The mayor of the Ukrainian capital, Vitali Klitschko, said today that Kiev is in "an extremely dramatic situation" due to continuous Russian strikes and accused Russia of wanting to destroy the city, Agence France-Presse reported.
"The capital is in an extremely dramatic situation and it is no longer possible to pretend that we live in peaceful times," Klitschko wrote on the Telegram app.
Russian air strikes have partially halted traffic on three bridges over the Dnieper River in Kiev, causing traffic jams and are another tactic in the campaign of terror against residents of the capital, Klitschko added.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga said, quoted by the Associated Press, that Ukrainian officials have received separate proposals for a partial ceasefire with Russia from the United States, India, Turkey and Egypt. The proposals call for an end to attacks on energy infrastructure, which have led to fuel shortages in Russia and power outages in Ukraine. The proposals also call for an end to attacks on shipping in the Black Sea, which is vital for the export of grain to world markets.
"Civilians are bearing the brunt of this war," High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in Geneva today.
"The war in Ukraine is a humanitarian catastrophe and is escalating every week, causing incomparable pain to civilians. Across Ukraine, people live in constant terror," Türk added.
While the exchange of airstrikes has intensified in recent months, fighting along the nearly 1,250-kilometer front line has virtually come to a standstill. Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine more than a year and a half ago, and yet there is no clear sign that a peace deal is possible, the AP notes.
However, according to the Institute for the Study of War think tank, Ukraine has made progress against Russia's larger forces, which lost control of more than 300 square kilometers of occupied Ukrainian territory between March and September.
The Washington-based think tank also said in its report published yesterday that the Russian military lost more than 46,000 soldiers in September, the highest number of casualties this year. The Institute for the Study of War did not say how many Ukrainian soldiers were wounded or killed.