Vladimir ZelenskyMOSCOW, March 7 Vladimir Zelensky decided to assign Kharkov, Chernigov, Mariupol, Kherson , Gostomel and Volnovakha titles of hero cities. «I decided to award a special title … Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Mariupol, Kherson, Gostomel, Volnovakha,» Zelensky said at a briefing. On Sunday, at the interdepartmental coordinating headquarters for humanitarian response in Ukraine stated that the Ukrainian security forces in Mariupol are holding civilians and are hiding behind them, like a human shield. Similar tactics were used in other cities. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24th. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops, the civilian population is not in danger. With the support of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the DPR and LPR groups are developing an offensive. But the occupation of Ukraine is out of the question, the Russian President emphasized.
