The fighting in the region of donbasin the east of Ukraine, They reached their “maximum intensity” on Thursday, according to local authorities. Russian troops have been trying for weeks to gain control of the pro-Russian provinces of Donetsk Y Luhansk, but the strong Ukrainian resistance is forcing them to practically fight street by street. Sources from the country’s Army reported that a total of 41 towns in this area were bombed. “We are entering an extremely difficult and long stage” of the conflict, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Malyar warned.
The focus of the war is now on Severodonetsk. Location is key Russia fully control the Donbas. This would allow Moscow to dominate a strip of land that runs from eastern and southern Ukraine to the peninsula of crimeawhich was annexed in 2014.
According to the country’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, “some cities and towns no longer exist” due to intense bombing. “They have been reduced to ruins by Russian artillery, by Russian multiple launch rocket systems,” he added before stressing that it is precisely such weapons that Ukraine needs.
Next week, decisive
Serhiy Haidai, governor of Luhansk, stressed that “the situation in the city is very difficult” and “next week will be decisive.” Some 15,000 people remain in Severodonetsk and neighboring towns and, according to the governor, most do not want to leave despite the incessant bombing.
In this region, the cities located on the front lines have been deserted and those who still remain, mostly elderly, spend most of their time hiding in basements.
In the neighboring town of Lisichansk, the police had to take control of funeral services to bury the dead. At least 150 had to be buried in a mass grave, Haidai explained.
troop regrouping
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On the other hand, the Ukrainian intelligence services believe that, while attacking Donbas, the Russians are trying to regroup their troops in the regions of Kherson Y Zaporizhia, in the south of the country and both close to Crimea. According to a statement from the Ministry of Defense, this regrouping of troops in already occupied areas “indicates Russia’s intention to gain a foothold in these territories.”
In addition to ground forces, this regrouping includes air and maritime components. “We see that since the beginning of May the occupation troops have started to strengthen their defenses. Appropriate engineering structures are being prepared … a third line of defense is being built,” the ministry said. “And this suggests that the occupation of these territories (means) that the Russian Federation wants to stay (in them) for a long time. These are military aspects, military indicators that signal Russia’s intentions to seize and hold these territories,” he added.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.