Ukraine’s defense minister has said it is “possible” that the war with Russia will end later this year.
Oleksiy Reznikov was speaking at an international security forum a few hours after the war entered its 100th day.
He said: “Russia continues to make efforts to occupy our entire state.
“It is currently impossible to predict when the war will end, but my optimistic predictions are that it will be possible this year.”
But he warned that until the Russians are forced to leave Ukraine, other countries are also at risk, saying: “Poland, the Baltic countries, Slovakia and others will be next.
“That is why we must stop Russia and stop them in the future.”
His warning about Russia’s ambitions came after French President Emmanuel Macron was criticized for saying Moscow should not be “humiliated” by its neighbor’s invasion.
In an interview with a regional newspaper, Macron said: “We must not humiliate Russia so that on the day the fighting ends we can build an exit ramp by diplomatic means.”
In response, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, tweeted: “Calls to prevent the humiliation of Russia can only humiliate France and all other countries that demand it.”
He added: “It’s better that we all focus on how to put Russia in its place.”
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4:54 Children control man from Ukraine
Explosions were heard in Kyiv
The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, said that during the night several explosions were heard in the city.
Posting in the Telegram, he said the blasts were heard in the Darnytsky and Dniprovsky districts, while working to obtain more information.
Fierce fighting continues in the Donbas region
Meanwhile, fierce fighting continues in the southeastern areas of Donetsk and Luhansk, the focus of the Russian army since last month it gave up hope of taking the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
Ukraine said it had recaptured part of the strategically important city of Severodonetsk, a success in a region where Russia has been steadily progressing.
Serhiy Haidai, governor of Luhansk province, said that Ukrainian forces had previously controlled about 30% of the city, but that the counterattack had won them 20%.
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Russia’s Defense Ministry said its troops were forcing the Ukrainians to retreat across the Siverskiy Donets River to Lysychansk.
Russian airstrikes blew up bridges and apartment buildings on Saturday.
If Russia took Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, Luhansk province would be under Moscow’s control, and the entire Donbas region – including Luhansk and Donetsk – would be within its reach.
British officials said Russia was devoting significant troop strength and firepower to “progressive progress” in the region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday night: “The situation is still very difficult in Severodonetsk, where there are street fights.”
Read more: Children with toy guns at checkpoints as body hunters search for dead Russian soldiers
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0:35 ‘Victory will be ours’
Elsewhere this weekend, Russian bombings killed at least three civilians in the Black Sea port city of Mykolaiv, Mayor Oleksandr Senkevich said.
Russian bombing and arson contributed to the destruction of a 16th-century wooden Orthodox Christian monastery in eastern Ukraine, killing two monks and a nun.
And the number of civilian bodies that have been exhumed in the Kyiv region since Russia’s military withdrawal now stands at more than 1,300, according to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry.