Russia strikes new cities in Ukraine: Why the attack moving west is worrisome

Russia refuses to stop. The shelling and bombardment of cities in Ukraine continue and on Friday, Russian troops extended the attack to new cities, ones which have never been targetted before.

Ukrainians in the cities of Lutsk in the northwestern part of the country, near the Polish border, Ivano-Frankivsk in the west, and Dnipro, a major stronghold in the central-east, woke up to shelling and strikes.

This is a cause of another worry. When the attacks began on 24 February, many started began to move to the western part of the country. How do the fresh attacks change that?

Russia’s new targets

Russia said on Friday that it has targeted military airfields in the western Ukrainian cities of Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk. But the on-ground situation appears graver.

Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and six hurt in the attack on Lutsk, according to the head of the regional administration, Yuriy Pohulyayko.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak said that the Lutsk strikes led to the shutdown of two boiler houses and that the explosions in Dnipro were powerful. “Russia’s destructive war against civilians and major cities continues,” he said.

Ukrainian big cities are again subjected to devastating blows. The 1st explosions took place in Lutsk shutting down 2 boiler houses. Ivano-Frankivsk - 3 powerful explosions. Dnipro is also under attack. Russia's destructive war against civilians and major 🇺🇦 cities continues…

— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) March 11, 2022

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Lutsk Mayor Ihor Polishchuk said that the city alert system did not work and the missiles were flying at ultra-low speeds. He warned citizens not to stand by the windows during an explosion and to proceed to a shelter if there are blasts.

Confirming the shelling on Ivano-Frankivsk, its mayor said, “The enemy struck Frankivsk.” He warned the residents not to leave their homes in a message on Facebook. “Keep at home for your safety! When the danger passes, I will let you know,” he added.

Attack near a pre-school

In Dnipro, the airstrikes were close to civilian structures near a pre-school, an apartment building, and a shoe factory. So far, one causality has been confirmed by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

“On March 11 at about 6:10 am, there were three airstrikes in Novokodatsky District of Dnipro City, namely: a strike near a preschool and an apartment building, as well as a strike that hit a two-story shoe factory and caused a fire,” the service said, according to a CNN report.

Video of the strike in Dnipro earlier this morning pic.twitter.com/ypsaiAH5gV

— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) March 11, 2022

“There were several explosions, I heard one then another, and another. I heard three. There were sirens. We stayed down in the metro until the sirens stopped,” a resident told BBC.

The attacks caused widescale devastation in Dnipro. Firefighters rushed to the spot and footage, which is being shared on media websites, show them trying to distinguish the blaze.

Наслідки авіаудару у Дніпрі — відео від ДСНС pic.twitter.com/ECwKqtDkMv

— hromadske (@HromadskeUA) March 11, 2022

Dnipro houses a lot of heavy industries, including a rocket factory.

Earlier this week, a Ukrainian official had said Russia was preparing to surround the city, reports CNN. The Kremlin’s plan was to “encircle the major cities, exsanguinate the Ukrainian Armed Forces and create a situation of humanitarian catastrophe for civilians”.

Dnipro like all other cities in Ukraine was preparing for an attack. The bridges and main roads to the city were guarded and residents rushed to underground shelters when sires went off, reports BBC.

For those fleeing other cities under constant bombardment, Dnipro had become a hub of sorts. But as Friday’s attack has proved no place is safe in the conflict-hit zone.

‘Russia has killed more civilians than soldiers’

The past few days, have seen even humanitarian corridors not being spared. The Ukraine government has accused Russia of violating the ceasefire time and again. Mariupol is among the worst-hit cities in the country with efforts to evacuate citizens and send them aid have failed continuously.

In the easter city of Kharkiv, from schools to psychiatric hospitals, everything that been reduced to rubble. Russian forces shelled residential areas 89 times in a day, a local leader told Guardian.

Ukraine’s defence minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Friday that the Russian military has killed more civilians than soldiers. “I want this to be heard not only in Kyiv but all over the world,” he told news agency Reuters.

According to the latest figures from United Nations, 549 civilians had been killed and 957 injured in Ukraine so far.

The death toll is likely to go up with Russia expanding its attack further west. About two million people are displaced within the country. Tens of thousands have gone through Lviv, which has become a de facto haven for those fleeing. The attacks on Friday are on cities on either side of it.

With inputs from agencies

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