Seventh Day Of Invasion, Russia Claims Success In Seizing Kherson City In Ukraine

Spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense Major General Igor Konashenkov. (Source: Press Office of the Russian Ministry of Defense/Sergei Bobylev)

JAKARTA - Russia's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that the Russian Armed Forces had captured the southern Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Kherson, as Moscow's invasion of the pro-Western nation entered its seventh day.

"The divisions of the Russian Armed Forces have put the Kherson regional center under complete control", Defense Ministry Spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, said in televised remarks, the RIA news agency reported, quoting Daily Sabah on March 2.

Heavy fighting was reported on Wednesday night in eastern and southern Ukraine, as Russian troops advanced into the seventh day of their invasion of the neighboring country, according to Ukrainian media reports.

"Last night, when my team and I were in the mayor's office, the building was bombed", the head of the city's administration Igor Kolihaev said on Facebook Wednesday.

"Everyone is still alive. But I ask you one more time: do not leave the house. Do not provoke the shooting with your actions and behavior. We are in a very difficult situation, there is no need to make it worse", he appealed.

"Today I will work to find ways to collect the dead, how to restore electricity, gas, water, and heat where they were damaged. But I warn you right away: to complete these tasks today means to perform miracles. We are all waiting for miracles. We need it", he added

According to Kolihaev, Kherson caught fire, residential buildings and municipal facilities caught fire. Authorities are trying to coordinate the work of city services, but "now it's very difficult."

Meanwhile, the Ukrinform News Agency reported, Russian tanks opened fire on the offices of the Ukrainian intelligence agency SBU in Kherson.

Separately, Anton Herashchenko, Advisor to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, spoke of the many civilian deaths and said residents of Kherson defended the city with petrol bombs. According to local reports, the city was surrounded by enemy forces.

City officials said Russian troops had occupied ports and railway stations and reported many deaths, both among the civilian population and the Ukrainian armed forces. Although, none of the reports can be independently confirmed.

Reports from the eastern city of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, said Russian troops attacked a military medical center. UNIAN News Agency reported that they attacked Ukrainian troops, who managed to take six new Russian 5-80BWM tanks.