metro station, which was turned into a bomb shelter on March 2, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Chris McGrath Getty Images News Getty Images
Russia has said Kyiv residents will be allowed to evacuate the city in the direction of Vasilkov, southwest of the city.
“There will be no obstacles from the Russian military to leaving the civilian population,” Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said on Wednesday, according to Russia’s state news agency TASS.
This is the second time Russia has warned Kyiv residents to leave the city, with Konashenkov insisting on Monday that the route to Vasilkov was “open and safe”, despite reports of Russian missile strikes on the city. The following image shows damage allegedly caused by Russian missile strikes on Vasilkov.
Five-story hostel in Vasilkov, Kiev region, northern Ukraine, shows the damage caused by Russian missiles.
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The convoy
As many Kyiv residents take refuge in underground stations and bunkers, the decision on whether to stay or leave – and risk injury and death in the process of leaving – has become acute this week, especially with growing fears that Russia could be ready to launch a full-scale attack on the city.
Fears have risen after satellite images surfaced earlier this week showing a huge convoy of Russian military vehicles, estimated at about 40 miles, making its way slowly to the capital.
The following satellite image was taken by the American company Maxar Technologies on Monday. It appears to show a convoy of Russian armored tanks and trucks stretching from Pibirsk, north of Kyiv, to Antonov Airport (also known as Hostomel Airport, the site of last week’s fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces) on the northwestern outskirts of Kiev. the Ukrainian capital.
Satellite images from Maxar Technologies, taken on February 28, appear to show a convoy of Russian vehicles advancing toward the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. The company says these images show the northern end of the convoy with logistics and supply vehicles. Satellite image (c) 2022 Maxar Technologies.
Maxar Technologies | Getty Images
However, the convoy was reportedly detained on its way to Kyiv amid unconfirmed reports of food and fuel shortages.
Asked about the convoy’s progress and position at a briefing on Wednesday, Defense Secretary John Kirby said “we still appreciate that this convoy, but more broadly the northern Russian pressure down south on Kyiv, remains.” at a standstill. “
“According to our best estimates, we have not made significant geographical progress in the last 24 to 36 hours,” he added.
The US defense official said there were several reasons for the delay: “First, we believe that the Russians are actually deliberately regrouping and re-evaluating the progress they have made and how to make up for lost time. Secondly, we believe that they have faced logistical and resilient challenges, challenges that we do not believe they have fully anticipated. “
Finally, he said, Russian forces have experienced “resistance from the Ukrainians” with indications – although the United States cannot verify them completely independently – that “the Ukrainians have in fact tried to slow down this convoy.”
The British Ministry of Defense confirmed the United States’ assessment of the convoy on Thursday, releasing an intelligence update saying “the bulk of the large Russian column … remains more than 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the center.” of the city, amused by hard Ukrainian resistance, mechanical damage and congestion. “
The ministry also believes that “the column has made little noticeable progress in more than three days.”
Jack Watling, a research fellow in land warfare and military science at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London, said there were a number of logistical challenges facing the convoy.
“When you have so many vehicles on a very small number of roads, you have to move fuel and food and large quantities of them that way, so you have to constantly move the vehicles aside, and then at the other end you have to work who will go and what he will do, “he said.
“So I think the Russians are trying to line up, so to speak, and shake off the other side and prepare for what they want to do with Kyiv,” he told BBC Today. Its on Thursday.
Difficult situation
Entrance to a building after the shelling of Constitution Square by Russian forces in Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, on March 2, 2022.
Sergey Bobok Afp | Getty Images
The British Ministry of Defense said on Thursday that despite heavy Russian shelling, the cities of Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol are still in Ukrainian hands.
Some forces have entered the southern city of Kherson, the defense ministry said, but “the military situation remains unclear”.
RUSI’s Watling said we are witnessing a shift from the “Ukrainian military war to the mayors’ war”, with several Ukrainian city officials providing detailed accounts of Russian attacks on their cities and their attempts at resistance.
“Essentially, a number of cities have been surrounded at this time, and the longer they last, the fewer troops the Russians will need to surround Kyiv. And besides, the longer Kyiv can continue to attack and upset those Russian forces that are trying to bypass the city… If it is not surrounded, then it can last longer, “he said in the program” Today “on Bi BBC.
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have already chosen to flee to the West for security, and the United Nations predicts that the number of displaced people will grow.
On Thursday, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in a statement that “hour by hour, minute by minute, more people are fleeing the horrific reality of violence. Countless have been displaced inside the country. And unless there is an immediate end to the conflict, millions more are likely to be forced to flee Ukraine. “
Western countries have imposed massive sanctions on the Russian economy and key figures close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, leading to a sharp fall in the ruble. The country, which is banned from international cultural and sports competitions, seems increasingly isolated on the world stage.
However, there are calls for the West to do more in times of need for Ukraine. Former Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė told CNBC on Thursday that “the West seems to be afraid of Russia.”