Moscow/Berlin, March 24, (dpa/GNA) – Russia said that it had taken control of the eastern Ukrainian town of Izyum, while the Ukrainian navy said it had destroyed a Russian Black Sea vessel, as the conflict showed no sign of letting up one month after the invasion began.
Russian troops had taken “complete control” of Izyum, Defence Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said in Moscow. There was no confirmation from the Ukrainian side.
The town, which had about 48,000 residents before the war, had been besieged for days.
The Defence Ministry also said more than 60 Ukrainian military installations were hit in overnight attacks.
Since the start of the war on February 24, it said that 202 Ukrainian missile defence systems, 257 drones and more than 1,500 tanks and other armoured combat vehicles had been destroyed.
Ukraine, meanwhile, reported an increase in Russian airstrikes, with more than 250 flights registered in 24 hours, 60 more than the day before, according to the military’s general chief of staff.
The main targets remained the areas in and around Kiev, Chernihiv, and Kharkiv. The information could not be independently verified.
In Kharkiv, police said that 294 civilians, including 15 children, had been killed in the first month of the war. People were now hardly leaving their bunkers. Before the conflict, 1.5 million people lived in the north-eastern city.
In the southern city of Berdyansk, violent explosions were reported in the port.
The Ukrainian navy said it had destroyed a Russian landing ship that reportedly belonged to the Black Sea Fleet.
Ukrainian daily Ukrajinska Prawda published pictures online showing flames reaching several metres in height and a huge column of smoke. The Russian side provided no information on the apparent attack.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow is generally believed to have intended as a swift military manoeuvre, has dragged on as the country has put up an unexpectedly strong defence. With negotiations on a settlement stalling, there is no sign of an imminent end to the conflict.
British intelligence indicates that Russian forces have “almost certainly suffered thousands of casualties during their invasion of Ukraine,” the Defence Ministry wrote on Twitter.
Russia was likely looking to mobilize reservists and conscripts as well as private and foreign mercenaries to “replace these considerable losses,” the tweet added, noting that it was unclear what impact they would have on combat effectiveness.
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, called on people around the world to demonstrate on Thursday to mark one month since the start of Russia’s attack on its western neighbour.
“Come from your offices, your homes, your schools and universities. Come in the name of peace, come with Ukrainian symbols to support Ukraine, to support freedom, life. Come to your squares and streets, make yourself visible and heard,” Zelensky said in a video message early Thursday.
Russia is “trying to defeat the freedom of all people in Europe, of all people in the world,” he said.
Later in the day, Zelensky addressed NATO leaders via videolink for an extraordinary summit in Brussels, attended in person by US President Joe Biden.
The NATO meeting is being followed by a G7 and EU summit on a day of intense Western diplomacy.
GNA