As weeks of diplomatic tension followed between Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, the Russian head of state took his neighbor by surprise between February 23 and 24. That night, Russian military forces deployed for several weeks along the border between Russia and Ukraine enter the border territory from the south, Belarus and east. Tanks advance, anti-bombing sirens sound in the heart of the city of Kiev, the country’s capital, and Volodymyr Zelensky takes the floor to call on his people to resist: “Don’t panic, we are ready for anything, we will win.”
The scenario of a total invasion, although presented on numerous occasions as a serious threat by the United States, had been ruled out by international observers and military experts. With 200,000 mobilized men, the Kremlin army enjoyed rapid progress in the first hours of the conflict. The advance raises fears of a lightning takeover by Ukraine. The response is organized and battles are deployed around strategic places such as the port city of Mariupol, the former nuclear power plant of Chernobyl, Kiev or even at the foot of many military airfields.
On the seventh day of war, this Thursday, March 3, the Russian advance is significant. Moscow is in the process of taking control of the entire coastline giving access to the Sea of Azov. This maritime door is as much a symbolic catch hoped for by Vladimir Putin as a commercial stake. The pro-Russian separatist governments have also considerably strengthened their positions in the east, well beyond the regions of Lugansk or Donetsk. But the offensive decided by the head of the Kremlin did not lead to the Russian occupation that certain signs, at the start of the clashes, could have anticipated. The fighting gives rise to very disparate territorial situations across Ukraine. Bombed, Kiev is still ruled by the government of Volodymyr Zelensky and the mayor of the city, Vitali Klitschko. The army is also pushed back to Kharkiv, another target of Russian attacks. The state of destruction of cities or control of administrations by Russian forces varies widely across the country.
A metropolis of 290,000 inhabitants near the Crimean peninsula, in eastern Ukraine, Kherson is the first major capture of the Russian army. On Wednesday March 2, the head of the regional administration, Gennadi Lakhouta, indicated on the encrypted Telegram message to the inhabitants that “the occupants are in all the districts of the city and (are) very dangerous”. The elected official called on the nationals to stay at home. Pounded by airstrikes for a week, Kherson is the first major city to come under the control of Russian forces. It symbolizes the extent of Russian influence in the Donbass and more broadly in eastern Ukraine, bordering Russia.
Still to the east, Kharkiv is particularly affected. The bombings are increasing, particularly on the headquarters of the security services and the university. Whole sections of the city are destroyed. The second metropolis of the country sees its heritage reduced to ashes. On Wednesday, authorities announced that the town’s Orthodox church had been gutted.
If the bombardments intensify on Kharkiv, it is because the Russian forces are unable to take control of the city. “Russian airborne troops landed in Kharkiv (…) and attacked a hospital,” said the Ukrainian armed forces, still on Telegram messaging. Faced with the extent of the damage, “we are going to rebuild every building, every street, every city”, launched Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday.
The port of Mariupol is the other position, in the region, which concentrates the attention of the Russian General Staff and more generally of the entire strategic community. This maritime door is central in the trade of wheat, steel. Located between Crimea and Donetsk, the city could ensure territorial continuity between the southern front from Crimea and the eastern front held by the pro-Russian militias of Donbass. The pressure intensifies hour by hour on the Ukrainian fighters. Strategic infrastructure is under a rain of missiles when the city center is now surrounded by enemy tanks. The pincers imposed by the Russian army could change the situation very quickly.
The mayor of the city also accused Russian and pro-Russian forces on Thursday of wanting to besiege it, preventing evacuations and supplying the port city. “They destroyed the bridges, destroyed the trains to prevent us from taking out our women, children and old people. They prevent us from getting supplies. They are trying to impose a blockade, like in Leningrad”, the Soviet city that has become Saint Petersburg again today. , besieged by the Nazis, said Vadym Boïtchenko, on Telegram messaging.
Odessa is also a target of choice for the Russian army. A week after the launch of the offensive, this port city in the south of the country, on the shores of the Black Sea, is preparing for the siege. The bombardment sirens have been activated since Monday and the first fighting in the entrance to the city could develop in the coming days.
The capital is the most scrutinized city. The developments of the fights are followed instantly on social networks and narrated by the special correspondents of international newspapers and television. As in many other cities in the country, the bombings are intensifying. Loud explosions were heard overnight from Wednesday to Thursday. The population that remained there is still holed up in the corridors of the metros where they have taken refuge.
The shootings that are now being made on public buildings have forced hundreds of thousands of inhabitants to flee. The advance of the Russian troops seems however slower than envisaged by Vladimir Putin. The fault was heavy fighting at the entrance to Kiev. Armored vehicles from the east, for example, found themselves blocked on the capital’s highway, which suggests logistical flaws in the ranks of Moscow.
130 kilometers from Kiev, Chernobyl was the scene of the first ground clashes of this war. As soon as it entered Ukrainian soil, Russian troops massed towards the nuclear site. The Russian army seized the plant on February 24 after a few hours of fighting.