“The occupiers deliberately bombed an ICRC building in Mariupol,” wrote Lyudmyla Denisova, human rights commissioner in the Ukrainian parliament. “Enemy planes and artillery fired at a building marked with a red cross on a white background, indicating the presence of casualties or civilian or humanitarian cargo,” the statement said. There is still no reliable information on whether people were killed or injured in the attack.
In Chernihiv, civilian infrastructure was destroyed and the city was still without water and electricity, Tschaus explained on the Telegram online service. “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.
Sirens were also heard several times during the night in and around Kiev. “In the last 24 hours, the Russians bombed 30 times inhabited areas and civilian infrastructure in the Kiev region,” said the region’s governor, Oleksandr Pavlyuk. The suburb of Irpin, which Ukrainian sources say was “liberated” by Russian troops on Monday night, was the hardest hit.
According to the mayor of Irpin, at least 200 people have been killed there since the beginning of the war. “I think about 200 or 300 people unfortunately died,” Oleksandr Markushin told reporters on Wednesday. During the fiercest fighting for the city northwest of the Ukrainian capital, the dead were “simply buried in gardens or parks”.
In any case, the Ukrainian general staff does not expect a large-scale withdrawal of Russian troops from areas close to Kiev. Because of their losses, the enemy “temporarily gave up the objective of blockading Kiev,” the general staff said on Wednesday afternoon. Instead, Russian troops regrouped and focused on attacks in eastern and southern Ukraine. The partial withdrawal of Russian units from the city of Brovary, which is east of the Kiev metropolis, has been confirmed. A Defense Ministry spokesman later added that Russian forces continued to try to capture Mariupol and other cities. There is no sign of a major withdrawal of Russian troops from the areas around Kiev or Chernihiv.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed a “regrouping” of its troops near Kiev and Chernihiv. “A planned redeployment of troops is taking place in the Kiev and Chernihiv regions,” ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov in Moscow said late on Wednesday. Russian soldiers would have fulfilled their main tasks there. The purpose of the troop transfer is “above all, the completion of the operation to completely liberate Donbass”.
After talks with Ukraine, Russia pledged on Tuesday to significantly reduce its combat operations near Kiev and Chernihiv. The Ukrainian military leadership then spoke of a regroupment. The “so-called troop withdrawal” is yet another rotation of units aimed at deceiving the Ukrainian military leadership, the Ukrainian General Staff said in the evening. It is also intended to paint the wrong picture, that the plan to encircle Kiev is being abandoned.
The Russian Defense Ministry has once again said that the “first stage” of the “special military operation” – as Moscow calls the war against the neighboring country – has been successfully completed. Russian troops near Kiev and Chernihiv have forced the Ukrainian army to pool its funds and resources in recent weeks, Konashenkov said.
There are also heavy attacks in the eastern Ukrainian 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.
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,” Serhiy Gaidai wrote 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.”
At least 15 dead were reported after the Russian rocket hit the regional administration in Mykolayiv, in southern Ukraine. Rescue teams initially found three dead, but the death toll rose to 15 on Wednesday. 34 people were injured, said the region’s governor, Vitaly Kim. The bullet opened a hole in the administration building on Tuesday. Kim’s office was also destroyed, he said, but he was not there. Mykolaiv blocked the way to the important port city of Odessa for Russian troops attacking from the south.