Ukraine on Monday braced for a renewed Russian assault along its eastern front and warned residents to flee following a weekend of bombings and the indiscriminate killing of civilians in the war-torn country.
Moscow claimed it has destroyed air defense systems in Ukraine in an effort to regain air superiority, though the claim has not been independently verified. Russia’s inability to take control of Ukraine’s skies has hampered its ability to provide air cover for troops, making them vulnerable to greater losses.
Russia’s initial tactic stalled on several fronts since the start of the invasion seven weeks ago. Ukrainian forces, up until now, have prevented Moscow from taking the capital city of Kyiv as well as other major cities.
The setbacks only seemed to bolster Russian President Vladimir Putin’s resolve to take Ukraine at any cost.
New satellite images showed an 8-mile convoy of Russian armored trucks with towed artillery moving through the town of Velykyi Burluk, about 55 miles east of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Residents were encouraged to evacuate as soon as possible, though leaving in some places seemed just as dangerous as staying.
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There have been multiple reports of residents killed while trying to escape. A road connecting liberated towns near Kyiv was littered with 50 dead bodies, the New York Times reported.
“I now call it the road of death,” Dmytrivka Mayor Taras Didych said. “Some were burned. Others had their hands tied. Others were shot in the head outside their cars.”
Didych said he wasn’t sure exactly when the killings took place and that it was more likely that Russian forces shot families as they tried to escape.
“My heart was bleeding,” he said. “This may have been the worst experience of my life.”
About 13,400 civilians have been evacuated from eastern Ukraine since Friday.
Russian attacks on the Kharkiv region claimed the lives of at least 11 people, including a child, and injured 14 others, regional authorities said.
Despite the carnage, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged people not to give up the fight.
“Russian troops will move to even larger operations in the east of our state,” Zelensky said in an overnight speech. “They can use even more missiles against us, even more air bombs. But we are preparing for their actions. We will respond. We will be even more active in providing Ukraine with weapons. We will be more active in the international arena. We will be even more active in the information field.”
French experts arrived in Ukraine Monday to help investigate alleged war crimes committed by Russian soldiers. Two coroners and more than a dozen crime scene investigators will help identify bodies and gather evidence in Bucha, where Russian forces brutally butchered, raped, and killed entire families. France said it is “resolutely committed” to bringing those responsible for committing atrocities to justice.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said he would meet Monday with Putin in Moscow. The meeting will mark the first time a European leader will meet face to face with Putin since the start of the war on Feb. 24. Austria is not a member of NATO and has maintained closer ties with Russia than most of its European neighbors. Despite this, Austria did sign off on the European Union’s sanctions against Putin.
“We are militarily neutral, but we have a clear position on the Russian war of aggression against the Ukraine,” Nehammer tweeted. “It has to stop!”
Nehammer said he informed Germany, Turkey, and the European Commission of his trip to Moscow, which comes three days after meeting Zelensky in Kyiv.
Germany’s foreign minister has called for more military support for Ukraine ahead of Monday’s meeting of EU foreign ministers.
“We need creativity and pragmatism to support Ukraine,” Annalena Baerbock said, adding that “heavy weapons” are needed, too.
President Joe Biden is expected to meet virtually with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday to convince the Asian nation to break from its neutral position on the war.
India has continued to purchase Russian oil products despite allies in the United States and some in Europe limiting or in some cases banning the import of Russian energy supplies.
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Last month, India’s state-run Indian Oil bought 3 million barrels of Russian crude. Despite the push to get India to cancel its contracts with Moscow, Germany has also continued to use Russian oil despite intense public pressure.
