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Russian forces besieged two Ukrainian seaports and continued to bomb the country’s two largest cities, Kharkiv and Kyiv, while Russia and Ukraine fought for an eighth day.
Russia took control of the Black Sea shipyard Kherson on Wednesday, and Russian troops were spotted downtown on Thursday.
“We have no Ukrainian forces in the city, there are only civilians and people who want to LIVE,” Kherson Mayor Igor Kolikhaev said in a statement later posted on Facebook.
TOPSHOT – Civilians pass by Ukrainians who use an underground metro station as a bomb shelter in Kyiv on March 2, 2022 – On the seventh day of the fighting in Ukraine, Russia takes control on March 2, 2022 over the southern port city of Kherson, ul. in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, and Kyiv is preparing for a dangerous Russian attack. (Photo by Aris Messinis / STF / AFP) (Photo by ARIS MESSINIS / STF / AFP via Getty Images)
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Up to 300 people may have been killed when the Russians entered the city.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said fighting in the city was continuing, and a US defense official also disputed Russia’s claim.
“Our view is that Kherson is a highly contested city,” the anonymous spokesman told the Associated Press.
Another port city, Mariupol, is under constant attack, according to the mayor.
Ukrainian troops ride in a military vehicle in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, February 24, 2022. Russian troops launched their expected attack on Ukraine on Thursday, while President Vladimir Putin rejected international condemnation and sanctions, warning other countries that any attempt to intervene would led to “consequences you have never seen.” (AP Photo / Sergei Grits) (RuAP Photo / Sergei Grits)
“Today we cannot even take the wounded from the streets, from houses and apartments, because the shelling does not stop,” said Mariupol Mayor Vadim Boychenko, according to Interfax.
Boychenko said there were mass casualties in the city on Wednesday as he came under intense shelling by Russian forces.
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As the fighting continues, the number of people fleeing Ukraine exceeded 1 million on Thursday, according to the UN refugee agency. The number marks the fastest displacement of refugees this century.
In Kyiv, explosions shook the Ukrainian capital early Thursday morning. Zelenski’s office attributes a rocket blast near the capital’s southern railway station.
“Russian terrorists have launched an air strike on Kyiv’s Southern Railway Station, where thousands of Ukrainian women and children are being evacuated,” the national railway company said.
The huge Russian convoy, which stopped outside Kyiv earlier this week, has meanwhile made “little noticeable progress in more than three days”, according to the British Ministry of Defense.
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In Kharkov, Russian troops continue to attack Ukraine’s second largest city, including by air. Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov said the city is still strong.
“The city is united and we will stand firm,” Terekhov told the BBC.
View shows the area near the National University after the shelling in Kharkov, Ukraine, in this photo published on March 2, 2022 (Press Service of the Ukrainian State Emergency Service / Distribution)
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine registered 752 civilian casualties from the start of the invasion until midnight on March 1st.
The fighting comes as a Western intelligence report Wednesday shows that Chinese officials had at least some information about Russia’s plan to invade Ukraine. The report details that Chinese officials have called on Russia to postpone the invasion of Ukraine until after the Beijing Olympics.
The Olympic Games ended on February 20, and Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24. China has denied the report.
BEIJING, CHINA – FEBRUARY 4, 2022: Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping pose during a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guest House. Alexei Druzhinin / Press and Information Bureau of the Russian President / TASS (Photo by Alexei DruzhininTASS via Getty Images) (Photo by Alexei Druzhinin TASS via Getty Images)
“These allegations are baseless speculation and are intended to shift the blame and denigrate China,” a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington told the New York Times.
Zelensky expressed a positive tone on Thursday morning, praising Ukraine’s resistance to Russia.
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“We are a nation that destroyed the enemy’s plans in one week,” he said. “They will not have peace here. They will have no food. They will not have a single quiet moment here.”
“These are not superpower warriors,” he said. “These are confused children who have been used.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.