Chernihiv mayor Vladyslav Atroshenko said Wednesday Russia stepped up attacks on the city hours after it promised it would ‘scale down military operations’ in the region.

In his interview for John Berman, Atroshenko blasted the pledge to reduce bombardments as ‘lies’.

The mayor said: ‘This is yet another confirmation that Russia always lies. In a grim contrast to Moscow pledged of de-escalation, Chernihiv suffered a ‘colossal damage’ in overnight attack that targeted the city center. They are saying reducing intensity, they actually have increased the intensity of strikes. Today we have a colossal attack on the center of Chernihiv. Twenty-five people have been wounded and are now in hospitals. They’re all civilians. So whenever Russia says something, this needs to be checked carefully’.

The situation is deteriorating in nearby Nizhyn where Russian forces targeted civilian infrastructure – ‘libraries, shopping malls and residential buildings’.

Meanwhile, Chernihiv for days remains cut off from electricity, water, heating, and gas. It is impossible to restore mobile connections in the city as emergency teams have no access to communities in the suburbs, said Atroshenko.

‘There are villages where Russian tanks are stationed. We know our people are there, and the situation is critical there because we can’t get there to deliver medicines or food products.’

Chernihiv mayor said the Ukrainian military presence in the region still allows to hold off Russian onslaught in some parts of the region.