Sorting fact, disinformation amid Russian war on Ukraine

Associated Press journalists are documenting military activity across Ukraine, where disinformation is spiking during a Russian ground and air offensive

APTOPIX Russia Ukraine War (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Associated Press journalists around Ukraine and beyond are documenting military activity during Russia’s invasion. With disinformation rife and social media amplifying military claims and counterclaims, determining exactly what is happening can be difficult. Here’s a look at what could be confirmed Wednesday as Russia’s military assault on Ukraine was in its seventh day.

ANNOUNCED BY RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES

— A Kremlin spokesman says a Russian delegation will be ready on Wednesday evening to resume talks with Ukrainian officials about the war. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “in the second half of the day, closer to evening, our delegation will be in place to await Ukrainian negotiators.”

— Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov claimed Wednesday that the airstrike on a TV tower in the capital of Kyiv did not hit any residential buildings.

— Moscow made new threats of escalation, days after raising the specter of nuclear war. A top Kremlin official warned that the West’s “economic war” against Russia could turn into a “real one.”

ANNOUNCED BY UKRAINIAN AUTHORITIES

— Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Russia’s escalation of attacks on crowded cities as a blatant terror campaign.

— Zelenskyy expressed outrage Wednesday at the attack on the Babi Yar Holocaust memorial, and concern that other historically significant and religious sites, such as St. Sophia’s Cathedral, could be targeted.

— The Ukrainian state emergency service said there was a Russian strike on the regional police and intelligence headquarters. It said three people were wounded.

— In Zhytomyr, a city about 140 kilometers (85 miles) west of Kyiv, a Russian airstrike hit a residential area near a hospital late Tuesday, Mayor Serih Sukhomlin said in a Facebook video. Ukraine’s emergency services said the strike killed at least two people, set three homes on fire and broke the windows in the hospital.

— Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that Belarussian troops are concentrated close to the countries' border. The ministry said at the end of the day Tuesday there has been significant aircraft activity and “a column of vehicles with food and ammunition” approaching.

ANNOUNCED BY OFFICIALS ELSEWHERE

— U.S. President Joe Biden warned that if the Russian leader didn’t “pay a price” for the invasion, the aggression wouldn’t stop with one country.

— Human Rights Watch said it documented a cluster bomb attack outside a hospital in Ukraine’s east in recent days. Residents also reported the use of such weapons in Kharkiv and Kiyanka village. The Kremlin denied using cluster bombs.

— China says one of its citizens was shot and injured while evacuating from Ukraine. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the incident occurred on Tuesday while the person was leaving on their own.

— Britain’s Defense Ministry said it had seen an increase in Russian air and artillery strikes on populated urban areas over the past two days.

— Russia claimed its military has taken control of the area around Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant. That’s according to the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

— The U.N. human rights office says it has recorded the deaths of 136 civilians, including 13 children, in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24. The toll may be far higher.

— A senior Western intelligence official estimated more than 5,000 Russian soldiers have been captured or killed, although overall soldier death tolls remained unclear.

— UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo said Tuesday in Geneva that about 660,000 people have fled Ukraine since the start of the invasion. The number was up from a count of more than 500,000 a day earlier.

DIRECTLY WITNESSED

— Russian shelling hit civilian targets in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv. In video verified by the AP, explosions burst through a residential area of the city.

— The administration headquarters in Kharkiv’s city center also was targeted. Images showed the building badly damaged by a powerful explosion that blew up part of its roof. Closed-circuit television footage showed a fireball engulfing the street in front of the building, with a few cars rolling out of the billowing smoke. An emergency official said the bodies of at least six people had been pulled from the ruins and at least 20 other people were wounded.

— Images showed a TV tower in Kyiv on fire. Ukraine officials said a Russian strike on the tower killed five people and left five more wounded. Local media had reported Ukrainian TV channels stopped broadcasting shortly after the strike. An official with Zelenskyy’s office said some channels had resumed broadcasting.

— Powerful blasts could be heard Tuesday night in central Kyiv. People on the ground reported car alarms were set off by the blasts, a first in the central part of the capital city where Russian forces are encroaching.

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Follow AP’s coverage of Russia's war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine