LVIV: UkraineThe U.S. military said on Thursday it had occupied some areas in the south and repelled Russian attacks in the east as a bloody battle broke out at a steel mill Mariupol Where Ukrainian soldiers are hiding in tunnels and bunkers to defend against Russian attack.
Ten weeks into a devastating war, Ukrainian and Russian armies are fighting village-to-village as Moscow struggles to gain momentum in the eastern industrial heartland of the Donbass. Russia turned its attention to the area – where Moscow-backed separatists have fought Ukrainian forces for years – after more resistance than expected, downed its troops and thwarted its initial goal of eliminating the capital.
In addition to the heavy shelling of the Donbass, Russian forces continued to bomb railway stations and other supply-line targets across the country – part of an effort to disrupt Western weapons supplies, which have been vital to Ukraine’s defense.
Ukrainian forces said on Thursday that they made some gains along the border in the southern regions of Kherson and Mykolaiv and repelled 11 Russian attacks in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that make up the Donbass.
Ukrainian officials said five people were killed and at least 25 wounded in shelling in the cities of Donbass in the past 24 hours. Homes and a school were also damaged in the attack.
Air raid sirens were sounded in cities across the country on Wednesday night, while Russian strikes were reported near the capital, Kyiv; in Cherkasy and Dnipro in central Ukraine; and in the southeast in Zaporizhzhya. At Dnipro, officials said a rail facility had been affected after the first of several attacks at railway stations across the country. Sirens sounded early Thursday in the western city of Lviv, which has been a gateway to Western arms and serves as a relative safe haven for those fighting from the east.
An assessment by the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said the Russian military was struggling to gain traction.
“Ukrainian defense has largely halted Russian advances in eastern Ukraine,” it said late on Wednesday.
“Russian forces intensified airstrikes against transport infrastructure in western Ukraine (on Wednesday), but were unable to interfere with Western aid shipments to Ukraine,” it added.
In the most vivid example of how the Ukrainian military has slowed Russia’s progress, Ukrainian fighters held out at the giant Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol – the last pocket of resistance in a city that is otherwise controlled by Moscow’s forces.
“With the support of the aircraft, the enemy resumed the offensive to take control of the plant,” the Ukrainian Army General Staff said on Thursday. A stream of black smoke rose over the plant on Wednesday.
Ukrainians said Russian forces had pushed into the perimeter of the plant and were also bombarding from above. The Kremlin denied that there had been a ground attack.
Denis Prokopenko, the commander of the Ukrainian Azov regiment guarding the plant, said in a video posted on Wednesday that the incursion continued for a second day, “and there are heavy, bloody battles.”
The fall of Mariupol would deprive Ukraine of an important port, allow Russia to establish a land corridor to the Crimean peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014, and free up troops to fight elsewhere in the Donbass. Had given.
The city, and the plant in particular, has become a symbol of the suffering caused by the war. The Russians have destroyed most of Mariupol in a two-month siege, which has trapped civilians with little food, water, medicine or heat. The civilians hiding inside the plant have probably suffered even more damage. About 100 of them were evacuated over the weekend – the first time some had seen daylight in months.
The Russian government said it would open another evacuation corridor from the plant during a few hours from Thursday to Saturday. But those arrangements were not immediately ratified by other sides, and many of the Kremlin’s previous assurances have failed, with Ukrainians accusing the Russians of continued fighting.
It is unclear how many Ukrainian fighters are still inside the plant, but the Russians have put the number in recent weeks at around 2,000, and 500 are reported wounded. A few hundred civilians also live there, the Ukrainian side said this week.
United Nations announced that more than 300 civilians were evacuated from Mariupol and other surrounding communities on Wednesday. The evacuated people reached Zaporizhia, about 140 miles (230 km) to the northwest, where they were receiving humanitarian aid.
“Many came with nothing but the clothes they were wearing, and now we will support them during this difficult time, including the much needed psychological support,” he said. osnat lubraniUnited Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Belarus, which Russia used as a platform for its offensive, on Wednesday announced the start of military exercises. A top Ukrainian official said the country would be ready to act if Belarus joined the fight.
The British Defense Ministry said on Thursday that it does not anticipate that the exercises currently pose a threat to Ukraine, but that Moscow could possibly “fix Ukrainian forces in the north, to prevent them from committing to the Battle for the Donbass”. “Will use them. ,
In addition to arms supplies to Ukraine, Europe and the US have sought to punish Moscow with sanctions targeting the country’s vital energy sector. The top EU official on Wednesday called for sanctions on Russian oil imports from the 27-nation bloc, a significant source of revenue.
The proposal requires unanimous approval from EU countries and is likely to be fiercely debated. Hungary and Slovakia have already said they will not take part in any oil embargo, but they could be exempted.
The European Union is also talking about a possible ban on Russian natural gas. The block has already approved reduction in coal imports.
Ten weeks into a devastating war, Ukrainian and Russian armies are fighting village-to-village as Moscow struggles to gain momentum in the eastern industrial heartland of the Donbass. Russia turned its attention to the area – where Moscow-backed separatists have fought Ukrainian forces for years – after more resistance than expected, downed its troops and thwarted its initial goal of eliminating the capital.
In addition to the heavy shelling of the Donbass, Russian forces continued to bomb railway stations and other supply-line targets across the country – part of an effort to disrupt Western weapons supplies, which have been vital to Ukraine’s defense.
Ukrainian forces said on Thursday that they made some gains along the border in the southern regions of Kherson and Mykolaiv and repelled 11 Russian attacks in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that make up the Donbass.
Ukrainian officials said five people were killed and at least 25 wounded in shelling in the cities of Donbass in the past 24 hours. Homes and a school were also damaged in the attack.
Air raid sirens were sounded in cities across the country on Wednesday night, while Russian strikes were reported near the capital, Kyiv; in Cherkasy and Dnipro in central Ukraine; and in the southeast in Zaporizhzhya. At Dnipro, officials said a rail facility had been affected after the first of several attacks at railway stations across the country. Sirens sounded early Thursday in the western city of Lviv, which has been a gateway to Western arms and serves as a relative safe haven for those fighting from the east.
An assessment by the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said the Russian military was struggling to gain traction.
“Ukrainian defense has largely halted Russian advances in eastern Ukraine,” it said late on Wednesday.
“Russian forces intensified airstrikes against transport infrastructure in western Ukraine (on Wednesday), but were unable to interfere with Western aid shipments to Ukraine,” it added.
In the most vivid example of how the Ukrainian military has slowed Russia’s progress, Ukrainian fighters held out at the giant Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol – the last pocket of resistance in a city that is otherwise controlled by Moscow’s forces.
“With the support of the aircraft, the enemy resumed the offensive to take control of the plant,” the Ukrainian Army General Staff said on Thursday. A stream of black smoke rose over the plant on Wednesday.
Ukrainians said Russian forces had pushed into the perimeter of the plant and were also bombarding from above. The Kremlin denied that there had been a ground attack.
Denis Prokopenko, the commander of the Ukrainian Azov regiment guarding the plant, said in a video posted on Wednesday that the incursion continued for a second day, “and there are heavy, bloody battles.”
The fall of Mariupol would deprive Ukraine of an important port, allow Russia to establish a land corridor to the Crimean peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014, and free up troops to fight elsewhere in the Donbass. Had given.
The city, and the plant in particular, has become a symbol of the suffering caused by the war. The Russians have destroyed most of Mariupol in a two-month siege, which has trapped civilians with little food, water, medicine or heat. The civilians hiding inside the plant have probably suffered even more damage. About 100 of them were evacuated over the weekend – the first time some had seen daylight in months.
The Russian government said it would open another evacuation corridor from the plant during a few hours from Thursday to Saturday. But those arrangements were not immediately ratified by other sides, and many of the Kremlin’s previous assurances have failed, with Ukrainians accusing the Russians of continued fighting.
It is unclear how many Ukrainian fighters are still inside the plant, but the Russians have put the number in recent weeks at around 2,000, and 500 are reported wounded. A few hundred civilians also live there, the Ukrainian side said this week.
United Nations announced that more than 300 civilians were evacuated from Mariupol and other surrounding communities on Wednesday. The evacuated people reached Zaporizhia, about 140 miles (230 km) to the northwest, where they were receiving humanitarian aid.
“Many came with nothing but the clothes they were wearing, and now we will support them during this difficult time, including the much needed psychological support,” he said. osnat lubraniUnited Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Belarus, which Russia used as a platform for its offensive, on Wednesday announced the start of military exercises. A top Ukrainian official said the country would be ready to act if Belarus joined the fight.
The British Defense Ministry said on Thursday that it does not anticipate that the exercises currently pose a threat to Ukraine, but that Moscow could possibly “fix Ukrainian forces in the north, to prevent them from committing to the Battle for the Donbass”. “Will use them. ,
In addition to arms supplies to Ukraine, Europe and the US have sought to punish Moscow with sanctions targeting the country’s vital energy sector. The top EU official on Wednesday called for sanctions on Russian oil imports from the 27-nation bloc, a significant source of revenue.
The proposal requires unanimous approval from EU countries and is likely to be fiercely debated. Hungary and Slovakia have already said they will not take part in any oil embargo, but they could be exempted.
The European Union is also talking about a possible ban on Russian natural gas. The block has already approved reduction in coal imports.