Russian retreat reveals destruction as Ukraine asks for help

By ADAM SCHRECK and ANDREA ROSA
Associated Press

CHERNIHIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian troops have left behind crushed buildings, streets littered with destroyed cars and residents in dire need of food and other aid in a northern Ukrainian city. The scenes of destruction give fuel to Kyiv’s calls Thursday for more Western support to help halt Moscow’s offensive before it refocuses on the country’s east. Dozens of people lined up to receive loaves of bread, diapers and medicine from vans parked outside a shattered school now serving as an aid-distribution point in Chernihiv. Russian forces besieged the city for weeks before retreating. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba pleaded Thursday for weapons from NATO to face down the coming offensive in the east. Nations from the western alliance agreed to ramp their supply of arms.