A 40-mile-long (64-kilometer) Russian military convoy made up of armored vehicles, tanks, towed artillery and other logistic vehicles reached the outskirts of Ukraine’s capital, according to satellite images from Maxar Technologies. Maxor said he saw plumes of smoke rising from several houses and buildings near the streets where the convoy was traveling, though it was not clear what caused it.
The new images come as US officials told lawmakers in a classified briefing on Monday that a second wave of Russian troops would likely strengthen the country’s position within Ukraine, and according to two people familiar with the briefing, the sheer numbers would drive Ukrainian resistance away. might be able to. ,
“That part was disappointing,” one lawmaker told CNN.
More than 400 civilians have already been killed or injured since Moscow launched an unprovoked attack on its neighbor on Thursday, according to the United Nations, and Ukraine’s leader accused Russia of committing war crimes targeting civilians. have put.
But US officials fear the worst is yet to come. US officials, previously baffled by fierce resistance from Ukraine, which had seen regular civilians take up arms, now fear the situation is becoming “much more challenging” for Ukrainians.
US officials told the briefing on Monday that Russia would likely lay siege to Kyiv, leading to ugly scenes of urban warfare, one of the people familiar with the matter said.
In Kherson, where Ukrainian forces had resisted Russian offensive for several days, Ukrainian defensive lines have collapsed and Russian military vehicles are now seen driving inside the city.
After a meeting on Capitol Hill on Monday where Ukraine’s ambassador to the US requested more weapons, US Republican Senator Jim Risch said Ukraine was struggling.
“It’s David vs. Goliath,” he said.
war crimes charges
According to Ukraine, the Russian attacks also create fear for the safety of civilians, who have already been targeted by the Russian military.
Ukraine has accused Russia of committing war crimes targeting civilians, and on Monday, the International Criminal Court said it would launch an investigation into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – a move that Ukraine welcomed.
ICC Prosecutor, Karim AA Khan, said in a statement that, following a preliminary investigation of the situation, “there is a reasonable basis to believe that both an alleged war crime and a crime against humanity have been committed in Ukraine.”
Russia says it is not targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, and has no evidence of civilian casualties due to Russia’s military. Russia’s outgoing President of the United Nations Security Council, Vasily Nebenzia, reiterated these claims on Monday, saying that “the tide of repeated dirty lies in the Western mass media has unfortunately become a dangerous mark of our times.”
But evidence is mounting to show that civilians are being targeted, and the United Nations said on Monday that Ukraine had suffered 406 civilian casualties.
City Mayor Ihor Terekhov said Russian forces on Monday fired rockets at a residential area in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, killing nine civilians, including three children, and wounding 37 others. CNN has contacted Russian officials for comment on the attack.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his address late Monday that the attack on Kharkiv was “clearly a war crime.”
“Kharkiv is a peaceful city, peaceful residential areas, no military facilities. Dozens of eyewitness accounts prove this is not a false volley, but a deliberate destruction of people. The Russians knew where they were shooting.” Were.
“No one in the world will forgive you for killing the peaceful Ukrainian people,” he said.
Ukraine’s shelling from Russia continued during Monday’s talks between the two countries, with Zelensky saying the attacks were “synchronized” with five hours of talks.
“If at the time of negotiations one side does not attack the other with rocket artillery, then there can be fair negotiations,” he said in a Facebook message. “I think Russia is trying to put pressure in this simple-minded way.”
Ukraine’s presidential adviser Mikhailo Podolik told reporters that the two sides discussed a possible “ceasefire and an end to war actions on the territory of Ukraine”. Without going into detail, he said both sides would return to their capitals for consultations on whether to implement a number of “decisions”.
request for support
As Russia’s brutal assault on Ukraine continues, Ukraine is requesting further support from international powers.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the US, Oksana Markova, told a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Monday that her country needed more weapons and other aid in its fight for survival against Russia.
After the meeting he said, “We are not asking anyone to fight for ourselves, we are defending our own country. But we need all the support that all the civilized world gives us to fight really effectively. can give for, and also sanctions.”
In recent days, US President Joe Biden directed Secretary of State Antony Blinken to release up to $350 million in immediate aid to defend Ukraine – but officials have privately acknowledged that Ukraine will receive new aid. will be more difficult than before. When it could be flown directly to Kyiv.
The country’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison said at a news conference on Tuesday that Australia would send missiles to Ukraine as part of a $50 million package of lethal and non-lethal aid to help repel Russian forces.
At the same time, thousands of refugees are fleeing the conflict. According to the United Nations, there are already 520,000 refugees from Ukraine in neighboring countries, with Kelly Clements, the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, saying the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine has gotten “absolutely worse”.
“Obviously we’re pretty impressed with what’s to come, and we’d say that if things continue to deteriorate, 4 million people could actually cross the border,” Clements said.
CNN’s Jeremy Herb, Lauren Fox, Ted Barrett, Claire Foran, Caitlan Collins, Ali Zaslav, Liam Reilly and Pooja Salhotra, Paul P. Murphy, Morgan Rimmer, Richard Roth, Nick Patton Walsh, Alexandra Ochman and Tim Lister contributed to this report.