Kuronen told this morning about the situation in the Donbas region. Russia uses artillery, but has failed to break Ukraine’s defense.
‘s foreign supplier currently in Eastern Ukraine Antti Kuronen was caught in the middle of a Russian fire yesterday. He visited the Ukrainian Army Field Hospital in Donetsk, where severely wounded soldiers and civilians are being treated before they are transferred further from the front.
During the visit, the Russian army opened fire on the hospital and Kuronen and the photographer Ivar Heinmaa was promptly assigned to a hospital doorway for protection. The situation was recorded in a video that you can watch from the main picture of the story.
– The fighting is very fierce, but Russia has not succeeded in breaking through Ukraine. Russia uses artillery, it shoots civilian targets and the Ukrainian army in many places. Civilians and Ukrainian soldiers are wounded and killed, but it is clear that Russian soldiers are most likely to fall.
Kuronen has visited small towns close to the front. He is currently about 40 to 50 kilometers from the front in the town of Kramatorsk. The situation there has been calm, but Russia fired on the city at night.
The major Russian invasion began a few weeks ago in eastern Ukraine, but no progress has been made. Russia said it wanted to take over the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the Donbas region.
– They have not succeeded in that, and they have not succeeded in moving south towards Odessa, which means that Russia’s successes are very meager. That is why Russia is now investing a lot in capturing the city of Mariupol, Kuronen says.
– Russia has hit there relentlessly for the last few days and claims that there are already troops in the factory area. There are strong rumors that Mariupol would be the target of the Victory Day celebration.
Russia’s traditional holiday, Victory Day, is celebrated on May 9th.
Yesterday, Russia announced a ceasefire in Mariupol to evacuate civilians in the steel plant area. Kuronen thinks Russia wants to clear the area before the last major attack.
Belarus launched an extensive military exercise yesterday, but it has not caused much concern in Ukraine, according to Kuronen.
– Ukraine sees that the purpose of the exercise is to tie the Ukrainian forces to the north for a possible attack, so that they cannot transfer them to the ongoing fighting.
You can discuss topic 6.5. until 11 p.m.