Ukrainian resistance ‘tying down’ Russian troops in Mariupol
As Russia prepares for a renewed offensive operation in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian resistance is currently “tying down” Russian troops in Mariupol, according to the British defense ministry.
In an intelligence update published Thursday, it said “the combination of widespread missile and artillery strikes and efforts to concentrate forces for an offensive represents a reversion to traditional Russian military doctrine.”
Urban centers have faced indiscriminate attacks from Russia, it said, adding that the eastern towns of Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka are likely to be targets of “similar levels of violence.”
Nine humanitarian corridors to open in Ukraine
Nine humanitarian corridors will open in Ukraine on Thursday after a day of closure, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has announced.
In a Telegram post, she said that residents of the encircled city of Mariupol and Berdyansk will be able to evacuate to Zaphorizhzhia via their own transport. Five more routes to the eastern city of Bakhmut in Donetsk will be available.
“Humanitarian corridors in Luhansk region will operate provided that the shelling by the occupying forces ceases,” she said.
No corridors were opened on Wednesday as Vereshchuk said the Russian military had blocked evacuation buses in Zaphorizhzhia and violated a cease-fire in the eastern region of Luhansk.
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly accused Russia of hindering humanitarian efforts, especially out of Mariupol, where Russian forces have circled thousands of residents who remain without access to food, water, electricity and other essentials.
Ukraine says it damaged Russian warship in the Black Sea
Ukrainian officials said their forces have damaged a Russian warship in the Black Sea with cruise missiles.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said the ship, Moskva, was the same one that demanded the surrender of Ukrainian forces on Snake Island early on in the February invasion.
Russia’s defense ministry said the warship had been “seriously damaged,” but blamed the incident on a fire, according to the Russian state news agency Tass. NBC News has been unable to verify what happened on the ship.
Russia has been cracking down on the media, limiting what can be said under the threat of imprisonment.
The governor of the Odesa region in Ukraine, Maksym Marchenko, said on Telegram that Neptune missiles, which are a type of cruise missile, caused serious damage to the warship.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
