Ukraine’s front line in Kharkiv is holding on despite Russian bombing

Russian forces also tried to take over the city’s military hospital, local authorities said. However, the front line is being maintained and the city of 1.4 million remains under Ukrainian control, they said.

The attack on civilian areas shows how Moscow has moved towards a strategy of indiscriminate air strikes. His focus at the beginning of the war on military and strategic goals fell away as he tried to demoralize Ukraine’s population.

Kharkiv, whose population is predominantly Russian-speaking, appears to have borne the brunt of bombings that continued in Ukrainian cities on Wednesday. The northeastern city has stepped up strong resistance to the Russian invasion, although Putin has cited alleged discrimination against Russian-speakers in Ukraine as one of the reasons for the military campaign.

“The enemy fears direct contact with Ukrainian defenders. That is why it has resorted to the tactic of shelling peaceful Ukrainian cities from afar, “Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov said on Wednesday.

Mr Putin launched Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to overthrow the country’s elected government and end its unification with the West. However, Russian forces are battling fierce Ukrainian resistance and logistical problems, making slower progress than most military analysts had expected. Russian forces have faced a number of obstacles since entering Ukraine, including food and fuel shortages, according to a senior US defense official.

A millimeter column of Russian forces heading for Kyiv from the northwest has been largely stationary since Ukrainian forces struck the convoy two days ago near the city of Bucha. Mr Reznikov said that in recent days Ukraine had received and deployed a new batch of Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 armed drones, using them to target Russian columns from the air.

Ukraine was receiving critical supplies for its defense from Europe, Mr Reznikov said, adding: “We have become at the forefront of the free world.”

Russia has acquired part of its land in southern Ukraine in addition to its pressure in the northeast and northwest.

An air strike struck Kyiv’s iconic TV tower on Tuesday, killing five civilians and wounding five others, Ukraine’s state emergency service said. The strike also temporarily disabled the possibility of broadcasting on Ukraine’s central television channels, the Ukrainian communications agency said. The authority said it would include backup broadcasting equipment.

The TV tower was hit after Russia’s defense ministry said it would target Ukrainian intelligence and communications facilities in central Kyiv, which it said were being used for “information attacks” against Russia. Moscow has called on nearby residents to leave for their own safety. Western diplomats have taken the warning as a signal that a massive strike on Kyiv’s residential areas is imminent. Some of the other employees in the foreign embassies left the Ukrainian capital.

Mr Putin said his goal was to “denazify” Ukraine, falsely claiming that President Vladimir Zelensky, a Jew, owed money to US-led neo-Nazis.

“To want Putin to distort and manipulate the Holocaust to justify an illegal invasion of a sovereign democracy is disgusting,” said Nathan Sharansky, chairman of the Babin Yar Holocaust Memorial and former Donetsk-born Israeli deputy prime minister.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a Russian delegation was ready to resume talks on a ceasefire with Ukraine on Wednesday. The first round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Belarus on Monday, but did not yield immediate results. Initially, the two countries agreed to meet again in the coming days on the Ukrainian-Polish border. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kyiv was ready to participate, but did not know when.

In Kharkov, residents say there is no food in the city. The shops are almost closed. Some areas report water, heating and electricity outages.

“I have the impression that Russia wants to wipe the city off the face of the earth,” said Alexander Skorik, who owns a meat company based in a neighborhood in eastern Kharkov.

The city’s defense is led by the Ukrainian army, along with several volunteer militias, including nationalist groups and one made up of football fans.

“There are battles in the city. “Russian warplanes are constantly bombing residential areas,” said Georgi Tarasenko, a Kharkiv resident and volunteer fighter. “Russia is suffering heavy losses and does not want to fight the army, but civilians.

Andriy Ivanov, a Kharkiv resident and city councilor who helps evacuate children, women and the elderly, said many people are trying to leave the city by train and car, mostly heading to cities that have had -a few battles, like the Dnieper to the south.

The mayor of Konotop, a northern Ukrainian city about halfway between Kharkov and Kyiv that has survived heavy fighting, told residents that an ultimatum had been issued by Russian forces to surrender or face artillery fire. Video was shot by Mayor Artem Semenikhin, who asked the crowd: “Who is for battle?”

“Of course,” a man shouted, after which the rest of the crowd of dozens shouted in agreement.

“Let’s evacuate the women and children and then fight,” said another man.

Hundreds of residents of the southern city of Enerhodar, home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, blocked the road to the city as Russian troops approached.

A video posted online by the city’s mayor shows hundreds of people, many waving Ukrainian flags gathered behind several barricades made of sandbags, trucks and wrecked cars.

A video of a strike that struck a residential neighborhood on Tuesday shows two civilians killed, including one with a crooked face and a tree branch. Several people wandered dizzy among the ruins and burning buildings.

Mr Skorik said his area was hit by a rocket attack on Tuesday that destroyed a supermarket. His company does not work, but he empties his meat warehouses, distributes them on the streets and tries to deliver them to hospitals and orphanages.

“The whole city came together to help each other,” said the 46-year-old. “The soldiers are protecting us. We will fight to the end. Nobody will take Kharkiv.

President Biden spoke with Mr Zelenski for more than 30 minutes on Tuesday, the White House said. The two leaders discussed US and allied aid to Ukraine and the escalation of Russia’s attacks on targets used by civilians, the White House said.

“He thought he could enter Ukraine and the world would turn upside down,” Mr Biden said in his address on the state of the Union. “Instead, he encountered a wall of power he had never imagined. He met with the Ukrainian people. “

-An M. Simmons from Moscow contributed to this article.

Write to Yaroslav Trofimov at [email protected] and James Marson at [email protected]