Russia-Ukraine War Updates: Ukrainian oil and gas facilities attacked by missile, Russian troops enter second-largest city Kharkiv
Sunday, 27 February 2022 (09:27 IST)
Missile strikes have hit an oil terminal and a gas pipeline, as Russian forces continue to attack areas around Kyiv. Russian troops have also entered the second-largest city of Kharkiv.
Russian troops enter Kharkiv
After a night of bombing, Russian troops have entered Ukraine's second-biggest city, Kharkiv, close to the northeastern border with Russia, local government officials reported.
Anton Herashchenko, a Ukrainian Interior Ministry advisor, wrote on Telegram that Russian soldiers had been spotted on the city's streets.
Regional governor Oleh Sinegubov told residents to stay inside, saying Ukrainian forces were battling Russian troops in the city.
"The Russian enemy's light vehicles have broken into Kharkiv, including the city center," Sinegubov said. "We ask civilians not to go out."
Abandoned and damaged Russian Tigr-M vehicles in Kharkiv.
Russian forces also said on Sunday morning that they had surrounded the southern city of Kherson and southeastern city of Berdyansk.
"Over the past 24 hours, the cities of Kherson and Berdyansk have been completely blocked by the Russian armed forces," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.
Oil and gas facilities attacked
Ukraine's nuclear authority said a radioactive waste site outside Kyiv was hit by Russian missiles overnight.
There was no immediate evidence of a radioactive leak, the Ukraine State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate said on Facebook.
"The hit was on the fence. The building and containers are intact," the service told Interfax.
The service said that once it was safe, inspectors would properly assess the damage.
Russian forces pounded several cities overnight. In the town of Vasylkiv, on the outskirts of Kyiv, the bombardment set an oil depot ablaze.
"The enemy wants to destroy everything," the town's mayor, Natalia Balasinovich, said in a social media post.
Authorities have warned residents to close their windows because the burning depot is emitting smoke and toxic fumes.
The State Service of Special Communications said a natural gas pipeline was also blown up in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city.
Ukraine's State Emergency Service said a nine-story residential building in the eastern city was also hit by "enemy artillery."
One person died, and 80 others had to be rescued. Most of the building's residents had been sheltering in the basement.
Explosions in Kyiv region: Mayor Vasylkova confirmed that an oil depot was burning as a result of an enemy missile. This can be a huge man-made and environmental disaster. pic.twitter.com/zFTBF6Fe1E
Air raid sirens could be heard as night fell in Kyiv.
A curfew is in place in the city until Monday. Residents have been seeking shelter in subway stations.
Small numbers of Russian troops were reportedly inside Kyiv, but Britain and the US said the bulk of Russian forces were still 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the city's center as of Saturday afternoon.
The Reuters news agency cited witnesses inside Kyiv as reporting occasional blasts and gunfire in the city.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office said an explosion hit an oil depot south of the capital early on Sunday.
