{"id":37198,"date":"2022-03-06T12:13:06","date_gmt":"2022-03-06T12:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2022\/03\/06\/russians-shell-ukraine-cities-as-safe-passage-again-promised-in-south\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:32:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:32:07","slug":"russians-shell-ukraine-cities-as-safe-passage-again-promised-in-south","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2022\/03\/06\/russians-shell-ukraine-cities-as-safe-passage-again-promised-in-south\/","title":{"rendered":"No significant Russian movement after 11 days of war on Ukraine: Pentagon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The latest details about Russia\u2019s attack on Ukraine:<\/b><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Russian invasion still slowed, airspace over Ukraine still contested, Pentagon says<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

6:33 p.m. EST March 6<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Though Russia has now committed about 95% of the combat power it amassed along Ukraine\u2019s borders<\/a>, the Pentagon has seen \u201climited changes on the ground\u201d while the airspace remains contested, a senior U.S. defense official said Sunday evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After 11 days of war, \u201cRussian forces continued efforts to advance and isolate Kyiv, Kharkiv and Chernihiv across the north and east are being met with strong Ukrainian resistance<\/a>,\u201d the official said, in an email to reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere does not appear to be any significant movement along the Russian axes,\u201d the official said. \u201cLeading elements remain outside these city centers. We cannot give specific distances today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The long convoy of Russian troops and vehicles headed south to Kyiv \u201ccontinues to be stalled,\u201d the official said, offering details on the condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe assess that the Russians have now committed inside Ukraine somewhere near 95% of the combat power they had amassed along the border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fighting continues in the south, near the cities of Kherson and Mykolaiv, the official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe cannot independently verify reporting of Russian forces firing on protesters in Kherson,\u201d said the official, who added that the Pentagon has not observed an amphibious landing in or near Odessa either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A Ukrainian serviceman holds a baby crossing the Irpin river on an improvised path under a bridge that was destroyed by a Russian airstrike, while assisting people fleeing the town of Irpin, Ukraine, Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Vadim Ghirda\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNor do we assess one is imminent,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve observed continued ongoing fighting and efforts to encircle Mariupol,\u201d the official said. \u201cThere continue to be reports of wide-spread utility outages (water and electricity).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier in the day, Ukraine claimed Russia violated a second ceasefire agreement. The official could not independently verify those claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe continue to observe that the airspace over Ukraine is contested,\u201d said the official. \u201cUkrainian air and missile defenses remain effective and in use. The Ukrainian military continues to fly aircraft and to employ air defense assets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The official could not independently verify Ukrainian claims of Russian aviation losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are aware of the Ukrainian military\u2019s release of videos and numbers of Russian aircraft shot down,\u201d the official said. \u201cWe cannot independently verify those incidents, but neither are we in a position to refute them. Both sides have taken losses to both aircraft and missile defense inventories. We are not going to speak to numbers. We assess that both sides still possess a majority of their air defense systems and capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of today, the Pentagon said that approximately 600 Russian missile launches have occurred since the invasion began, the official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAgain, these are of all different types of missiles,\u201d the official said. \u201cWe believe the Ukrainian people in most parts of the country still have means of communication, access to internet and the media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The official added a list of reports that could not be verified or corroborated, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*reports of the use of cluster munitions or thermobaric weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*reports that the Russians are calling up reserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*reports of Russian naval infantry loading on LSTs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*reports of Ukrainian claims that they shot down one enemy Su-25 fighter jet, two Su-34 fighter-bombers, two Su-30 SM planes, and four helicopters today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*reports that Russia dropped 1,000 pound bombs near Chernihiv.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

US gives \u2018green light\u2019 for NATO allies to send military planes to Ukraine, Blinken says<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

1:25 p.m. EST March 6<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday said the United States would approve of NATO allies sending fighter jets to Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat gets the green light,\u201d said Blinken on CBS\u2019 \u201cFace the Nation.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn fact, we\u2019re talking with our Polish friends right now about what we might be able to do to backfill their needs if in fact they choose to provide these fighter jets to the Ukrainians,\u201d Blinken said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blinken said the countries are in close contact about the proposal for the U.S. to provide fighter jets to Poland if Poland sends jets to Ukraine, confirming a Wall Street Journal report released earlier Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier Sunday, Poland\u2019s prime minister\u2019s office tweeted Poland would not send fighter jets to Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked U.S. lawmakers to help provide more warplanes for his military<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Jessica Edwards, Military Times<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian forces tightening grip on Zaporizhzya nuclear plant, IAEA says<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

12:30 p.m. EST March 6<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The International Atomic Energy Agency has said Russian forces are tightening their grip on the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant<\/a>, Ukraine\u2019s largest, that they seized last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The director general of the agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, said Sunday Ukrainian staff members are now required to seek approval for any operation, even maintenance, from the Russians, and that they have impeded normal communications by switching off some mobile networks and internet at the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine\u2019s regulatory authority said that phone lines, as well as e-mails and fax, are no longer working. Grossi said he is \u201cextremely concerned about these developments,\u201d adding that for the plant to operate safely, \u201cstaff must be allowed to carry out their vital duties in stable conditions, without undue external interference or pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-The Associated Press<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evacuation effort in Mariupol halted for second day<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

9:55 a.m. EST March 6<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Plans to evacuate civilians from a besieged port city in Ukraine collapsed Sunday for the second time along with an expected Russian cease-fire, Ukrainian officials said as they tried to persuade Russia to agree on terms for safely getting residents out of areas under fire near Ukraine\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents expected to leave the port city of Mariupol<\/a> during a 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. local ceasefire, Ukrainian military authorities said earlier in the day. Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said the planned evacuations were halted because of an ongoing assault by Russian troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n