Russian forces have changed strategy to target civilians, says Ukrainian MP

‘We know that his strategy now includes firing at women and children, at the vulnerable, to cause panic, to cause havoc, and to make people give in,’ says Lesia Vasylenko

Russian forces have resorted to striking civilian targets in a bid to break Kyiv’s resistance, a Ukrainian MP has warned, as the fight for the capital and country looks set to intensify.

The Kremlin claims its assault on Ukraine is aimed only at military targets, but bridges, schools and residential neighbourhoods have all been hit in Kyiv over the past 48 hours, with the bulk of Russia’s troops and tanks drawing ever closer to the city, home to 2.8 million people.

Skirmishes, gunfire and explosions have been reported from the outskirts of the capital, forcing residents who have yet to escape the conflict into underground shelters for a third consecutive day.

Speaking from Kyiv itself, Lesia Vasylenko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, warned that the Kremlin had changed its strategy after being met with “robust and severe resistance from the Ukrainian people” and was targeting civilian sites and local residents.

“Because Vladimir Putin failed to come into Ukraine and quickly break the country into pieces and instal a puppet government, he has changed his strategy in the last 24 hours to hit civilian targets,” she said.

“We know that his strategy now includes firing at women and children, at the vulnerable, to cause panic, to cause havoc, and to make people give in.”

The MP said that almost 200 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the onset of the invasion, including three children, while a further 1,115 people have been injured. The country’s health ministry has reported the same figures.

“The attacks on civilian targets continue,” Ms Vasylenko added. “And I believe it is done on purpose because Russia’s weapons are too precise and sophisticated for such attacks to be accidental.”

A missile struck a high-rise apartment building in the southwestern outskirts near one of Kyiv’s two passenger airports, leaving a jagged hole of ravaged apartments over several floors. A rescue worker said six civilians were injured.

This followed a series of Russian aerial attacks that hit the city’s densely populated Pozniake neighbourhood in the early hours of Friday morning, in which at least eight people were reportedly injured.

Ukraine’s Infrastructure Ministry said a Russian missile was shot down before dawn on Saturday as it headed for the dam of the sprawling water reservoir that serves Kyiv.

(AFP via Getty Images)

In response to the escalation in warfare, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko extended the city’s curfew from 5pm until 8am. He said “all civilians on the street during the curfew will be considered members of the enemy’s sabotage and reconnaissance groups”.

Ms Vasylenko said the capital had run out of petrol and food supplies, but insisted “we are fixing these problems”. The capital is said to still have access to electricity, water, mobile connection and internet. Some grocery shops remain open but have been packed with local residents, according reports.

According to British intelligence, the bulk of Russian forces were 19 miles from the centre of Kyiv by Saturday morning.

“Ukraine is in a state of war that Europe has not seen since the 1940s when Hitler was attacking and attempting to exterminate whole nations. What we see now is basically exactly the same,” said Ms Vasylenko.

“We see an attack coming from Moscow, headed by President Putin, who has a goal to eradicate Ukraine as an independent country from the face of the earth.”

In addition to Kyiv, the Russian assault appeared to focus on Ukraine’s coastline, stretching from the Black Sea port of Odesa, in the west near the border with Romania, to the Azov Sea port of Mariupol in the east.

If the Russian troops succeed, Ukraine will be cut off from access to all of its sea ports, which are vital for its economy. In Mariupol, Ukrainian soldiers guarded bridges and blocked people from the shoreline amid concerns the Russian navy could launch an assault from the sea.

Fighting also raged in two territories in eastern Ukraine that are controlled by pro-Russian separatists. Authorities in the city of Donetsk said hot water supplies to the city of about 900,000 were suspended because of damage to the system by Ukrainian shelling. It was unclear how long repairs to the system would take.

Echoing earlier calls made by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ms Vasylenko called for greater military assistance and economic sanctions from the country’s western allies.

“It’s estimated that we need to keep standing in the same way that we have done for the next nine days. But to for us to do that we need a no-fly zone over Kyiv. This is what will save Ukraine and it has to be done,” the MP said.

“At the minute we need weapons, we need sophisticated weapons for the army. We need less sophisticated weapons, like rifles and shotguns, for the territorial defence units of Ukraine.”

Nato member nations have beefed up their troops in allied countries in eastern Europe, and sent weapons and other aid to Ukraine, but ruled out deploying soldiers to fight Russia.

On Saturday, the UK government said that Royal Navy ships, Royal Air force fights and British Army troops have all begun arriving into the region to bolster Nato’s easter front.

Ahead of what is expected to be another night of conflict, Mr Zelenskyy issued a fierce statement of defiance, telling the Ukrainian nation and watching world: “We aren’t going to lay down weapons. We will protect the country. Our weapon is our truth, and our truth is that it’s our land, our country, our children. And we will defend all of that.”