Britain’s Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday it expects Russia to use the same tactics it used to seize almost all of eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk province as it tries to take control of Donetsk province and achieve its goal of its declared, to take control of the entire Donbas region.
On the other hand, Ukrainian forces are continuing the battle in the hope that the arrival of heavy artillery from the West will help their efforts.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Putin during a televised meeting on Monday that Russian forces had taken control of Luhansk.
For his part, Mr. Putin said that the military units “that took part in the fighting and achieved victory” in Luhansk, “should rest and increase their combat capabilities.”
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said Russian forces, in addition to advances in Siveresk, Fodorivka and Bakhmut, are pounding the last centers held by Ukrainian forces in Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, deep in Donetsk.
British television network Sky News broadcast footage of a Ukrainian unit using a French-made mobile heavy artillery vehicle in the battle to push back Russian forces.
“This territory will not be theirs for long. We will defeat them soon”, says a Ukrainian soldier.
In Krasnohorivka, Donetsk region, footage from the Sky News network shows workers unloading aid from a vehicle to distribute to residents.
“Fear and terror take hold of you. I don’t know where the shells will come from. It’s a scary situation. I want to say that we only want peace”, says Valentina, who, together with several other women, is preparing the aid lists for the residents.
According to the television network “Sky News”, the volunteers have a list of about 6,000 people in the area in very desperate conditions who need help.
In Marinka, near the Russian front line in the Donetsk region, residents are housed in underground shelters.
“We are afraid to return home, because we have nowhere to hide,” says a woman in an underground shelter.
What will happen in Donbas may determine the course of the war. If Russia takes it, the Kremlin could use some of those forces to control more territory and dictate the terms of any peace deal.
But if Ukraine manages to hold off the Russian advance for an extended period, it can reorganize for a possible counterattack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his evening speech on Monday that his country needs economic aid to begin reconstruction, even as fighting continues.
Earlier, he addressed a conference in Lugano, Switzerland, where dozens of countries and international organizations are participating, which focuses on the reconstruction efforts of war-torn Ukraine./VOA
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