If these two cities fall, Russia will have taken control of the Luhansk region. The Ukrainian army announced that in the war intensifying in the east of the country, Russian troops attacked more than 40 cities in the Donbas region and that the last major escape route of the civilians is in danger of being closed. Making a statement on its Facebook account, the Ukrainian army reported that 47 civilian buildings, including 38 residences and a school, were shot down by the Russians in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and that “five civilians lost their lives and 12 were injured as a result of these attacks.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated that Russian soldiers are far superior to Ukrainian soldiers in some regions in eastern Ukraine. Stating that on the front lines, “the enemy is clearly superior in terms of both equipment and the number of soldiers,” Zelenskiy stated that the Ukrainian army is still able to withstand “extremely violent attacks”.
INTENSE CONFLICT IN SYEVYERODONETSK AND LISICHANSK
Meanwhile, it is reported that the Russian army has intensified its attacks in recent days and has captured the outer regions of the industrial city of Syevyerodonetsk. Syevyerodonetsk and the neighboring city of Lysychansk are the last two major settlements in the Luhansk region where the Ukrainians resisted against the Russian invaders.
When Russia failed to be successful militarily in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and in Kharkiv, the country’s second largest city, which it attacked in February, it concentrated its attacks in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which have been largely under the control of pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine since 2014. The aim of the Russian army, which has moved thousands of its soldiers to this region for the operation against Syevyerodonetsk and Lysychansk, is to encircle the cities in question and force the Ukrainian soldiers here to surrender. If these two cities are occupied by Russia, Moscow will have achieved one of its important goals by taking control of the Luhansk region completely.
Lastly, the Ukrainian army reported that ten Russian attacks were repelled in this region, four Russian tanks and four SİHAs (armed unmanned aerial vehicles) were hit and 62 enemy soldiers were killed. However, this information has not been confirmed by impartial persons or institutions.
SEPARATIONS: 8 THOUSAND UKRAINIAN MILITARY POWERS
A representative of the pro-Russian separatist forces in Luhansk, who made statements to the Russian news agency TASS, claimed that they have now captured about 8,000 Ukrainian soldiers. Defending that the number of prisoners in the Donetsk region is higher, the representative stated that they capture hundreds of new prisoners every day. This information cannot be verified by unbiased sources either.
ZELENSKIY DOESN’T COMMIT TO SOIL INTEGRITY
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Zelensky opposed the idea that Ukraine should give Russia part of its territory to end the war. “Whatever the Russian state does, it finds someone who will say, ‘Let’s take their interests into account,'” said Zelenskiy. “They don’t see ordinary people, ordinary Ukrainians, millions they want to exchange,” he said.
Esli United States (US) Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, in his speech at the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland, suggested that Ukraine leave the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, to Moscow.
Reuters,AFP / ET,JD