Ukrainian Forces Push Back Russian Advance

Russian forces launched a heavy artillery barrage against the strategic southern Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv early this morning, a day after Ukrainian troops pushed Russia’s faltering military from the city limits. Residents are facing increasingly dire conditions in another port city, Mariupol, which has been cut off from food, heat and electricity for days.

Russian forces have suffered from logistical problems, baffling tactical decisions and low morale, preventing them from quickly seizing Mykolaiv and other cities, as Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, appears to have intended. Their greatest obstacle, however, has been an unexpectedly capable defense from Ukrainian forces, despite their being significantly outgunned.

Frantic efforts to rescue civilians from the worsening violence in Ukraine came under direct attack by Russian forces yesterday as at least three people were killed in shelling outside the capital, Kyiv. The Ukrainian military said it was successfully defending its position in fierce fighting north of Kyiv and holding back Russians from the east.

Refugees: The U.N. said that 1.5 million people had fled Ukraine in the 10 days since Russia’s invasion began, making it the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. Some Ukrainian families are already feeling the pain of separation.

Copied from New York Times of Monday March 7, 2022.