The destruction from the last few days has been enormous.
– I do not know how to describe the destruction in our city. The city does not really exist anymore, says the deputy mayor of the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol.
Several Ukrainian cities are now under constant bombardment, and more residents of other cities are terrified, waiting to be the next target for aggressive, war-torn Russian forces.
– The situation that we have seen unfolding in Mariupol in recent days, we will most likely also be able to see in the other cities as the war continues, says Lieutenant General Arne Bård Dalhaug to Dagbladet.
Because even though more than two million Ukrainians are on the run, it means that 42 million are still in the country waiting for Putin’s next move.
Macron: – All possibilities on the table
Reorganizes
The fear is greatest that Kharkiv and Kyiv will be next in line.
– When, and if the fighting hardens, I am unfortunately afraid that the scenario that is now unfolding in Mariupol will be able to move there, says Dalhaug.
He is a retired lieutenant general and was the leader of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)’s observer corps inside rebel-held Luhansk between 2016–2019.
A theory he is not alone in.
British intelligence wrote on Twitter on Friday that they consider it “very unlikely” that Russia has achieved the goals they set before they attacked Ukraine.
– Russia will probably try to reorganize and deploy the troops for a new offensive in the next few days. This will probably involve an attack on the capital Kyiv, the British write.
New cities attacked: – Terror bombing
– Will terrorize the locals
The Ukrainian million-strong city of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine has been under “constant bombing” last night, according to the city’s mayor Ihor Terekhov.
– We see that there has been an increase in the use of artillery, aircraft, rockets and heavy fire. I see this as an attempt to terrorize the civilian population, says Dalhaug, when asked how warfare has developed.
He adds:
– Especially what has happened last night, because the war on the ground has been very slow. This is a natural development and also the fact that they are trying to bring new areas into the conflict and with the use of terrorist bombing.
So far, the lieutenant general says that there are no Russian ground forces near Dnipro, Lutsk, Lviv or in Ivano-Frankivsk.
– These are pure attacks when using missiles first and foremost, says Dalhaug.
Which of course may change in the near future.
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– Misleading map
The long military column north of the capital is moving ever closer, and on Friday may be just 15 kilometers from the center of Kyiv, according to Sky News.
Satellite images also show that the 60-kilometer-long column has largely spread, this after standing on the spot resting for days.
– As it has been now and what we have seen in recent weeks, is that there has been more or less stagnation on the ground, says Dalhaug.
If you take out the map from Saturday last week and compare it with the map for later in the week, the lieutenant general thinks the Russian positions of strength look quite similar.
– Not only are they north of Kyiv along the roads, they also do it elsewhere, but the big focus has been there, he says.
– Putin changes strategy
Breakthrough along the front line
Although several maps, marked in red for the Russian invasion, have been relatively quiet in development, the lieutenant general is still aware that some of the maps may be a little misleading.
– In reality, these are very large open areas also within the red fields, says Dalhaug.
There he thinks there are also more Ukrainians who are fighting against.
– Ukrainians have gone into what we militarily call the “deep” and carried out attacks on supply columns and fuel depots that the Russians have with them, says the lieutenant general.
Claims the Russians are killing civilians deliberately
The Russians have still not sat completely still in the boat and several are now excited about what the next move will be.
Even along the well-preserved line of contact in eastern Ukraine, there have been some local breakthroughs from Russian forces, including towards the city of Severodonetsk, which is close by.
One thing in particular Ukraine should be very aware of, according to Dalhaug.
– The Ukrainian forces that are in the area, must of course keep in mind that it will not be surrounded by Russian forces coming from the north from Kharkiv, or from the south from Mariupol – if that city should fall.
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