The Russian army has poured all its strength into attacking a series of cities to encircle Ukrainian forces in the east, when the fighting entered a fierce phase.
Ministry of Defense Spokesperson Ukraine Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said today that Russian forces are trying to surround the Ukrainian army in two cities on the banks of the River Siverskyi Donetsk, including: Sievierodonetsk on the east coast and Lysychansk on the west coast.
“We are witnessing the fiercest phase of Russia’s all-out offensive,” Motuzyanyk told a televised news conference. “The situation on the eastern front is extremely difficult, because the fate of the country is probably being decided right now.”
Officials in the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine said Russian forces were trying to surround the two cities from three directions.
“The enemy has put all his strength to carry out the attack to besiege Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk,” said Serhiy Gaidai, governor of Luhansk province. “The intensity of the fire raid on Sievierodonetsk has increased many times over, they are trying to destroy the city.”
A tank of pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk province, eastern Ukraine on May 22. Image: Reuters.
Gaidai says about 15,000 people live in the two cities. Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk are considered Ukraine’s last strongholds in the Lugansk province, where Russian forces control about 90% of the area.
Gaidai said Ukrainian forces pushed back Russian troops from the village Toshkivka, just south of Sievierodonetsk. Meanwhile, Russian-backed separatists say they have control of the village of Svitlodarsk south of Bakhmut.
Farther west, Slovyanskone of the largest cities in the Donbass region still controlled by Ukraine, the sirens of air raids kept ringing.
As the military campaign enters its fourth month, senior Russian officials have indicated they will be determined to achieve their goals in Ukraine, signaling that the conflict will continue to drag on.
Defense Minister Russia Sergei Shoigu said on May 24 that Moscow was deliberately advancing slowly to avoid civilian casualties. He added that Russia was almost in complete control of the Lugansk province.
“The liberation of the Lugansk People’s Republic is nearing completion,” he said, revealing that Moscow would establish new military bases in western Russia to deal with the risk of expanding its borders. NATO.
Nikolai Patrushev, head of the security council of the President of Russia Vladimir Putinsaid Moscow was not “running to deadlines” and would fight until “fascism” was eliminated in Ukraine.
Russia’s parliament is considering removing the maximum age limit for professional servicemen serving on contract. Under current law, only Russians aged 18-40 and foreign citizens aged 18-30 are eligible to sign a contract to serve the country’s military. Observers say this could be a sign that Moscow may be looking to recruit more troops for the military campaign in Ukraine.
Fierce fighting in the Donbass region took place after the city Mariupol Total fall since last week, seen as Russia’s biggest victory in three months of campaign.
Petro Andryushchenko, assistant mayor of Mariupol, said about 200 bodies of civilians were found in the basement of a high-rise building in the southeastern Ukrainian city. Russian forces have not commented on this information.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted that the fierce fighting in the Donbass showed that Kiev still needed more weapons from the West, especially multiple launch rocket systems, long-range artillery and armored vehicles.
Ukraine’s military announced that its forces have begun using foreign-made SwitchBlade suicide drones to attack the enemy. These planes are equipped with powerful explosives, which can plunge and destroy Russian tanks.
The US last month sent 100 SwitchBlade planes to Ukraine. According to a manufacturing company, this small aircraft model can hit targets within 6 km.
Location of the city of Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine. Graphics: BBC.
“The coming weeks are going to be very difficult and we have to be very vigilant,” President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensksy said in a late-night speech on May 23, referring to the fierce fighting in the Donbass area.
The results of a poll released on May 24 showed that 82% of Ukrainians think that any part of the territory should not be given up in exchange for a peace agreement with Russia. This is said to reflect the obstacles to a diplomatic solution to the conflict between the two countries.
Ivan Timofeev, director at the Russian Council of International Affairs, also said that the prospect of peace in Ukraine had become remote in the past month. Not only is Ukraine encouraged to fight, but Timofeev says Putin cannot accept a peace deal at a time when the Russian campaign is in trouble.
This analyst said it is difficult to get concessions from both sides, because this can be seen as a failure. “The parties are trying to win some decisive military victories,” Timofeev said.
Three months since the military conflict began on February 24, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that the fighting in Ukraine has displaced more than 7 million people and more than 6 , 5 million people evacuated to other countries.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCR) estimated the fighting had left at least 3,930 civilians dead and 4,532 injured, but warned the actual number could be higher.
Thanh Tam (According to Reuters, AFP, CNN)
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