Ukraine’s deputy defense minister said the Kremlin had ordered the Russian army to conquer the entire Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine by Sunday.
In comments broadcast on Ukrainian television, Hanna Maliar said that, “without exaggeration, decisive battles are taking place” in the region, where Ukrainian forces try to avoid being encircleddespite the fact that Russian troops control about 95% of Lugansk, the focus of the Russian offensive in recent weeks.
“We must understand that the enemy has an advantage in terms of personnel and weapons. So the situation is extremely difficult. And right now these decisive battles are being fought in full force,” he added.
For his part, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has once again asked Western countries for more weapons to repel the Russian attack.
We need support, we need weapons, weapons that have better capabilities than Russian weapons,” he said, speaking via videoconference at a forum organized by the ISPI geopolitical think tank in Milan.
“This is a matter of life or death,” he reiterated.
Lugansk Governor Sergey Gaidai told the Associated Press (AP) that the fiercest fighting was taking place in the villages around Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, two towns in the region that have yet to be captured by the Russians.
He too Russian bombings and airstrikes in industrial areas around Severodonetsk intensified, he said.
Gaidai said the situation in Severodonetsk was “very difficult” as Ukrainian forces remained in control of only one area: the Azot chemical complex, where a number of Ukrainian fighters are taking refuge, along with some 500 civilians.
The Russians continue to send additional troops and equipment to the area, he said.
“It’s hell there. Everything is engulfed in fire, the shelling does not stop even for an hour.Gaidai said.
Only a fraction of the 100,000 people who lived in Severodonetsk before the war remain in the city, currently without electricity, communications, food or medicine.
Even so, the The Ukrainian resistance is holding Moscow back to send troops and military equipment to other parts of the country, Gaidai said.
In the early hours of February 24, Russia launched a military offensive in Ukraine that has already caused more than 15 million people to flee their homes, according to the latest UN data, which places this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe. since World War II (1939-1945).
Also according to the United Nations, about 15 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Ukraine.
The UN confirmed that 4,569 civilians were killed and 5,691 wounded in the warunderlining that the actual numbers could be much higher and will only be known when there is access to fenced off areas or under heavy fighting.
Source: Observadora
