The governor of Luhansk has said that Ukrainian forces may be forced to withdraw from the area to avoid capture. “The Russians will not be able to capture the Luhansk region in the next few days, as analysts have predicted,” Haidai told Telegram, adding: ” “.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the situation in the Donbas is “very difficult”. In a short video address, he said that Russian forces are concentrated in the coastal region of Ukraine and use “maximum artillery” reserves.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has said Vladimir Putin is “ready to discuss a prisoner exchange with Ukraine” after holding talks with the Russian president. Nehammer also said Putin “had given signs that he was quite willing to allow exports through seaports,” adding: “The real will will only become apparent when … it is really implemented.”
Russia expects to receive 1 billion rubles ($ 14 billion) in additional revenue from oil and gas this year, the country’s finance minister said, adding that the additional revenue will go to the invasion of Ukraine by of Russia.
U.S. President Joe Biden has accused Putin of trying to “erase” Ukrainian culture and identity during a speech. Biden also said Putin inadvertently “turned NATO across Europe” after Sweden and Finland sought membership in the alliance following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. is expected to send long-range rocket systems to Ukraine that could be announced next week, CNN reports. Rocket systems, the multiple rocket launch system or MLRS, have been one of the main requests of Ukrainian officials who say that it is necessary to prevent advances in Russia.
More than 100 Russian national guards have been fired for refusing to fight in Ukraine, according to court documents. The cases of the 115 national guards, a force also known as Rosgvardia, seem to be the clearest indication so far of dissent among some parts of Russia’s security forces over the invasion of Russia.
New UN figures have revealed that 4,031 civilians have died since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, including 261 children.