KYIV: Russia warned Kyiv residents to flee their homes on Tuesday and rained rockets down on Kharkiv, as Russian commanders who have failed to achieve a quick victory shifted their tactics to intensify the bombardment of Ukrainian cities.
With an armoured column miles long bearing down on the capital, Russia’s defence ministry said it was planning to strike targets in Kyiv used by Ukraine’s security service. Residents near such sites should evacuate their homes, it warned, while giving no information about where in the city of 3 million people those targets were located.
Rocket strikes on Kharkiv killed at least 10 people and wounded 35, Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said. Similar strikes had killed and wounded dozens in the city the previous day.
“The rubble is being cleared and there will be even more victims and wounded,” he said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the artillery barrages on Kharkiv amounted to state terrorism.
Nearly a week since Russian troops poured over the border, they have failed to capture a single major Ukrainian city after running into far fiercer resistance than they expected.
“The Russian army is an artillery army primarily and it looks like they are shifting into war-fighting mode,” said Nick Reynolds, a land warfare analyst at RUSI in London.
“The failure of the Russians to achieve their goals quickly has galvanised Ukraine resistance to them. Really what we are seeing now is the Russian military shifting gears.”
Russia still has more forces to throw into the fight even though President Vladimir Putin faces worldwide condemnation and international sanctions.
