Minister Shoigu announced that Russian forces and separatists are about to take control of the entire Lugansk province in eastern Ukraine after nearly three months of fighting.
“The process of liberating the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) is nearing completion”, said General Sergey Shoigu, Defense Minister Russiaannounced in the meeting on May 20.
“Armed Forces Ukraine are trying to delay the advance of the Russian army, not allowing the locals to go out of the cities or towns and use them as human shields,” he said.
Shoigu said the Ukrainian authorities “are suffering defeat on the ground” and “seek to achieve short-term success in certain areas as great successes”.
The Russian Defense Minister announced that the Russian army continued to besiege the Azovstal iron and steel factory in the city of Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast. “The nationalists inside the Azovstal factory continued to surrender, so far 1,908 people have laid down their arms and surrendered,” he said.
A member of the armed forces of the People’s Republic of Lugansk self-proclaimed at a checkpoint near the village of Novotoshkovsky April 7. Image: RIA Novosti.
General Shoigu asserted that Russian forces “are doing everything possible to prevent civilian casualties” in Ukraine. Russian forces deploy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for reconnaissance and targeting in Ukrainian cities in order to “prevent damage to civilian infrastructure and civilians”.
He also mentioned the Ukrainian raid on Zmiinyi island in the Black Sea, controlled by Russian forces, on the eve of the 77th anniversary of Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany. “This suspicious behavior turned out to be a total failure. Future provocations will be dealt with severely,” Shoigu said.
Ukraine has not commented on the information of the Russian Defense Minister.
Russia launched a special military operation on February 24 to “demilitarize and de-fascist Ukraine”. After nearly 90 days of fighting, although Russia controlled 80% of the Donbass region, the fighting here turned into a tug-of-war, especially in areas with difficult terrain.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov on May 17 assessed that the war with Russia has entered prolonged periodas Moscow prepares for a long-term military campaign for complete control of the Donbass region.
President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday described the situation in the Donbass region as “like hell” as Russian forces tried to increase pressure. He accused the Russian side of “severe and senseless bombardment” on the city of Severodonetsk, Lugansk province, killing 12 people and injuring dozens in one day.
An unnamed senior official at the Pentagon said Russian forces now operate in eastern Ukraine in smaller groups, instead of attacking with large-scale battalion-level units as before, in order to deal with logistical and organizational problems in the region. battlefield.
Frontline of the Eastern Ukraine battlefield. Click to see details.
Nguyen Tien (According to Zvezda, AFP)
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