Kyiv, March 3: Ukraine on Thursday claimed to have destroyed columns of Russian troops with heavy artillery, inflicting heavy damage.

"The enemy does not go unpunished. Artillerymen of the Joint Forces / Joint Forces Operation. Inflict heavy fire damage, destroying columns and clusters of Russian occupation troops. Ukraine's artillery is working as clearly, precisely, and effectively as ever," tweeted the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

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Earlier, Ukraine's capital city Kyiv on Thursday woke up with air raid alerts. The residents were advised to take shelter in safe houses.

"Air raid alert in Kyiv. Residents should go to the nearest shelter," tweeted The Kyiv Independent.

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"Air raid alerts in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast, Mykolaiv, Lviv, Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernihiv and Chernihiv Oblast, Volyn Oblast, Cherkasy Oblast, Kirovohrad Oblast, Poltava Oblast, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Zaporizhzhia and Odesa, The Kyiv Independent tweeted.

Meanwhile, a building of the military faculty of Sumy State University in Ukraine's northeastern city Sumy was shelled this morning by Russian force.

The mayor of the southern city of Kherson indicated it had fallen on Wednesday, saying Ukrainian forces had left. This follows several days of heavy fighting, with Russian forces surrounding the strategically significant city north of the Crimean Peninsula.

Meanwhile, Russian forces moving towards Ukraine's capital, including a large military convoy, "remain stalled," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday. The troops could be "regrouping," or facing challenges such as supply shortages and Ukrainian resistance.

A large Russian military convoy stretching over 30 km was delayed on Thursday due to staunch Ukrainian resistance, mechanical breakdown and congestion said the latest UK defence intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine.

"The main body of the large Russian column advancing on Kyiv remains over 30km from the centre of the city having been delayed by staunch Ukrainian resistance, mechanical breakdown and congestion. The column has made little discernible progress in over three days," tweeted the UK Ministry of Defence.

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