KYIV: Russian forces have taken control of all administrative buildings in Ukraine’s city of Berdyansk, its mayor said Sunday.
Oleksandr Svidlo said in a video message on social media that they had seen Russian soldiers and heavy military equipment entering the city hours ago and they began advancing throughout the city.
“They informed us that all administrative buildings were under their control and that they were taking control of the executive committee building,“ reported Anadolu Agency quoting Svidlo.
“Tonight will be very, very hard,“ he added, calling on all residents to hide in shelters.
Berdyansk is a port city on Ukraine’s southeastern coast with a population of over 100,000.
Russia’s attack on Ukraine has entered its fifth day, with the latest reports indicating that Russian troops are heading towards the capital, Kyiv.
The intervention was met by an outcry from the international community, with the European Union, UK and US implementing a range of economic sanctions against the Kremlin.
Russia has been further isolated as its airlines have been banned from travelling in European airspace and a number of its banks have been kicked out of the SWIFT international banking system.
Prior to this, Russian President Vladimir Putin was reported to have ordered the military intervention Thursday, days after recognising two separatist-held enclaves in eastern Ukraine.
He claimed that Moscow had no plan to occupy the neighbouring country but wanted to “demilitarise” and “denasify” Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy however accused Russia of trying to install a puppet government and said Ukrainians will defend their country against Russian aggression.-Bernama
