Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian President, has disclosed that the Donbas region of the country is continuing to witness what he termed “massive air and artillery strikes.”
According to the president, “The goal of the occupiers in this direction remains the same – they want to destroy the whole Donbas step by step.”
The president equally said he expects a decision on Thursday evening on whether its country would be granted European Union candidate status.
Many towns, villages, and cities in the Luhansk region have become the focus of serious fighting for many weeks, with Ukrainian and Russian soldiers engaged in street battles as Russian artillery fires destroy homes and infrastructure in the region.
Heavy fighting continues in East Ukraine
Serious fighting has continued in eastern Ukraine, with strategic locations under heavy bombardment by Russian forces.
As reported by BBC, here are the recent developments:
- Russian forces aim to extend control in the eastern city of Severodonetsk.
- Russian troops have continued to bombard Ukrainian positions north of Kharkiv city.
- In the Ukrainian south, Mariupol is at risk of a big cholera outbreak.
- Ukrainian counterattacks have advanced in the southern cities of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
Eastern cities under serious bombardment
Moscow officials have disclosed that their soldiers are fighting for Donbass’s final liberation, which includes Ukraine’s eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk where Russian-supported separatists hold major territory before the invasion.
Russia has been making slow but major advances in the east. The country now controls more than 90% of the Luhansk region.
Russian forces are now attempting to take complete control of Severodonetsk. Moscow soldiers presently occupy all the city residential areas while focusing on the Azot industrial zone.
Taking Severodonetsk city is a significant aim of Russia as it means it controls almost all the Luhansk region.
High tensions between Lithuania and Russia
In other news, tension has remained high between Lithuania and Russia after the former, a NATO member state, banned the EU rail transfer of all sanctioned goods like coal, metals, high-technology products, and construction materials coming from mainland Russia to Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea.
In response, Moscow has warned Lithuania of grave consequences against what it called “hostile actions.” This is against the support NATO members gave to Lithuania.
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a significant escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that started in 2014.
Image by David Peterson from Pixabay