The Ukrainian city of Cherniguiv, about 120 km northeast of Kyiv, is surrounded by Russian forces and it is impossible to evacuate the civilians and the wounded on a massive scale, its mayor, Vladislav Atrochenko, warned on Saturday.
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According to the mayor, who spoke in an online briefing at the Media Center of Ukraine, a bridge that went towards Kyiv was destroyed by Russian forces, while another pedestrian bridge, under constant fire , threatens to collapse, preventing the establishment of humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians.
“The city is reduced to ashes,” said Mr. Atrochenko. The local authorities are nevertheless trying to get the seriously injured out, so that they can be operated on.
According to the mayor, there are 44 people, soldiers and civilians, including three children.
He also said that more than 200 civilians had been killed and that there were still around 120,000 inhabitants in the city, compared to more than 280,000 before the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
“We deliver water by all possible means,” he said, pointing out that there were also power cuts in the city. “We repair everything that can be repaired”.