Ukraine War: Russia captures the first city in Donbass
Russia captures the city of Kreminna as attacks continue in the region Donbasseastern Ukraine.
Forces Russia captured the city of Kreminna in eastern Ukraine and the Ukrainian army withdrew from the city, Serhiy Gaidai, governor of the Lugansk region, told a press conference on April 19.
Kreminna, with a population of more than 18,000, appears to be the first city confirmed to have been captured by Russian forces since Moscow launched a new offensive in the Donbass region.
“Kreminna is under the control of the Russians. They have entered the city. Our defenders had to retreat, entrench themselves in new positions and continue to fight the Russian army,” said Serhiy Gaidai. good.
Regional Governor Lugansk did not specify when Russian forces established control of Kreminna, but said Russia had attacked “from all sides”.
Gadai estimated that about 200 people were killed, but in reality there could be more. However, Mr. Gadai also did not specify the time period in which the death toll was counted.
Tensions at Mariupol
Meanwhile in the city of Mariupol, the warriors Ukraine are believed to be entrenched in underground bunkers beneath the vast Azovstal steel plant, along with about 1,000 civilians.
The Russian Defense Ministry has made a new proposal for Ukrainian soldiers hiding in the factory to surrender their weapons. In addition, the ministry also said that the Russian military will abide by a ceasefire in the Azovstal region while the proposal goes into effect, starting at 2 p.m. Moscow time, April 20.
Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24. Repulsed by Ukrainian forces following an assault on the capital Kiev to the north, Russia has moved east to mount a ground assault. Attacks were reported along the entire eastern front.
The capture of Kreminna brings Russian forces closer to the much larger city of Kramatorsk, one of the potential Russian targets in the Donbass offensive.
The capture of Donbass and the southern port city of Mariupol would help Russia establish a land link between the territory it controls in eastern Ukraine and Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
Meanwhile, it is unclear when round Russia-Ukraine negotiations next could happen. On April 19, Ukraine’s chief negotiator said it is difficult to predict when peace talks can resume because Russia is besieging Mariupol and “wants to strengthen its position” with a military strike. new.
Kiev and Moscow have not held face-to-face talks since March 29. Mykhailo Podolyak, Ukraine’s top negotiator, said the repeated failures in efforts to arrange safe corridors to evacuate Ukrainian civilians trapped in Mariupol also caused complications.
Russia implements the plan in a “methodical” way
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Russian forces were “methodically conducting” plans to “liberate” two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.
“The plan to liberate the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics is being carried out methodically,” Shoigu was quoted as saying by the RIA news agency.
According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the goal of Russia’s new offensive in eastern Ukraine is to capture the entire Lugansk and Donetsk regions and establish a land link between these territories and Crimea and destroy the Ukrainian armed forces.
at Blogtuan.info – Source: laodong.vn – Read the original article here