Kyiv is feeling the sharp touch of the war more acutely, along with Russia’s destructive firepower.
A nine-storey block of flats was hit by a Russian missile on Monday morning, killing at least one person and wrecking the building, making dozens of Ukrainians homeless. It would have been worse had many residents not taken to shelters.
But the centre of Kyiv and many of its sprawling suburbs are still untouched by Russian weaponry. Other Ukrainian cities are being very heavily shelled, and there have been many casualties.
The generals responsible for Kyiv’s defence said they were fighting hard to keep Russian artillery out of range, but accepted that the capital was vulnerable to missiles.
However the city’s topography and terrain is on their side, Gen Andriy Kryschenko told me. The city is big and sprawling. It is cut up by rivers, not just the mighty Dnieper which divides Kyiv in two, but its tributaries.
“It is difficult to defend on the one hand, given that it is very large,” he told me. “But on the other hand, this is a plus. Rivers, bridges, are on the approaches to the city. Our troops are building defences and fortifications.
“Around the city there are many small rivers that flow into the Dnieper and there are many peat bogs, so that means the area is not suitable for large-scale movement of troops.”
In his State of the Union address, U.S. President Joe Biden promised to “inflict pain” on Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also commended the Ukrainian people for their courage and resilience in the face of Russia’s onslaught.
At this point, it would be very hard for Russia to install a pro-Moscow puppet government in Ukraine, according to Chris Miller, assistant professor of international history at Tufts University.
Even if the Kremlin succeeds in taking capital city Kyiv and toppling President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, “how are they going to construct an effective government to replace him? It seems very difficult to imagine they can do so,” Miller told CNBC’s “Streets Signs Asia” on Thursday.
Published By :- Shubham Agarwal
Edited By :- Kritika Kashyap
