The Ukrainian capital is empty.
Half of the population of the agglomeration of Kiev would have fled since the beginning of the Russian invasion, affirmed its mayor, Vitali Klitschko.
"According to our information, today, a little less than two million inhabitants are there
," he said.
Greater Kiev had 3.5 million inhabitants before the start of the conflict with Russia.
However, he does not envisage surrender, on the contrary.
“Kiev has turned into a fortress.
Every street, every building, every checkpoint has been fortified.”
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The evacuation of civilians from combat zones is becoming an increasingly acute problem as the number of cities besieged or deprived of a safe exit increases.
Thursday, efforts continued to secure humanitarian corridors and allow residents to take shelter, without it being possible to know if the evacuations were actually taking place.
A martyr city
Thus Wednesday few civilians finally managed to flee, the Ukrainian authorities accusing Russia of obstacles.
Seven corridors have been defined, one of which is to serve the 400,000 people still stuck in Mariupol.
The port on the Sea of Azov, deprived of water, heating and more and more food, became a martyr city.
The aerial bombardment on Wednesday of the pediatric hospital and its maternity hospital, which killed four people, including a little girl, has become the symbol of this, raising worldwide indignation.
Ukrainian authorities said on Telegram on Thursday that
from the start of the Russian invasion to March 10 inclusive, 71 children were killed and more than 100 injured.
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In the cities passed under Russian control, the inhabitants are not resigned.
Demonstrations against the occupier followed one another, notably in Kherson, where 400 arrests were reported.
Videos on Thursday also showed widespread protests by civilians, Ukrainian flag in hand, in the nearby town of Melitopol.
Kiev turned into a fortress
Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kyiv
During an interview with his government, Vladimir Putin assured that Western sanctions against Russia were illegitimate but that Russia would calmly solve this problem.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was more annoyed, deeming
arms deliveries to Ukraine
"dangerous" .
“These countries create a colossal danger, including for themselves.”
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War in Ukraine: why the Russian offensive is not going as planned
After long procrastinating, London decided on sanctions against seven rich and influential Russians close to the Kremlin, including the founder of the aluminum giant Rusal, Oleg Deripaska, the general manager of the Russian oil giant Rosneft, Igor Sechin, the president of the VTB bank - the second largest bank in Russia -, Andrei Kostin and Roman Abramovich.
The latter, aged 55, is now facing a freeze on his assets, a ban on transactions with British individuals and companies and a travel ban.
The sale of the Chelsea club, which he has owned since 2003, which he announced last week, citing
"the current situation",
is on hold.
The British government has said it is
“very concerned”
about the potential use of chemical weapons by Russia in Ukraine.
“It would be a serious error which would be added to the serious errors already made by Putin”
, hammered Liz Truss, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
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