“Do we believe the announcement? Of course not,” the governor of Chernihiv said after negotiations in Turkey. The city was bombed all night. Heavy attacks were also reported in eastern Ukraine.
Contrary to the announced reduction in military activities in northern Ukraine, the city of Chernihiv continued to be attacked by Russian forces overnight, according to Ukrainian sources. “Chernihiv was bombed all night,” Governor Vyacheslav Chaus said on the Telegram online service on Wednesday. The attacks were carried out with artillery and aircraft. Heavy attacks were also reported in eastern Ukraine.
In Chernihiv, civilian infrastructure was destroyed and the city was still without water and electricity, Tschaus explained. “Do we believe the announcement? Of course not,” wrote Tschaus, referring to the Russian statements. “The enemy shows the ‘reduced activities’ in the Chernihiv region with air strikes in Nizhyn and all night in (city of) Chernihiv.” Chernihiv and the region of the same name are located northeast of the capital Kiev.
In Kiev, the night was relatively calm. Outside the city, however, shelling could be heard, Deputy Mayor Mykola Poworosnyk said. However, the city itself was not bombed.
Donetsk under fire
However, there are heavy attacks in the eastern Ukraine region of Donetsk. Almost every town along the demarcation line is under attack, Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Ukrainian television. The situation could worsen as Russian troops focus on attacks in the region. The demarcation line separates areas under Ukrainian control from the territory of pro-Russian separatists.
According to Russian information, two ammunition depots in Donetsk were destroyed with surface-to-ground missiles. The Ukrainian army has stored ammunition for its rocket artillery in the town of Kamianka, Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said. A total of 64 military objects in Ukraine were destroyed in 24 hours. Ukraine also lost three S-300 and Buk anti-aircraft systems, Konashenkov said. Information about the fight is not independently verifiable.
Fuel depots in the west, residential areas in Luhansk bombed
In addition, Russian missiles fired from planes hit fuel depots near Starokostiantyniv and Khmelnitsky in western Ukraine. This coincides with Ukrainian reports of rocket attacks in the region.
The situation in the Luhansk region, in the east of the country, is similar: the governor there reported heavy artillery shelling on residential areas in the city of Lysychansk. “Some skyscrapers were damaged,” writes Serhij Gaidai on Telegram. We are in the process of confirming information about the victims. “Many buildings have collapsed. Rescue teams are trying to save those who are still alive.”
Are troops moving east?
Meanwhile, Russia is apparently also moving troops from the north of the country to the east in order to encircle Ukrainian troops. But some Russian soldiers remained close to the capital, Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on TV. That should prevent Ukraine from redeploying troops to the east.
Ukraine also fears that the ammunition could explode at the decommissioned nuclear power plant in Chernobyl. That is why Russian troops must withdraw from there, demanded Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Wereshchuk.
(APA/Reuters/AFP)