Russian state media, citing defense officials, reported that Moscow’s troops controlled Kherson, a vital port in southern Ukraine where the Dnieper River flows into the Black Sea. The mayor of Kherson confirmed that Russian tanks and troops were in the city, but said he was still in Ukrainian hands as he made a public call for a humanitarian corridor to evacuate the wounded and dead. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday via WhatsApp that battles are currently being fought and that “the city is not completely conquered.”
Russia’s attack on Kherson is part of efforts to pave the way for an offensive on Odessa, Ukraine’s main prize on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast. But “Russian operations in the south do not appear to pose an immediate threat to Odessa within the next 24 hours,” according to an assessment by the Institute for War Research released on Tuesday.
Seven days after Russia invaded Ukraine, Moscow’s offensive, overwhelmed by logistical challenges and a furious Ukrainian response, has not progressed as fast as some predicted, leaving major cities, including Kyiv, the capital, in the hands of the Ukrainian government. But the picture of the battlefield was fluid on Wednesday. Russia has continued to focus on what human rights groups warn of is a deadly siege tactic that Moscow has used in other military zones, including Syria, and Ukrainian authorities have said they have begun receiving consignments of promised weapons from allied countries. they can stop Russia’s plans.
The United Nations has registered the deaths of more than 130 civilians, including 13 children, since the start of fighting last week, most of them by shelling and rocket fire. The actual casualties are likely to be much higher, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said.
The flow of weapons to Ukraine increased this week when Germany opened its stockpiles and Australia said it would provide Kyiv with about $ 70 million in “deadly military aid”, including missiles and unspecified weapons. On Wednesday, Ukraine announced it had received a shipment of Turkish drones it had used in recent days to damage upcoming Russian armored columns. Turkey, which is trying to maintain stable relations with both Russia and Ukraine, did not comment on the shipment.
Ukrainian authorities across the country have reported intensifying Russian shelling, including against civilian areas. In Mariupol, southern Ukraine, the city council accused Russia of shelling houses, hospitals and a hostel for migrants. The city – a strategic location that could allow Russia to build a land bridge from southern Russia, through Ukraine, to Moscow-controlled Crimea – was still under Ukrainian control on Wednesday, the city council said.
Kharkiv suffered another night of air strikes with videos on social media that could not be verified immediately, which allegedly show explosions at regional police headquarters and in residential areas. Russian paratroopers have landed and engaged Ukrainians in a shootout at a medical center, a local official said.
A long column of Russian troops and tanks north of Kyiv, stretching for tens of miles, remained frozen and remained “days, not hours” behind schedule as Russia switched to siege tactics, said British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace. Speaking in televised interviews Wednesday morning, Wallace said the approaching convoy had been hit by supply chain challenges, low morale and Ukrainian resistance.
“When it takes more time for an army on the move to do things, your supply chain is stretched. If they give you enough rations for two days and take you six, you suddenly have a problem. And I think what we’ve seen is that a lot of these problems are starting to come up, “he told Sky News. Ukrainians, he said, are also “implementing a very smart plan. We have seen footage, we can not check, but we have seen footage of Ukrainians using UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] to attack convoys with petrol trains, to chase logistics lines – we’ve seen blown lines – all that you and I think of when it comes to resistance.
Others said it was too early to say how long the Russian ground offensive would be delayed.
Russian forces “are receiving the necessary supplies and reinforcements that can facilitate much faster and more efficient operations over the next 24-72 hours,” according to an assessment by the Institute for War Research. However, Russia’s efforts around Kyiv, he added, “remain poorly organized, with elements from many different battalions combined into what appear to be ad hoc groups instead of a permanent headquarters for a regiment or brigade.”
“Russia’s logistical and operational failures around Kyiv will be difficult to rectify quickly and are likely to continue to cause friction and reduce the effectiveness of Russian operations, even when supply problems are addressed and reinforcements enter the fight. It is still too early to assess the likely effective combat power that the added Russian troops will bring.