By Natalia Zinets
LVIV - The mayor of Ukraine's Mariupol said on Tuesday morning that the southern port city was under constant shelling which had killed civilians and damaged infrastructure, as Russia started day six of its invasion.
"We have had residential quarters shelled for five days.They are pounding us with artillery, they are shelling us with GRADS, they are hitting us with air forces," Vadym Boichenko said in a live broadcast on Ukrainian TV.
"We have civilian infrastructure damaged – schools, houses. There are many injured. There are women, children killed," he said.
Ukraine's largest steel maker Metinvest BV has most of its facilities located in Mariupol, where it has halted production. The company sent most workers home while reduced shifts ensured equipment was not breaking down.
Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv also came under heavy attack, the regional administration head said on Tuesday.
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation" that it says is not designed to occupy territory but to destroy its southern neighbour's military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists.
An adviser to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that Russia was deliberately shelling cities, including residential areas and civilian infrastructure, to spread panic among Ukrainians.
"The veil has come down. Russia is actively shelling city centres, launching direct missile and artillery strikes on residential areas and administration sites," said Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak.
"Russia's goal is clear – mass panic, civilian casualties and damaged infrastructure. Ukraine is fighting honourably."
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Reuters