Russian shelling sets Kyiv apartment block on fire

Russian forces fired artillery strikes on suburbs northwest of Kyiv overnight and targeted points east of the capital, the head of the Kyiv region said Monday.

A town councillor for Brovary east of Kyiv was killed in fighting there, regional administration chief Oleksiy Kuleba said on Ukrainian television. He also reported strikes overnight on the northwest towns of Irpin, Bucha and Hostomel, which have seen some of the worst fighting in Russia’s stalled attempt to take the capital.

The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said Monday morning that Russian troops have not made major advances over the past 24 hours despite expanding strikes to the west.

Ukrainian forces are targeting Russian bases, targeting their logistical abilities, the general staff said in a statement on Facebook marking the 19th day of the war.

The general staff accused Russian forces of setting up firing positions and military equipment in churches and other civilian infrastructure so that Ukrainian forces can’t fire back. The accusation could not be immediately verified, though Associated Press reporters have seen Russian armoured vehicles in residential areas.

Apartment block in Kyiv burns after Russian shelling

An apartment block in Kyiv was afire after shelling by Russian troops. Firefighters rushed in to put out the blaze in the nine-storey apartment block on 20 Bohatyrska Street in the Obolon neighborhood, according to the State Emergency Service.

The building was hit around 5 am.