Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entered its sixth day on Tuesday, with a huge convoy of Russian tanks and armored vehicles on a road to the capital, Kyiv, and fighting intensifying there and in other big cities.
Russia shelled several key sites in Kyiv and in the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, killing at least 11 people and wounding dozens of others, Ukrainian officials said. Among the sites hit were Kyiv’s main TV tower and holocaust memorial.
Although Ukrainian forces still control Kharkiv and the coastal cities of Kherson and Mariupol, all three are encircled, according to the U.K. Ministry of Defense.
Here are key things to know about the conflict.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN UKRAINE’S MAJOR CITIES?
Russian shelling struck central Kharkiv’s Freedom Square just after sunrise Tuesday, badly damaging a regional administration building and other structures, and killing at least six people and wounding dozens of others, Ukrainian officials said.
It was the first time the Russian military hit the center of the city of 1.5 million people, though shells have been hitting residential neighborhoods for days.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blamed a Russian missile and called the attack a war crime: “It’s frank, undisguised terror. … Nobody will forgive. Nobody will forget.”
Hours later, Russian shelling struck Kyiv’s main TV tower and holocaust memorial, killing five people and injuring five others, according to Ukrainian officials. The blast knocked TV broadcasts off the air for a short time.
WHERE IS THAT MASSIVE RUSSIAN CONVOY?
The Russian military convoy threatening Kyiv and its nearly 3 million residents is far bigger than initially thought, with satellite images showing it occupying much of a 40-mile stretch of road north of the capital.
The convoy was no more than 17 miles from the city center on Monday, according to satellite imagery from the Maxar company.
WHAT’S THE BATTLE LIKE IN UKRAINE’S SOUTHERN FRONT?
Kyiv’s outgunned but determined troops have slowed Russia’s advance and held onto the capital and other key cities. The overall death toll from the fighting remains unclear, but the attacks have taken a toll.
Russian strikes on Mariupol, a key southern port on the Azov Sea, seriously wounded several people. Separatist forces in Donetsk said they have established two corridors for the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol, which suggests that a large attack on the city could be imminent.
Russian forces have blocked the port city of Kherson, according to Ukrainian officials. And Russian artillery hit a military base in Okhtyrka over the weekend, killing more than 70 Ukrainian soldiers, the head of the region wrote on Telegram.
U.N. humanitarian coordinator Martin Griffiths said Tuesday that shelling and bombing have damaged pipes, electricity lines and basic services in Ukraine, and that hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian families are without drinking water.
