According to the Ukrainian army, Russian forces have bombed more than 40 cities in the eastern Donbass region of Ukraine.
Key points:
- Russia is trying to take full control of the Donbass
- Five civilians were killed and 12 were injured
- The bombing threatens to close the last major evacuation route for civilians
The development threatens to close the last major escape route for civilians trapped in the path of their invasion, now in its fourth month.
After failing to seize the Ukrainian capital Kyiv or its second city, Kharkiv, Russia is trying to take full control of the two eastern provinces that Moscow claims on behalf of the separatists.
Russia has deployed thousands of troops to the region, attacking from three sides in an attempt to encircle Ukrainian forces resisting the city of Sievierodonetsk and its twin Lysychansk.
Local women walk down a street while the Ukrainian military patrols an area of Kurakhove in the Donetsk region. (Reuters: Anna Kudriavtseva)
Its fall would leave the entire Luhansk province under Russian control, a key target of the Kremlin war.
“The occupiers bombed more than 40 cities in the Donetsk and Luhansk region, destroying or damaging 47 civilian sites, including 38 houses and a school. As a result of the bombing, five civilians were killed and 12 were injured.” said the Joint Working Committee of the Ukrainian Navy. said forces on Facebook.
The statement said 10 enemy attacks were repelled, four tanks and four drones destroyed and 62 “enemy soldiers” were killed.
Read more about the Russian invasion of Ukraine:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian troops “far outnumber us” in some parts of the east.
Reuters was unable to independently confirm battlefield reports.
As Moscow seeks to consolidate its control over the seized territory, President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree simplifying the process for residents of newly captured districts to acquire Russian citizenship and passports.
The Russian parliament on Wednesday ruled out a maximum age limit for contract service in the military, stressing the need to replace lost troops.
“(They) no longer have enough young men, but they still have the will to fight. It will still take time to crush that will,” Zelenskyy said in a video address last night, commenting on the new Russian enlistment rules.
He said that this week the conflict could only end with direct talks between him and Putin.
Russia describes its actions in Ukraine as a “special operation” to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists. Ukraine and the West say the fascist accusation is unfounded and that the war is an act of unprovoked aggression.
Common graves
Lysychansk police are collecting the bodies of people killed for burial in mass graves, Luhansk Regional Governor Serhiy Gaidai said.
About 150 people have been buried in a mass grave in Lysychansk district, he added.
Gaidai said that the families of people buried in mass graves will be able to carry out a post-war burial, and police are issuing documents that allow Ukrainians to obtain death certificates from loved ones.
A missile blew up a crater on a railroad track and damaged buildings near Pokrovsk, a Ukrainian-controlled city of Donbas that has become a major supply and evacuation center.
In Kramatorsk, closer to the front line, the streets were largely deserted, while in Sloviansk, further west, many residents took advantage of what Ukraine said was a break in the Russian assault to leave. .
“My house was bombed, I have nothing,” said Vera Safronova, who was sitting in a train car among the evacuees.
Further north, two people were killed and seven wounded by Russian artillery shelling in the city of Balakliya in the Kharkiv region, an aide to his governor said on Facebook.
Russia is also targeting southern Ukraine, where officials say the bombings killed one civilian and damaged numerous homes in Zaporozhzhia and the missiles destroyed an industrial facility in Kryviy Rih.
Food crisis
Moscow has blocked ships from southern Ukraine that would normally export Ukrainian sunflower grain and oil across the Black Sea, raising prices globally.
The African Union on Wednesday urged the two countries to unblock exports of cereals and fertilizers to prevent widespread famine.
Russia has blamed Western sanctions for the food crisis.
He said on Wednesday he was willing to provide a humanitarian corridor for ships carrying food to leave Ukraine, but wanted sanctions to be lifted in return.
Western nations have imposed severe sanctions on Russia.
The United States pushed Russia closer to the limit of a historic debt default on Wednesday by failing to extend its bond to pay off bonds.
This resignation has allowed Moscow to maintain public debt payments until now.
The European Commission on Wednesday proposed that breaking EU sanctions against Russia be a crime.
The EU also said it hoped to agree sanctions on Russian oil ahead of the next meeting of EU leaders.
But Russia, at least for now, is running out of money. Oil and gas revenues stood at $ 28 billion in April alone thanks to high energy prices.
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to search, up and down arrows to volume. Clock time: 2 minutes 6 seconds 2 m 6 s The Ukrainians said they were expecting a difficult few weeks while Russia concentrates its efforts on the battle for the Donbass.
Reuters
Posted 1 h ago 1 hour ago Thu, May 26, 2022 at 3:44 am, updated 53 m ago, 53 minutes ago, Thu, May 26, 2022 at 4:00 AM