Conflict

After Kyiv, Russian troops enter Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv

The wreckage of war on the road in Ukraine capital Kyiv as the country’s military convoy including an air defense missile system was hit by a Russian missile strike on February 26, 2022. The convoy was heading to Kyiv to help defend the city. [Photo: Twitter/ Orla Guerin]

On day fourth of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian troops have entered Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv and fighting was under way, the head of the regional administration said on Sunday.

Earlier, the Russian military attacked Ukraine’s capital Kyiv. The advance party of Russia’s invasion force had left a trail of damage as clashes erupted were reported in Kyiv for the first time on February 25.

“The Russian enemy’s light vehicles broke into the city of Kharkiv,” Oleg Sinegubov said in a Facebook post, calling on residents not to leave shelters. “The Ukrainian armed forces are eliminating the enemy.”

While fighting raged in Kharkiv, the city administration in Kyiv, 400 km to the west, said the capital remained completely under the control of Ukrainian forces despite clashes with “sabotage groups”.

Videos posted on Ukrainian media and social networks showed Russian vehicles moving across Kharkiv and a light vehicle burning on the street.

Maria Avdeeva, the Kharkiv-based research director at the European Expert Association, told Al Jazeera heavy shelling started late on Saturday and continued through the night and into the morning.

“I’ve even heard the [sound] of guns on the streets,” the report quoted her as saying on Sunday morning.

“What we know now is that Russia is entering the city in small groups, on lighter military vehicles, and they are destroyed by the Ukrainian military. Some of the groups were already destroyed, they tried to get close to the city centre and we see many images of the destroyed Russian military vehicles,” Avdeeva was quoted further saying.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said it has warned Ukraine that Russia’s military operation would be suspended during any potential talks, reported news agency Reuters, quoting local reports.

Russia earlier said its delegation was ready to meet Ukrainian officials in the Belarusian city of Gomel, a location Kyiv rejected as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Minsk itself was complicit in the Russian invasion.

 

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