A soldier russo he passes through a furious crowd, who yells at him: above his head he holds two grenades in plain sight. The video went viral on social media was revived in Konotop, a city in southern Ukraine and shows the men of Moscow crossing the city, having surrounded and besieged it. They are there to ask the mayor to surrender: but the crowd, despite the bombs in full view, does not seem to be afraid of them. Many shout “Shame” or “don’t walk around showing your grenade” others push against him, perhaps unaware of the danger.
The Russians in conversation with the mayor of Konotop Artem Semenikhin presented an ultimatum: surrender or fight, exposing themselves to the risk of the city being torn apart by artillery. So the mayor asked the inhabitants of the city for the answer came unanimously from the square: “Fighting, of course”.
Taken Kherson, major cities are under siege
On March 3, Kherson was the first major city in Ukraine to fall into Russian hands. It is a regional capital of 300,000 people on the Black Sea, now under the control of Putin’s forces. Mayor Igor Kolykhaiev said in an update around 1am that “armed visitors” stormed a council meeting and imposed new rules including a strict curfew and urged citizens to follow them. Russian troops surrounded major cities: Chernihiv, to the northwest, and Mariupol, to the south, as well as Kiev and Kharkiv, the two largest cities in Ukraine. The cities are subject to heavy bombing, but as of February 3 they are still in Ukrainian hands. Among the targets hit in Kiev was a train station used to evacuate people and as a refuge for those who cannot leave or have chosen not to.
After failing to swiftly take major cities and subdue the Ukrainian military, US officials have been saying for days that they believe Russia will instead try to surround cities, cutting off supplies and escape routes.
