Keys to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in its 4th week

Russian forces again attacked Ukrainian cities from a distance on Friday, impacting sites in Kiev, the capital, and the west of the country as their ground offensive approached under violent Ukrainian resistance.

The war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin began its fourth week when his troops failed to take control of Kiev, an important objective in his hopes of forcing an agreement or dictating the country's future political positions.

Missiles and ammunition hit the outskirts of Kiev, as well as Lviv, near Ukraine's western border, with NATO member countries such as Poland.

On Thursday afternoon, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his late night video speech to the country that he is grateful to US President Joe Biden for the additional military assistance, but did not specify what the new package includes because he doesn't want Russia to find out.

Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of the major economies of the Group of Seven noted in a joint statement that Russian President Vladimir Putin is waging an “unprovoked and shameful war.”

The fight has caused more than 3 million people to flee Ukraine, according to UN estimates. The total number of deaths remains unknown, although Ukraine claims that thousands of civilians have died.

Here are some key aspects of the conflict:

WHAT IS HAPPENING ON THE GROUND?

The Western Command of the Ukrainian Air Force said that six missiles were launched into Lviv from the Black Sea, and only two were shot down.

The city's mayor, Andriy Sadovyi, said the missiles hit a facility to repair military aircraft near Lviv International Airport and also damaged a bus repair facility. At the moment, no deaths were reported. The facility had suspended operations prior to the attack, the mayor said on the Telegram messaging app.

In the early hours of the morning, the bombs also hit a residential building in Kiev's Podil neighborhood, killing at least one person, according to emergency services, adding that 98 people were evicted from the building. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 19 people were injured in the attack, just north of central Kiev.

Two other people were killed when missiles hit residential and administrative buildings in the eastern city of Kramatorsk, according to regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.

Civilian deaths have also increased. The United Nations indicates that so far it has recorded 780 deaths and 1,252 injuries, although it estimates that the number of deaths is much higher. He added that the majority of civilians who have been killed have been by explosive weapons with a large area of impact, such as heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, as well as air and missile strikes.

Ukrainian officials claim that thousands of civilians have died.

The World Health Organization has verified 43 attacks on hospitals and health facilities, where 12 people have been killed and 34 injured, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the UN Security Council in a virtual briefing on Thursday.

The besieged southern city of Mariupol has suffered much of the bombardments. There, rescuers are still looking for survivors of a Russian air strike against a theater where hundreds of people were housed, local officials reported.

With communication interrupted in much of the city and mobility complicated by attack and other fighting, there are conflicting reports of people coming out of the rubble.

In photographs and videos provided by the Ukrainian army, it is seen that the building had been reduced to a shell without a roof with some collapsed outer walls. Petro Andrushchenko, a mayoral official, said the building had a relatively modern bomb shelter designed to withstand air strikes.

The Russian army denied bombing the theater or any other place in Mariupol on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the British Defense Ministry said Thursday that the Russian invasion “has largely stopped on all fronts” in the face of harsh Ukrainian resistance. He added that, in recent days, Russian forces have made “minimal progress” by land, sea or air, and suffered heavy losses.

Ukrainian forces use low-cost Turkish-made drones to carry out lethal attacks on Russian invaders.

WHAT HAS THE AP WITNESSED DIRECTLY OR CONFIRMED?

Smoke could be seen covering the western part of Kiev after a bombing raid on Friday morning. The outskirts of Lviv were covered in black smoke hours after a morning attack with several missiles. A day earlier, PA journalists broadcast images of destruction, affliction and resistance throughout Ukraine.

A soldier standing guard near the site of the attack in Lviv said he heard three explosions in a row around 6 a.m. He added that he had no reports of deaths. A resident in the vicinity said that his building vibrated from the explosions and people panicked. Nearly three hours later, smoke was still leaving the site.

The attacks in Mariupol knocked down the windows of apartment buildings and caused smoke to cover the sky. Vehicles, some with the “Z” symbolizing the Russian invasion force on their windows, drove in front of piles of ammunition and casings in a neighbourhood controlled by Russian-backed separatists.

In Kharkiv, doctors struggle to care for COVID-19 patients as bombs fall abroad. Several times a day, air raid alarms go off at a local hospital, so patients with the virus — some on respirators and having trouble breathing — run to bomb shelters.

HOW DOES THE WORLD RESPOND TO WAR?

The United States and its allies imposed a series of sanctions aimed at deteriorating the Russian economy. Hundreds of international companies have announced that they are restricting their operations in Russia and those who continue there are under pressure to leave.

On Friday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Barbock indicated that her country should consider imposing an oil embargo on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine and that it was important to take a stand and not remain silent due to economic or energy dependence.

Film star Arnold Schwarzenegger told Russians in a video posted on social media on Thursday that they are being lied to about the war in Ukraine. He also accused Putin of sacrificing the lives of Russian soldiers for his own ambitions.

Schwarzenegger posted his video on Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. Although some of the services are blocked in Russia, he also posted on Telegram, which is not blocked, where it was watched more than half a million times. The video has Russian subtitles.

Biden and China's President Xi Jinping started a telephone conversation on Friday. Biden also plans to travel to Europe next week to hold talks with European leaders about the Russian invasion and attend an extraordinary NATO summit in Brussels.

NATO has been supporting its right flank with troops and equipment to prevent Russia from invading its members.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said US officials evaluate and document possible war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine. Blinken said that intentional attacks on civilians represent a war crime, for which there will be “enormous consequences.”