On Tuesday, the Russian military operation in Ukraine entered its sixth day. Recent developments indicate new Russian troop movements toward Kyiv alongside ongoing political efforts to impose more sanctions on Russia to stop the war. Videos coming from Ukraine showed rocket attacks in the vicinity of Kyiv, while the Russian army arrived in the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine, near the Crimea peninsula controlled by Moscow, establishing checkpoints at its outskirts, as announced by the mayor. Concurrently, a regional governor reported on Facebook that more than 70 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in a Russian bombing in the town of Okhtyrka. Oleg Synegubov, head of the Kharkiv region, stated that Russian rocket attacks hit the center of Ukraine's second-largest city, affecting residential areas and an administrative building.
While Ukraine reported dozens of civilian casualties, separatists in Donetsk reported Ukrainian shelling targeting civilians and vital facilities in the Donbas region. The official Ukrainian news agency reported Russian shelling of a women's clinic in Kyiv. The Ukrainian army confirmed that Russia launched 113 Iskander missiles at the country.
In Washington, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy mentioned after a classified briefing, "The battle in Ukraine will be bloody and long," while Republican Senator Graham called for sanctions on the Russian oil sector. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki emphasized that the United States does not foresee a nuclear war on the horizon, stressing that it would not raise the alert status.
Meanwhile, the Interfax news agency quoted the Russian Eastern Military District on Tuesday saying that Russian forces stationed in the far east of the country would conduct drills in the Astrakhan region, located on the border between the European and Asian parts of Russia. The command stated that the troops would train in long-distance movements among other tasks.
In Moscow, according to the Russian news agency TASS, the Defense Ministry proposed granting "veteran" privileges to military personnel participating in the special Russian operation in Ukraine. A bill submitted to the parliament stated that "the estimated budget expenses for these purposes in 2022 will exceed 5 billion rubles."
Satellite images captured a Russian military convoy north of Ukraine's capital Kyiv, measuring over 60 kilometers in length. Maxar Technologies stated that satellites identified the military convoy 64 kilometers north of Kyiv, along with another convoy. Additionally, the deployment of helicopter units comprising ground attack forces was observed south of Belarus, less than 32 km north of the Ukrainian border.
Furthermore, circulated videos showed what is believed to be Chechen forces moving toward Kyiv. The Chechen president confirmed on Tuesday that two of his soldiers were killed in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that it is time to consider establishing a no-fly zone over Russian planes and helicopters in response to their bombing of Kharkiv city. Zelensky also called for banning Russia from all ports and airports worldwide, noting that "Russian forces have carried out 56 rocket attacks in five days and committed war crimes, and should not be a permanent member of the Security Council."
