it s bad, said pavlo, one of the last civilians leaving. children are dying, everyone is dying. only a few other civilians are coming out of the ruins. slava emerged, desperate to save her dogs. thousands of civilians came this way when the war started, but now this whole area has been swept up by the fighting. ukrainian troops have broken all the russian ground attacks here so far, so now moscow s men increasingly are using the weapon they trust most, heavy artillery. we were here about three weeks ago, and there is a massive difference. look at the devastation around this area. it s been hit very heavily. the shelling makes all movement here dangerous, so the command posts are underground. the ukrainians say the russians have only a toehold in irpin. outside, they have been pushed back. you say they can t get into the city. why is that?
but its advance stalled. fierce fighting has been centred in towns and cities outside kyiv with ukrainian forces claiming some success in pushing russian troops back, as jeremy bowen reports. in small groups, ukrainian soldiers are crossing the river irpin, joining the month long battle to keep the russians out of kyiv. it s bad, said pavlo, one of the last civilians leaving. children are dying, everyone is dying. only a few other civilians are coming out of the ruins. slava emerged, desperate to save her dogs. thousands of civilians came this way when the war started, but now this whole area has been swept up by the fighting. ukrainian troops have broken all the russian ground attacks here so far. so now, moscow increasingly are using the weapon they trust most, heavy artillery.
back from belarus, russia s ally. but i won t lie, she said, i m very scared. gennady s home was also hit. the russians thought they d be greeted with hugs, he says, but if we don t get weapons to take the offensive, missiles and planes, the war is going to drag on for a long time. president zelensky hinted at compromise to russian journalists on ukrainian neutrality and territory. translation: i understand it s impossible to force i russia completely from the ukrainian territory. it would lead to the third world war. i understand it, and that is why i m talking about a compromise. in kyiv, a few cafes are open, and it is less tense than a month ago. slava and katarina were intrigued by what the president had said. translation: nobody s
when she came back from belarus, russia s ally. but i won t lie, she said, i m very scared. gennady s home was also hit. the russians thought they would be greeted with hugs, he says, but if we don t get weapons to take the offensive, missiles and planes, the war is going to drag on for a long time. president zelensky hinted at compromise to russian journalists on ukrainian neutrality and territory. translation: i understand it s impossible to force - russia completely from the ukrainian territory. it would lead to the third world war. i understand it, and that is why i m talking about a compromise. in kyiv, a few cafes are open, and it is less tense than a month ago. slava and katarina were intrigued by what the president had said. nobody is saying we should
i understand it, and that is why i m talking about a compromise. in kyiv, a few cafes are open, and it is less tense than a month ago. slava and katarina were intrigued by what the president had said. translation: nobody s saying we should give i up the territories, but there should be some compromise or concession. translation: we hope that putin is a sane person. - but it s a very small hope. but at the end of the lonely roads out to the front line towns, the war feels much closer. people risk a trip to the market here.