Status: 03/27/2022 11:51
The Russian army is said to have destroyed a fuel depot near the Ukrainian city of Lviv with rockets. A nuclear research facility near Kharkiv was attacked. Moscow and Kiev agreed on more escape corridors for today.
According to the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia attacked military targets in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv with cruise missiles. They were used to target a facility in the city that repairs anti-aircraft systems, radar stations and tank sights, the statement said.
“The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue offensive actions within the framework of the special military operation,” the ministry said, referring to the official Russian name of the invasion. Russia used long-range sea-launched missiles to destroy an arsenal of S-300 missiles and BUK anti-aircraft missile systems near Kiev, he said. Russian forces also destroyed several drones.
Renewed attacks in many parts of Ukraine
Dirk Lipski, ARD Warsaw, Daily News at 12pm, 27 March 2022
Destroyed fuel tank
In addition, a tank farm in Lviv used by the Ukrainian armed forces was attacked with long-range missiles and destroyed on Saturday. Ukrainian military personnel in the west of the country and near Kiev were refueled from the fuel depot, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. According to Ukrainian sources, at least five people were injured.
After the Russian attacks, a man was arrested in Lviv on suspicion of espionage. The suspect filmed a missile heading towards the target and hitting it, said the governor of the region, Maxym Kosytskyj. In addition, police discovered cell phone photos of checkpoints that had been sent to two Russian phone numbers.
Research reactor in Kharkiv under attack again
According to Ukrainian sources, a nuclear research facility in Kharkiv came under Russian fire again. Saturday’s damage to the physical-technical institute could not be examined at the moment because of the fighting, the state nuclear inspectorate said.
According to the information, the institute has a testing facility with a neutron source for research and production of radioisotopes for industry and medicine. According to Ukrainian information, it was damaged in a bombing almost two weeks ago and was cut off from power supply. The International Atomic Energy Agency said the facility contained only small amounts of radioactive material that was not highly enriched. This reduces the risk of radiation release in the event of damage.
conflicting parties as source
Information on the course of the war, bombing and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian parties to the conflict cannot be directly verified by an independent body in the current situation.
Slavutych probably under Russian control
According to Ukrainian sources, the Russian army also took control of the small town of Slavutych, where people from the Chernobyl nuclear ruins lived. As the military administration of the Kiev region reported on Telegram, Russian soldiers entered the city, occupied the city hospital and briefly arrested the mayor. Hours later, Mayor Yuri Fomichev was released. In the evening, he reported the deaths of three people.
In protest against the occupation, residents of Slavutych took to the streets and marched towards the hospital with a huge Ukrainian flag, regional authorities announced. The military administration released footage showing dozens of people gathered around a Ukrainian flag and chanting “Glory to Ukraine”. The Russian military fired warning shots and threw stun grenades at protesters.
Protesters in Slavutych. Image: via REUTERS
UK: Russia wants to encircle troops in the east
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said Russia continued its “large-scale armed aggression”. However, Ukrainian forces repelled seven attacks in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. They destroyed several tanks and armored vehicles. Information about the fighting in Ukraine cannot be independently verified.
According to the British Defense Ministry, Russian forces currently appear focused on encircling Ukrainian troops directly opposing the breakaway regions in the east of the country. They advanced from Kharkiv in the north and Mariupol in the south, the ministry said based on intelligence. “The battlefield in northern Ukraine remains largely static,” he said. Local Ukrainian counterattacks hampered Russia’s attempts to reorganize its forces.
However, Russian forces continued to fire on targets across Ukraine. They are dependent on missiles that can fire from Russian territory because the Ukrainian air defense continues to attack Russian warplanes. However, Russia’s missile supply is limited, so attackers must either resort to less accurate missiles or take greater risks for their air force.
Selenskyi demands more weapons deliveries
According to Ukrainian information, Ukraine and Russia agreed on two escape corridors for today to evacuate civilians from the front areas. It also means people with private cars can leave the particularly difficult southeastern port of Mariupol, says Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Wereschuk. Mariupol has been surrounded by Russian units and has been under heavy shelling for weeks. Ukraine and Russia have repeatedly accused each other of preventing the establishment of escape routes for civilians.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has again called on the international community to provide heavy weapons, including fighter jets and tanks. “We need more weapons to protect not only Ukraine but also other Eastern European countries that Russia has threatened to invade,” he appealed overnight. This became clear again during the meeting with US representatives in Poland on Saturday.
Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said after a meeting with US President Joe Biden in Poland that the US had “no objection” to the supply of fighter jets from Poland to Ukraine. “The ball is now in Poland’s court,” said Kuleba.
Ukraine – Airstrike on Lviv with reactions
Bernd Musch-Borowska, NDR currently Lviv, 27.3.2022 06:36