Russia advances towards Kyiv; cities under siege

An explosion is seen in an apartment building after Russian’s army tank fires in Mariupol, Ukraine. Pic/AP

Russian forces appeared to make progress from the northeast in their slow fight toward Ukraine's capital, while tanks and artillery pounded places already under siege with shelling so heavy that residents of one city were unable to bury the growing number of dead. In past offensives in Syria and Chechnya, Russia's strategy has been to crush armed resistance with sustained airstrikes and shelling that levels population centres. That kind of assault has cut off the southern port city of Mariupol, and a similar fate could await Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine if the war continues.

In Mariupol, unceasing barrages into the city have thwarted repeated attempts to bring in food and water and evacuate trapped civilians. A deadly strike on a maternity hospital there this week sparked international outrage and war-crime allegations. Mariupol's death toll has passed 1,500 in 12 days of attack, the mayor's office said. Shelling forced crews to stop digging trenches for mass graves, so the "dead aren't even being buried," the mayor said. Invading Russian forces have struggled far more than expected against determined Ukrainian fighters. But Russia's stronger military threatens to grind down Ukrainian forces, despite an ongoing flow of weapons and other assistance from the West for Ukraine's westward-looking, democratically elected government. The conflict has already sent 2.5 million people fleeing the country.

In a multi-front attack on Kyiv, the Russians' push from the northeast appeared to be advancing. Combat units were moved up from the rear as the forces closed to less than 30 kilometres from the capital. New commercial satellite images appeared to capture artillery firing on residential areas between the Russians forces and the capital. The images showed muzzle flashes and smoke from the big guns, as well as impact craters and burning homes in the town of Moschun, outside Kyiv, In a devastated village east of the capital, villagers climbed over toppled walls and flapping metal strips in the remnants of a pool hall, restaurant and theatre freshly blown apart by Russian bombs.

Russia to restrict Instagram access

Russia announced that it would block Instagram beginning on March 14, after parent company Meta said it would allow calls for violence against Russian soldiers in the context of the Ukrainian invasion. "On the basis of a demand by the general prosecutor's office, access to Instagram will be limited on the territory of the Russian Federation," Russia's state media regulator said.

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