As Ukrainian officials anticipate critical hours ahead, the Ukrainian State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection announced today, Monday, that explosions were heard this morning in the capital Kyiv and in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, the country's second most important city. They added in a brief statement on Telegram that Kyiv experienced a period of calm for a few hours on the fifth day of Russian attacks before the explosions were heard.
Additionally, they noted that a residential building in the northern city of Chernihiv caught fire after being struck by a missile. The Ukrainian Ground Forces Command also announced on Facebook that the city of Zhytomyr in the north faced missile attacks during the night.
On the outskirts of Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed last night that Russian forces were now at the city's threshold. He warned that there are no plans to evacuate civilians if the Russians manage to take control of Kyiv, as all routes are blocked. He also cautioned in an interview with the Associated Press about the ability to replenish dwindling food and medicine supplies, stating that the capital is on the brink of a humanitarian disaster, despite its defenses holding out.
Regarding Kharkiv, the city experienced street fighting yesterday after Russian tanks entered the area. However, its governor later announced that Ukrainian forces had completely regained control. Nevertheless, clashes soon resumed, according to a correspondent for Al Arabiya/Al Hadath.
It is worth noting that Ukraine has been facing a Russian military operation since February 24, following Russian President Vladimir Putin's recognition of the independence of the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk and the subsequent entrance of his troops under the pretext of "peacekeeping" and protecting Russian-speaking individuals, as declared by Moscow. However, this Russian action quickly escalated dramatically into a military operation that was condemned by most Western countries, particularly the European Union and the United States, which imposed harsh sanctions on Moscow, several banks, and many wealthy individuals close to the Kremlin, including Putin himself and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The most severe sanctions included disconnecting the country from the global SWIFT system, as announced by the European Commission yesterday.
The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has been ongoing for several years, igniting in 2014 when Moscow seized and annexed Crimea, accusing Kyiv of hostility and alignment with the West, especially after Kyiv began seeking NATO membership, a request that Russia opposes, demanding a halt to NATO's expansion in Eastern Europe.
