A 40-mile-long (64-kilometer) Russian military convoy composed of armored vehicles, tanks, towed artillery and other logistics vehicles reached the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital, according to satellite images from Maxar Technologies. Maxor said he saw plumes of smoke rising from several houses and buildings near the streets where the convoy was traveling, although it was not clear what caused it.
The new images come as US officials told lawmakers in a classified briefing on Monday that a second wave of Russian troops would likely strengthen the country’s position within Ukraine, and according to two people familiar with the briefing, the sheer numbers would bolster Ukrainian resistance. Will make it go away might be able to. ,
“That part was disappointing,” one lawmaker told CNN.
On Thursday, Moscow launched unprovoked attacks on its neighbour, and Ukraine’s leader accused Russia of committing war crimes targeting civilians, which has already killed or injured more than 400 civilians, according to the United Nations. . have put.
But US officials fear the worst is yet to come. US officials, previously baffled by fierce resistance from Ukraine, which had seen regular civilians take up arms, now fear the situation is becoming “much more challenging” for Ukrainians.
US officials told the briefing on Monday that Russia would likely lay siege to Kyiv, leading to ugly scenes of urban warfare, one of the people familiar with the matter said.
In Kherson, where Ukrainian forces had resisted a Russian offensive for days, Ukraine’s defensive lines have collapsed and Russian military vehicles are now seen driving inside the city.
After a meeting on Capitol Hill on Monday where Ukraine’s ambassador to the US requested more weapons, US Republican Senator Jim Risk said Ukraine was struggling.
“It’s David vs. Goliath,” he said.
war crime charges
According to Ukraine, the Russian attacks also threaten the safety of civilians who have already been targeted by the Russian military.
Ukraine has accused Russia of committing war crimes targeting civilians, and on Monday, the International Criminal Court said it would launch an investigation into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – a move Ukraine welcomed.
ICC Prosecutor, Karim AA Khan, said in a statement that, after a preliminary investigation of the situation, “there is a reasonable basis to believe that both an alleged war crime and a crime against humanity have been committed in Ukraine.”
Russia says it is not targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, and has no evidence of civilian casualties caused by Russia’s military. Russia’s outgoing chairman of the UN Security Council, Vasily Nebenzia, reiterated the claims on Monday, saying that “the tide of repeated dirty lies in the Western media has unfortunately become a dangerous mark of our times.”
But evidence is mounting to show that civilians are being targeted, and the United Nations said on Monday that Ukraine had suffered 406 civilian casualties.
City Mayor Ihor Terekhov said Russian forces fired rockets at a residential area in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, on Monday, killing nine civilians, including three children, and wounding 37 others. CNN has contacted Russian officials for comment on the attack.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his address late Monday that the attack on Kharkiv was “clearly a war crime.”
“Kharkiv is a peaceful city, a peaceful residential area, no military facilities. Dozens of eyewitnesses prove that this is not a false volley, but a deliberate destruction of people. The Russians knew where they were shooting.” . ” Were.
“No one in the world will forgive you for killing the peaceful Ukrainian people,” he said.
Russia’s shelling from Ukraine continued during Monday’s talks between the two countries, with Zelensky saying the attacks were “synchronized” with five hours of talks.
“If at the time of negotiations one side does not attack the other with rocket artillery, then fair negotiations can take place,” he said in a Facebook message. “I think Russia is trying to put pressure in this simple way.”
Ukraine’s presidential adviser, Mikhailo Podolik, told reporters that the two sides discussed a possible “ceasefire and an end to war actions on the territory of Ukraine”. Without going into detail, he said both sides would return to their capitals for consultations on how to implement a number of “decisions”.
request for support
As Russia’s brutal assault on Ukraine continues, Ukraine is requesting further support from international powers.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the US, Oksana Markova, told a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Monday that her country needs more weapons and other aid in its fight for survival against Russia.
After the meeting, he said, “We are not asking anyone to fight for us, we are protecting our country.” But we really need all the support that the civilized world gives us to fight effectively. can give for, and also sanctions.”
In recent days, US President Joe Biden directed Secretary of State Antony Blinken to release up to $350 million in immediate aid to defend Ukraine – but officials have privately acknowledged that Ukraine will receive new aid. It will be more difficult than before. When it could be flown directly to Kyiv.
Australia will send missiles to Ukraine as part of a $50 million package of lethal and non-lethal aid to help repel Russian forces, the country’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison said at a news conference on Tuesday.
At the same time, thousands of refugees are fleeing the conflict. According to the United Nations, there are already 520,000 refugees from Ukraine in neighboring countries, with Kelly Clements, the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, saying the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine has gotten “absolutely worse”.
“Obviously we are very much affected by what is to come, and we would say that if things keep getting worse, 4 million people could actually cross the border,” Clements said.
CNN’s Jeremy Herb, Lauren Fox, Ted Barrett, Claire Foran, Caitlan Collins, Ali Zaslav, Liam Reilly and Pooja Salhotra, Paul P. Murphy, Morgan Rimmer, Richard Roth, Nick Patton Walsh, Alexandra Ochman and Tim Lister contributed to this report.