Chernihiv Mayor says Russian spy tried to attend meeting convened by him

On March 22, the mayor of Chernihiv claimed that a Russian spy attempted to attend a meeting chaired by him. According to Ukraine's Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security, Mayor claimed that there are Russian spies dressed in Ukrainian military uniforms who have documents from the Armed Forces and are well-versed in the situation. According to him, one of the Russian spies even attempted to attend his meeting.

The Mayor, Vladyslav Atroshenko, said, "A few weeks ago, there were DRG breakthroughs in Chernihiv, but all of them were eliminated. Today, the Armed Forces and the Terrorist Defense Forces are in complete control of the city. Sabotage groups are working, I know that for sure. Arrested spies, fully dressed in our military uniform, who had documents of our Armed Forces, which are well oriented in the situation. One of them even tried to come to my meeting. It turned out that he was a Russian spy, an officer."

Meanwhile, in the Chernihiv region, Ukrainian resistance forces destroyed two Russian trucks delivering weapons and food. "Ammunition and foodstuffs will not reach the occupier. Minus two Kamaz trucks. The resistance forces of the Chernihiv region are working," the Operational Command 'North' claimed in a Facebook update. In an interview with the LB.ua news website on March 22, Vladyslav Atroshenko stated that roughly 130,000 people remain in the city. That number was close to 285,000 before the all-out battle. According to him, Chernihiv is currently experiencing a medical aid scarcity as well as a shortage of people competent to fix key infrastructure.

Russia-Ukraine war

Further, Ukraine made a new appeal to Russia on Tuesday, March 22, requesting that humanitarian supplies be let into the besieged southern city of Mariupol and that civilians be allowed to evacuate. On Ukrainian television, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said, "We demand the opening of a humanitarian corridor for civilians." Vereshchuk also claimed that Russian armed forces were preventing humanitarian help from reaching civilians in Kherson, in the country's south.

Moreover, on Monday, the fight for Ukraine's important port of Mariupol raged as Ukraine refused a Russian offer to withdraw the besieged city's forces. Mariupol, as well as other Ukrainian cities, continued to be bombarded by Russian artillery. Furthermore, late Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was willing to discuss Ukraine's commitment not to seek NATO membership in exchange for a cease-fire, the withdrawal of Russian troops, and a guarantee of Ukraine's security.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian army said that after a tough struggle, Russian troops were pushed out of Makariv, a strategically important Kyiv suburb.

(Image: AP)