U.S. says Russia to focus airstrikes on four locations in Ukraine

A pro-Russian rebel soldier passes in front of an apartment building with only a skeleton left following indiscriminate bombardment in the port city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine on the 30th (local time). Mariupol, a strategically important city, has been under siege since the beginning of this month, and most of the city has been occupied by Russian and pro-Russian rebels. 2022.3.31 Archyde.com Yonhap News” style=”padding:0px;margin:0px”>

▲ Ukrainian Mariupol apartment with only the skeleton left following the Russian bombing
A pro-Russian rebel soldier passes in front of an apartment building with only a skeleton left following indiscriminate bombardment in the port city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine on the 30th (local time). Mariupol, a strategically important city, has been under siege since the beginning of this month, and most of the city has been occupied by Russian and pro-Russian rebels. 2022.3.31 Archyde.com Yonhap News

Although Russia has announced that it will reduce military activity in Ukraine, it is reported that attacks on the capital, Kyiv, etc. are still concentrated.

According to CNN reports on the 31st (local time), a senior US Defense Department official said that Russian airstrikes are concentrated in four areas: Kiiu and Chernivu in the north, Ijiyum in the south of Kharkiv and Donbas.

“We are seeing Russia continue to increase the number of sorties, with more than 300 sorties in the last 24 hours,” the official said.

Russia announced on the 29th that it had made progress in negotiations with Ukraine and announced that it would reduce military activities in order to build trust.

However, the U.S. said 20 percent of the Russian forces that surrounded Kiiu had moved elsewhere, but this appears to be a redeployment rather than a withdrawal.

An aerial photo of a destroyed house, taken on the 30th (local time) in the village of Lukyanivka near Kiev (Kyiv), Ukraine. About 20 percent of the Russian forces that had been besieging and attacking Kiiu that day were relocated to other areas. 2022.3.31 AFP Yonhap News” style=”padding:0px;margin:0px”>

▲ A village swept by war… All that’s left is the completely demolished house
An aerial photo of a destroyed house, taken on the 30th (local time) in the village of Lukyanivka near Kiev (Kyiv), Ukraine. About 20 percent of the Russian forces that had been besieging and attacking Kiiu that day were relocated to other areas. 2022.3.31 AFP Yonhap News

On the same day, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also said that the movement of some Russian units was to strengthen the offensive posture in the Donbas region, saying that the movement of some Russian units was not a withdrawal but a change of location. “There is no indication that it is preparing to use nuclear weapons,” he said.

The official said on the 16th that President Joe Biden announced on the 16th that there have been five airlifts so far in relation to the additional military aid worth $800 million (regarding 970 billion won) to Ukraine, that delivery will be completed around mid-April. said.

Reporter Im Hyo-jin