By Nazir Aliyev Tayfur
KYIV, Ukraine (AA) - The Ukrainian General Staff said Wednesday that the Russian army was continuing to withdraw from the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions.
The General Staff in a post on Facebook evaluated the 34th day of the Russia-Ukraine war. The statement said the Russian army could not fulfill the task of besieging Kyiv and that it will probably concentrate its troops in the east of the country.
It said the Russian army continued its attacks in Donetsk and carried out air and missile attacks on the settlements of Kreminna and Mariupol. It also noted that units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces near the settlements of Stepnogorsk, Orikhiv and Hulyaipole came under artillery fire.
It said the Russian army focused on seizing control of the Popasna and Rubizhne settlements in the Luhansk region and the city of Mariupol.
Russia's war on Ukraine, which started on Feb. 24, has been met with international outrage, with the European Union, US and the UK, among others, implementing stringent economic penalties on Moscow.
Hundreds of global companies have also suspended operations in Russia.
At least 1,179 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 1,860 injured, according to estimates by the UN, which noted that the true figure is likely far higher.
More than 3.9 million Ukrainians have also fled to several European countries, with millions more displaced inside the country, according to the UN refugee agency.