Before and after images show how Russian forces laid waste to a Ukrainian city on its approach to Kyiv

• Satellite images show destruction to a shopping center Chernihiv, along with an industrial area and neighborhing fields.
• Chernihiv, a city in northern Ukraine, lies along the Russians' route from Belarus to Kyiv.

Russian forces are heading towards Kyiv, leaving destruction in their wake. New satellite images show extensive damage to Chernihiv, a city in northern Ukraine that lies on the Russians' route from Belarus to Kyiv.

Two images show a shopping center in Chernihiv before and after the damage, with the building becoming blackened by the attack. Another set of images shows fires in an industrial area and neighboring fields.

Although Ukrainian forces are fighting to keep some roads open, Russian forces have encircled Chernihiv, trapping its 300,000 residents from all sides, according to the city's mayor, Vladyslav Atroshenko, The New York Times reported.

The city is without gas for cooking and heating, because Russian shelling destroyed pipes, according to the New York Times. Many neighborhoods also have no access to clean water, and the city has been disconnected from the national power grid.

Atroshenko said Chernihiv has run out of space to bury its dead as the fighting continues and the death toll rises.

"This is the first time in my life when I have to excavate the graves to bury five coffins together," he said.

Shopping center in Chernihiv, Ukraine, before Russian attack

Shopping center in Chernihiv, Ukraine, after Russian attack

Fires in an industrial area and nearby fields in Chernihiv, Ukraine