At least 500 people have been killed in the city of Kharkiv since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the regional emergency service has said.
Ukraine’s second-largest city, located in the country’s northeast, has been subjected to relentless bombardment by Russian forces for weeks. Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a televised interview on Tuesday that more than 600 buildings have been destroyed since the start of Russia’s invasion.
“Schools, nurseries, hospitals, clinics have been destroyed. The Russian army is constantly shelling [us] from the ground and the air,” he said.
Ukraine’s armed forces said Russian troops had not yet succeeded in surrounding the major city, agreeing with Western analysts that they are short of supplies and ammunition.
Russian forces will likely struggle to bypass the city while resistance continues, the Institute for the Study of War think-tank has said.