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Russia-Ukraine war on April 19: Donbass, Lviv, Mariupol were fiercely attacked, Ukraine decided to fight to the last drop of blood.

Russia massively attacked Donbass, Lviv

Russia-Ukraine war on April 19: Donbass, Lviv, Mariupol were fiercely attacked, Ukraine decided to fight to the last drop of blood - Photo 1.
Russia-Ukraine war on April 19: Donbass, Lviv, Mariupol were fiercely attacked, Ukraine decided to fight to the last drop of blood - Photo 2.

Smoke rises in the air in Kharkiv, Ukraine on March 25, 2022 after an attack. Photo AP

Ukrainian officials said on April 18 that Russia had begun its long-anticipated offensive to gain control of the country’s eastern industrial heartland when it launched a ground offensive along the nearly 500km front.

Even the city of Lviv in western Ukraine has been hit by a series of deadly missile attacks. Speaking in a video in front of the Ukrainian people, President Volodymyr Zelensk stated: “It is now safe to say that the Russian army has begun the battle for the Donbas that they have been preparing for for a long time. We will defend ourselves. Protect yourself!”.

According to Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, the war has entered a new phase centered on the vast rural plains of Ukraine and is likely to play a decisive role in the whole campaign.

“Our servicemen are resisting,” he said.

Since Russia withdrew its troops from the Kiev area a few weeks ago after failing to capture the Ukrainian capital, the Kremlin has focused on increasing ground forces to the eastern plains of Ukraine to prepare for the operational phase. new motion.

However, some US officials and analysts note that Russia is still moving troops and equipment to the Donbass region, so they question whether Monday’s ground attacks were justified. is the beginning of a new major attack or not.

“We believe that the Russians are shaping and setting the conditions for future offensive operations. We also see that currently there is active fighting in the Donbass, as has happened in the past few weeks. “, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at a Pentagon briefing.

Ukrainian officials say that Russian troops have entered the city of Kreminna, fighting has left four people dead. Luhansk region governor Serhiy Haidai added that two more people were killed by shelling in the eastern city of Zolote.

Governor Serhiy Haidai also urged people to flee even as it became more dangerous than ever. “Save yourself!” he said.

Besides Donbass, Russia also attacked the city of Lviv, which suffered less damage than many other cities in Ukraine.

Rocket attacks on Monday killed seven people in Lviv, a city once considered a significant refuge for Ukrainians, local officials said.

The new long-range strikes against Lviv are seen as part of a recent concerted effort by Moscow to target Ukraine’s infrastructure and weapons production facilities in preparation for an attack on the east. bronze. Russia’s increased bombardment of cities like Lviv, a Ukrainian gateway to other European cities, could also stem the flow of weapons as well as visits by Western officials wanting to go to Kiev to “reinforcement” for Ukraine.

Mariupol is “isolated and fiercely contested”

As Russian forces attempt to capture the strategic southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine has declared that its defenders here will not stop fighting.

The important battle at Mariupol is taking place in the 8th week of the war.

Russia-Ukraine war on April 19: Donbass, Lviv, Mariupol were fiercely attacked, Ukraine decided to fight to the last drop of blood - Photo 3.

Russian army tanks in Mariupol. Reuters photo.

Mariupol – a port city located on the Sea of ​​Azov is considered another key offensive point of Russia. Because capturing the city would help Russian forces create a land corridor between Russian-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.

Ukrainian forces defending the port city ignored Russia’s request to surrender on Sunday, April 17. However, Ukrainian officials have admitted that defensive forces in Ukraine are preparing for a real “life and death” battle at a vast steelworks inside the city.

Besieged and bombarded since the first days of the war, Mariupol is now largely a ruin, with buildings reduced to rubble or charred remains.

More than 430,000 people lived in busy urban areas before the war, but most had to flee their homes. About 100,000 people are believed to be still trapped inside the city in desperate humanitarian conditions, without food, electricity, water, gas for heating and medicine to treat illnesses.

Sergey Volina, commander of Ukraine’s 36th Marine Brigade, said on Monday that several wounded in Mariupol died in “unbearable torment” every day without warning. have medicine, antiseptic, or pain reliever.

Mr. Volina also said that other stranded residents without water, food or gas for heating are in urgent need of evacuation.

“The city needs immediate liberation. “We need heavy weapons for this. … Mariupol can be saved. We are ready to fight to the last drop of blood. But we need to know that the world has gone out of its way to help. Then we are ready to do even the impossible for our country,” Volina posted on Facebook.

A senior US Department of Defense official said Mariupol was “isolated and fiercely contested” on Monday. The official said that, if Russian forces take full control of the city, they will be able to redeploy to the Donbas region a significant portion of the nearly a dozen elite combat units currently fighting in the region. Mariupol.

President Putin: Western economic strategy has failed

Both U.S. and Ukrainian officials believe that harsh economic sanctions imposed on Russia have damaged its ability to replenish weapons in the war.

However, citing a rebound in the value of the ruble and a record trade surplus, Putin asserted that the West’s strategy of “lightning economic strangulation has failed”.

Russia-Ukraine war on April 19: Donbass, Lviv, Mariupol were fiercely attacked, Ukraine decided to fight to the last drop of blood - Photo 4.

Russian President Putin. Photo TASS

He acknowledged that domestic inflation had spiked in Russia, but said state measures were being taken to lessen the effects of inflation on individuals in Russia while Western consumers were left with a low income. a much worse situation.

However, in this new statement, Putin did not mention the sinking of the flagship Moscow in the Black Sea last week.

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