20,000 residents have left Mariupol in private cars so far; At least 500 Kharkiv city residents killed

LVIV, Ukraine, March 16 (Reuters) – About 20,000 civilians have managed so far to leave the besieged port city of Mariupol in private cars, Interior Ministry adviser Vadym Denysenko said on Wednesday.

Mariupol residents have been trapped in the city by Russian shelling without heating, electricity and running water for most of the past two weeks, Ukrainian officials say. At least 200,000 are in urgent need of evacuation, according to official Ukrainian estimates earlier this week.

• The emergency service in Ukraine’s eastern region of Kharkiv region said on Wednesday that at least 500 residents of the city of Kharkiv have been killed since Russia invaded on Feb. 24.

Reuters was unable immediately to verify the information. Russia denies targeting civilians.

The UK Ministry of Defence has issued its latest intelligence report on the situation in Ukraine, saying Russian forces are “struggling to overcome the challenges posed by Ukraine’s terrain” and have stalled in their advance.

The report reads:Russian forces are struggling to overcome the challenges posed by Ukraine’s terrain.

Russian forces have remained largely tied to Ukraine’s road network and have demonstrated a reluctance to conduct off-road manoeuvre. The destruction of bridges by Ukrainian forces has also played a key role in stalling Russia’s advance.

Russia’s continued failure to gain control of the air has drastically limited their ability to effectively use air manoeuvre, further limiting their options.

The tactics of the Ukrainian armed forces have adeptly exploited Russia’s lack of manoeuvre, frustrating the Russian advance and inflicting heavy losses on the invading forces.”

Photo – Photo issued by Ukrainian Emergency Services of the destruction from fighting in the Svyatoshinsky district of Kiev