KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces Wednesday intensified a wide-ranging offensive targeting key Ukrainian cities, menacing the capital of Kyiv with a miles-long military convoy, launching deadly strikes on the second-largest city of Kharkiv and apparently breaching a strategic Black Sea port city with tanks and troops.
On the seventh day of a war marked by fierce Ukrainian resistance against Russian firepower, Moscow faced growing international denunciations. The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution condemning the invasion, and President Joe Biden said it was “clear” that Russia was deliberately targeting civilians.
Significantly, Russia — which is traditionally secretive about combat casualties — for the first time provided an accounting of its battlefield deaths, with the Ministry of Defense acknowledging that 498 soldiers had been killed and 1,597 wounded since the start of its assault. Ukraine has claimed more than 10 times as many Russian soldiers have died; the differing accounts could not be reconciled.
