The situation in Donbas becomes more difficult for Ukrainians every day as invaders throw all their resources to destroy and then occupy both Ukrainian eastern regions. The occupiers have been trying to gain a foothold in Severodonetsk, Luhansk Oblast, where Ukrainian forces were almost surrounded by Russian troops. Heavy fighting continues in the Luhansk region, where Russians already control 95 percent of the territory.
The Russian Federation has fired artillery at the center of Lysychansk, and damaged apartment buildings and private houses, hotel premises, and garages were damaged, and no one was injured. The occupiers have been trying to resume their offensive on Sloviansk in Donetsk Oblast, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army has reported.
The American Institute for War Studies (ISW) suggests that the Russian occupiers plan to intensify the battle for Severodonetsk and are preparing to attack Siversk.
According to the analysis, Russian troops have given priority to advancing east and west of Popasna to cut Ukrainian ground lines southwest of Severodonetsk and complete efforts to encircle Luhansk Oblast.
Read also: Russian airstrikes hit Zaporizhzhya, Kryvyi Rih, and Kharkiv oblasts
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on the world to remember that now is 2022, not 1938, and reminded of the millions of Ukrainians living in the territories that some Western politicians, like former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, are proposing to Ukraine to “exchange for the illusion of peace.”
Russia continues blackmailing the world community that faces a food crisis due to the Russian naval blockade of Ukrainian ports. Russian officials have been saying that they might allow Ukrainian grains to be exported from Odesa ports in exchange for lifting sanctions. The US has already said that it would not fall for the Kremlin’s demands.
Ukraine keeps asking the West to provide heavy weapons fast but faces more and more delays.
Israel has rejected a request from the United States to allow Berlin to supply Ukraine with Spike anti-tank missiles made in Germany using Israeli technology and a license, Axios reported, citing two representatives from the United States and Israel.
