Despite “holding out” in the vital city of Severodonetsk, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky claims that the city has “become one of the dead cities.
When will the conflict in Ukraine come to an end? Three months into the conflict, Russia has stepped up its assaults on the war-torn country’s eastern regions, prompting foreign leaders to call for a pause in the fighting. After taking several important cities, Russia has turned its attention to Severodonetsk, a strategically important city in the Luhansk area. It has “become one of the lifeless cities,” claims Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, even though his men have been “holding out” there. Russian troops have made significant gains in the eastern half of the nation since April after being knocked back in other areas of the country. Since the offensive started on February 24, thousands of civilians have been murdered, and millions of more have been displaced.
The following are the most recent developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine:
1. After retaking sections of the crucial eastern city of Severodonetsk, where Volodymyr Zelensky had warned that his men were “outnumbered” by a stronger side, Ukrainian soldiers suffered a significant defeat. “We are holding out in the important city, but there are more of them, and they are stronger,” Zelensky told the reporters.
2. Severodonetsk and Lysychansk are now “dead cities,” according to Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko. “They never stop shooting here… According to him, it is “a horror show.”
3. According to Zelensky, quoted by Bloomberg, Ukraine is in negotiations with the United Nations about options to transfer grain from ports that are blocked by Russian armed forces. Even if a preliminary agreement between Turkey and Moscow to begin exports has been reached, the Ukrainian capital is still suspicious.
4. Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has been barred from visiting Serbia because of the violence in and around the strategically important city of Severodonetsk.
5. According to the Ukrainian president, Zaporizhzhia, a territory west of Donetsk that is partially seized by Russian troops, is now in the “most hazardous scenario” of the conflict. It is clear that the adversary intends to take over Zaporizhzhia from intercepted phone conversations, he added while addressing the journalists.
6. Ahead of schedule, the United Kingdom will follow the US and equip Ukraine with long-range missile systems, disregarding Russian concerns. “The M270 launchers, which can hit targets up to 80 kilometres (50 miles) distant with precision-guided rockets, will give a major increase in capacity for the Ukrainian military,” the UK defence ministry said in a statement.
7. Vladimir Putin vowed to hit additional Ukrainian targets if the United States and the United Kingdom agreed to transfer longer-range missiles to Ukraine.
8. At least three armament stockpiles and a fuel storage facility in the Donetsk area were attacked by Russian aircraft, according to the Russian defence ministry.
