Who controls what?
Kherson: The mayor of Kherson, Igor Kolykhaev, said on Wednesday that Russian soldiers were in the city and came to the city administration building. He said he asked them not to shoot civilians and to allow them to gather up the bodies from the streets.
Kherson, a city of 300,000, is strategically located on the banks of the Dnieper River near where it flows into the Black Sea. If Russian troops take the city, they could unblock a water canal and restore water supplies to the Crimean Peninsula.
The battle in the Kherson region began last Thursday, the first day of the invasion, and by the next day Russian forces were able to take a bridge that connects the city with the western bank.
Kharkiv: The invading forces fired rockets into the centre of the country’s second largest city on the sixth day of aggression. Kharkiv, a largely Russian-speaking city near the Russian border, has a population of around 1.4 million. It has been a target for Russian forces since President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine last Thursday.
Kyiv: A massive Russian armoured column bore down on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv on Tuesday. The Russian troops have encircled the capital city and are continuing its bombardment. The city has been cut off from food, water and other basic supplies.
Chernihiv and Mariupol: Russian forces have surrounded and bombarded Mariupol. However, according to British military intelligence both remain under Ukraine’s control.
Melitopol: Russian forces captured Melitopol on Friday.
Russia said it would press forward with its military advances in Ukraine.
Russia’s week-long invasion was denounced by the United Nations in a historic vote and dozens of countries referred Moscow to be probed for potential war crimes.
(With inputs from news wires Reuters and AP)
