Russian Troops Get Closer to Ukraine's Capital, Attacks Hit Schools and Medical Facilities

TRIBUNNEWS.COM – Russian troops are getting closer to the Ukrainian capital.

Most of the Russian ground forces are located about 15.5 miles or about 25 kilometers from the center of the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.

The UK Ministry of Defense said this was based on intelligence information.

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Reportedly significant damage was seen in towns and cities.

In Mariupol, satellite imagery showed damage and fires in apartment buildings and gas stations.

Quoted CNNan emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders that the city is in “a disaster phase right now.”

A view of the square outside the damaged Kharkiv city hall on March 1, 2022, destroyed by shelling by Russian troops. - The central square of Ukraine's second city, Kharkiv, was shelled by Russian troops who attacked a local government building, regional governor Oleg Sinegubov said. Kharkiv, a mostly Russian-speaking city near the Russian border, has a population of about 1.4 million. (Photo by Sergey BOBOK / AFP) — A view of the square outside the damaged Kharkiv city hall on March 1, 2022, destroyed by shelling by Russian troops. – The central square of Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv, was shelled by Russian troops who attacked a local government building, regional governor Oleg Sinegubov said. Kharkiv, a mostly Russian-speaking city near the Russian border, has a population of about 1.4 million. (Photo by Sergey BOBOK / AFP) (AFP/SERGEY BOBOK)

In Makariv, a village 30 miles west of Kyiv, Russian air strikes appeared to hit an apartment complex, a school and a medical facility.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said “some small towns no longer exist. … They just disappear.”

Victims increase

The United Nations has recorded 1,581 civilian casualties – 579 killed and 1,002 injured – since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

Among the dead were 42 children, with 54 children among the injured, according to the latest UN report on civilian casualties.

Members of the Ukrainian civil defense unit pass new assault rifles to the opposite side of the blown up bridge on the northern front of Kyiv on March 1, 2022. - Satellite photo shows on March 1, 2022, a Russian convoy spanning tens of kilometers and advancing slowly towards the Ukrainian capital : according to the Ukrainian general staff , Moscow mustered up its forces to attack Kiev and other major cities as international retaliatory measures against Russia continued to pile up. (Photo by ARIS MESSINIS / AFP) — Members of the Ukrainian civil defense unit pass new assault rifles to the opposite side of the blown up bridge on the northern front of Kyiv on March 1, 2022. – Satellite photo shows on March 1, 2022, a Russian convoy spanning tens of kilometers and advancing slowly towards the Ukrainian capital : according to the Ukrainian general staff , Moscow mustered up its forces to attack Kiev and other major cities as international retaliatory measures against Russia continued to pile up. (Photo by ARIS MESSINIS / AFP) (AFP/ARIS MESSINIS)

French and German leaders talk to Putin: A French official said that Putin still seems “determined to achieve his goals in Ukraine” but the fact that he continues to speak with French and German leaders shows that “he has not ruled out the possibility of a diplomatic solution at all.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he did not believe there was any hope for a negotiated settlement to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.