Here’s What Happened Tonight: Fierce Fighting in Cities and More Media Retreat | War Ukraine

The city of about 450,000 inhabitants has been besieged by the Russians for days. Mayor Bojchenko reports that there is an imminent shortage of food. There would also be no water, heating and electricity. “Right now we are looking for solutions to the humanitarian problems and looking at all possible ways to get Mariupol out of the blockade,” Bojchenko said in a Telegram message. “Our priority is to negotiate a ceasefire so that we can restore vital infrastructure and create a route to get food and medicine into the city,” the mayor said. The mayor has also asked for an escape route for his citizens, among other things.

The air raid sirens in cities such as Kiev, Sumy and Kharkov went off several times last night. According to journalists, there are also The Kyiv Independent frequent explosions. It is difficult to verify how many civilians have died since Russia’s invasion, but various images and photos show the extent of the destruction, such as in the town of Borodyanka – some 50 kilometers from Kiev – where houses have been blown away by drones. to attack.

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has expressed concern about the food shortage in Ukraine. “The situation for the people of Ukraine has deteriorated dramatically as a result of the bitter fighting,” WFP Germany director Martin Frick told several German media outlets. “We get reports from Kiev and Kharkov in particular that food is running out and drinking water is becoming scarce,” says Frick. The UN agency’s priority now is to establish supply routes for water and food to Kiev and other epicenters of the conflict before fighting escalates further. “It’s a race against time.”

Last night, following the British broadcaster BBC, the American news agency Bloomberg also decided to temporarily suspend its activities in Russia. The American news channel CNN has also announced that it will stop broadcasting in Russia. The Washington Post is also taking action, but the journalists have not yet been recalled.

The steps follow the decision of the Russian parliament to drastically increase the penalties for spreading so-called false information. For example, a prison sentence of up to 15 years is possible for deliberately disseminating false information about the armed forces, if this has serious consequences. There are also hefty fines for so-called fake news and calling for sanctions against Russia.

“The change in the law, which appears to be designed to criminalize any independent journalist, makes it impossible to do anything remotely resembling normal journalism within Russia’s borders,” Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait said. in a statement.

CNN announced that their broadcasts in Russia will be halted “as we continue to evaluate the situation and our next steps”. CNN normally broadcasts 24 hours a day in Russia. The Washington Post will stop mentioning the journalist’s name and his or her location in its coverage from Russia, a reporter for the newspaper reported on Twitter. The NOS decided yesterday to bring Russia correspondent Iris de Graaf back to the Netherlands.

The British news channel Sky News announced last Monday that five journalists were shot at on Monday while working near Kiev. A cameraman is said to have received two bullets against his bulletproof vest and a correspondent was injured by a bullet in his lower back. Footage shared by Sky News shows the car they were driving suddenly coming under fire. A series of shots can be heard and bullets can be seen flying past the vehicle.

In the end, the group managed to flee the car and find shelter. They were found there hours later by Ukrainian police. According to Ukraine, the attack was carried out by Russian ‘saboteurs’.

Sky News says the journalists have been evacuated from Ukraine and are now safely back in the UK.