In the midst of Russia’s increased attack on Donbass, Ukraine made a sudden tough move

After crushing the resistance of the last Ukrainian fighters entrenched in the strategic southeastern city of Mariupol, Russia is launching a major offensive in Luhansk, one of two provinces in the Donbass region.

Russian-backed separatists controlled much of the territory in Luhansk and neighboring Donetsk province before February 24, but Moscow took full control of parts of the Donbass that Ukraine controls.

“The situation in the Donbass remains extremely difficult. The Russian military is trying to attack the cities of Sloviansk and Sievierodonetsk, but Ukrainian forces are blocking their advance,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a speech. nightly schedule.

Meanwhile, Zelensky’s adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, denied that Ukraine had agreed to a ceasefire and said Kiev would not accept any agreement with Moscow regarding territorial concessions. Mr. Podolyak stated that concessions would backfire on Ukraine because Russia would attack even harder.

“The war won’t stop (after Ukraine makes concessions). It will just pause for a while,” said Podolyak, Ukraine’s chief negotiator. They will start a new attack, even more bloody and on a larger scale.”

Recent calls for an immediate ceasefire have come from US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi amid stalled peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. Both Russia and Ukraine blame each other for this. The most recent round of direct negotiations between the two countries took place at the end of March in Istanbul, Turkey.

Ukrainian forces in Luhansk and Donetsk on Saturday said they had repelled nine attacks and destroyed five tanks and 10 other armored vehicles of the Russian army in the past 24 hours.

The Ukrainian military said that Russian forces are using aircraft, artillery, tanks, rockets, mortars and missiles to attack along the entire Donbass front. They said at least seven people were killed in the Donetsk region.

The Russian military destroyed a bridge on the Siverskiy Donets river between Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk, Luhansk region governor Serhiy Gaidai said, adding that fighting had been going on on the outskirts of Sievierodonetsk from morning until night.