A line of Russian military vehicles can be seen near the Oktyabr’ski village in the Belgorod region near the Russian-Ukrainian border.
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Governor said at least three people were killed and dozens of homes were damaged in the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukrainian border as Kyiv admitted that the last major fortress in eastern Ukraine could be lost to Kremlin troops. Said on Sunday.
Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported that an explosion occurred in nearly 400,000 cities about 40 km (25 miles) north of the Ukrainian border.
In a Telegram messaging app, Gradkov said at least 11 apartments and 39 homes were damaged, five of which were destroyed.
Russia’s senior lawmaker Andrey Krishas accused Ukraine of bombarding Belgorod and called for a military response.
“The death of civilians and the destruction of civil infrastructure in Belgorod is a direct aggression on the part of Ukraine and requires the strictest response, including the military,” Krishas wrote in Telegram.
Moscow has accused Kieu of several attacks on Belgorod and other areas adjacent to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion of February 24. Ukraine does not claim responsibility, but describes the case as a reward and “karma” for Russia’s aggression.
There was no immediate reaction from Ukraine to the recent attacks, and Reuters was unable to independently verify the Russian account.
Thousands of civilians have been killed and the city leveled since Russia invaded Ukraine. Russia has denied that President Vladimir Putin targets civilians, which he calls a “special military operation” to demilitarize and “demilitarize” neighboring countries.
Russia focuses on expelling Ukrainian troops from Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts in Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists have fought against Kyiv since Russia’s first military intervention in Ukraine in 2014. I am.
Ukrainian troops on the Eastern Front portray intense artillery fire in residential areas, especially around Lysychans’k, the last holdout city in Luhansk.
Russian troops crossed the Siverskyi Donets to occupy Lysychans’ sister city Severodonetsk last month after the fierce battle of the war.
The eastern city of Severodonetsk has been heavily bombarded and missile-attacked by Russian troops.
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“Unfortunately, Lysychans’k has not been released yet,” Russia’s ambassador to the self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Luhansk, Rodion Miloshnik, told Russian television. ..
Russian media showed a video of Luhansk militia parading the streets of Lysychans’k waving flags, but Ukrainian National Guard spokesman Luslan Musicuchk on Ukrainian television and the city Ukrainian. He said it was still in his hands.
“Currently there is a fierce battle near Lysychans’k, but fortunately the city is not surrounded and is under the control of the Ukrainian army,” said Mujichuk.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the battlefield reports.
Zelenskyy’s adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said Russian troops have finally crossed the Siverskiy Donets River and are approaching the city from the north.
“This is certainly a threat. We’ll look at it now. We won’t rule out any of the many consequences here. Within a day or two, things will be even clearer,” he said.
However, Arrestvic said that adopting Lysychans’k strategically complicates the matter for Russians, as adopting Lysychans’k requires focusing on the six major cities of the industrialized East Donbus region and distributing the army more thinly. Said that it would be.
“The more Western weapons come to the fore, the more favorable the situation for Ukraine will change,” he added. Ukraine has repeatedly accused more weapons from the West, saying its troops have been badly defeated.
“Very difficult road”
Russia said it had attacked Mykolaiv’s military headquarters near the important port of Odesa in the Black Sea, where the mayor reported a powerful explosion on Saturday, far from the eastern battle.
Ukrainian officials said another missile crashed into an apartment near Odesa on Friday, killing at least 21 people. A shopping mall was attacked in the central city of Kremenchuk on Monday, killing at least 19 people.
Zelensky accused Friday’s strike of “a conscious and deliberately targeted Russian terrorist attack, not some sort of mistake or accidental missile strike.”
In his nightly television speech on Saturday, Zelensky said it would be a “very difficult road” to victory, but the Ukrainians remained determined and “invaders … all Russians left Ukraine. You have to bear the loss, “remember that you can’t break.”
Armies escaping from combat in the market town of Constiantinifka, about 115 km (70 miles) west of Lysychans’k, have managed to manage a supply road to a confused city so far, despite Russian bombardment. He said he kept it open.
“I still use the road because I need it, but it’s within the range of Russian artillery,” said one soldier, while his companions relaxed nearby, ate sandwiches, and ate ice cream. Stated.
“The current Russian tactic is to bombard every building we can find. When they destroy it, they move on to the next building,” he said.
Despite being abused in the east, Ukrainian troops have forced Russia to withdraw from Snake Island, the Black Sea outskirts southeast of Odesa occupied by Moscow at the beginning of the war, in several other places. I have made progress.
Russia used Snake Island to block Ukraine, one of the world’s largest grain exporters and a major producer of vegetable oil seeds. The turmoil has helped raise global grain and food prices.
Russia, another big grain producer, has blamed the crisis of western sanctions that are hurting its exports.
