March 1 (UPI) — Russian forces kept up the shelling on Tuesday against civilian areas of Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, as a long line of military vehicles moved closer to the capital Kyiv on the sixth day of Moscow’s military campaign.
Capturing the city of 1.5 million people is strategically important to Russia, experts say, and troops kept up a sustained attack on the city, which is located about 250 miles east of Kyiv.
For days, Russian forces have made slow progress toward the Ukrainian capital while shelling cities and firing missiles into strategic areas populated by thousands of civilians. On Tuesday a convoy of military vehicles about 40 miles long continued its march toward the capital.
Russia’s army heightened its shelling of major Ukrainian cities early Tuesday despite crippling sanctions from the United States and Western allies that have brought tumult to the Russian economy.
U.S. military officials are concerned that Russian President Vladimir Putin could escalate the assault after he and his country were met with Ukrainian resistance that was perhaps stronger than they anticipated. The Ukrainian resistance, which includes armed citizens, has slowed Russia’s takeover efforts.
Satellite images early Tuesday showed the long Russian military convoy north of Kyiv, The Guardian reported.
In Kharkiv, Russian forces set off a massive explosion that hit the Regional State Administration building. Officials said that although Russia has the city surrounded, it remains under Ukrainian control.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the European Parliament during a virtual meeting Tuesday that his country will continue to vigorously defend itself — and accused Russia of war crimes and “state terrorism.”
“We are giving away our best people. Our strongest ones,” Zelensky said, according to The Guardian. “The most value-based ones. Ukrainians are incredible.
“Nobody is going to enter and intervene with our freedom and country. Nobody is going to break us. We are strong. We are Ukrainians.”
Zelensky’s remarks came one day after he formally applied to become a member of the European Unio. If approved, Ukraine would be the bloc’s 28th member and would come under an additional layer of security.
One of the primary reasons for the Russian invasion has been Putin’s concerns about Ukraine joining NATO and the defensive alliance’s expansion eastward toward Russian borders.
Moscow has continued to reject the use of the word “war” to describe its actions in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has called the invasion a “special operation” in the Kremlin’s approved terminology and Putin described initial movements as “peacekeeping” efforts.
Peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials began near the Belarusian border on Monday, but ended with no major progress. The Kremlin said on Tuesday that a second round of talks will occur on Wednesday.
During the first round of talks, Russian negotiators demanded that Ukraine drop its claim to Crimea — which Moscow forcibly annexed in 2014 — and officially recognize the pro-Russian, separatist-held Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian negotiators demanded a ceasefire and that all Russian troops leave the country, according to the Russian state-run TASS news agency.
The invasion of Ukraine will be a chief issue on Tuesday night when U.S. President Joe Biden delivers his first official State of the Union address. Biden has condemned Russia’s incursions into Ukraine and leveled severe sanctions against various Russian entities.
