Footage has emerged of what's believed to be a Russian strike on a television tower in Kyiv to 'cut Ukrainians off', according to a local reporter.
The sixth day of Vladimir Putin's 'special military operation' has been calamitous: thousands of Russian troops reportedly killed; hundreds of civilian casualties across the country; and at least 10 killed and 35 injured in a Kharkiv missile strike.
Earlier today, March 1, Russia's defence ministry urged Kyiv residents to steer clear of areas which have been targeted for strikes.
Footage has been shared on social media of an explosion at a TV tower in Kyiv, which halted the broadcast of Ukrainian channels shortly after. The clips and images haven't been verified at the time of writing, but they've been posted from multiple sources. It's also unclear whether the explosion came from the tower directly, or a missile strike.
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Illia Ponomarenko, a reporter with The Kyiv Independent, tweeted, 'Russians are destroying the Kyiv TV Tower. They are trying to cut us off from communications,' alongside a video of smoke billowing from the tower. Anastasiia Lapatina, a fellow journalist with the outlet, also shared her own photo of the tower.
'Two Russian missiles were launched at the Kyiv TV tower. Lukashenka made the assault on Kyiv possible. He provided Putin with infrastructure and land to attack Ukraine. He shares full responsibility with Putin,' journalist Franak Viačorka wrote. 'Ukrainian TV channels stopped broadcasting several minutes ago after a Russian strike on the TV tower in Kyiv,' another account claimed.
Work is currently underway to resume broadcasting for Kyiv's residents. 'Most of TV channels will be out of service for a while until we switch on alternative routes,' Ukraine's interior ministry said, as per reporter Euan MacDonald.
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This follows an earlier statement from Russia's defence ministry that said its forces were preparing to launch 'high-precision strikes' in the Ukrainian capital, specifically targeting 'technological centres of the Ukrainian Security Service and the 72nd main PsyOps centre in Kyiv'.
'We urge Ukrainian citizens who are being used by nationalists to carry out provocations against Russia, as well as Kyiv residents residing near relay stations to leave their home,' the statement said, adding that the strikes have been ordered to 'prevent information attacks against Russia'.
'Russian Defence Ministry reassured that Russian troops are not targeting Ukrainian cities, but are limited to surgically striking and incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure. There are no threats whatsoever to the civilian population,' it added, not acknowledging the escalating death toll with each day of the conflict.
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Topics: Russia, Ukraine, World News, Vladimir Putin
