Fighting is raging in Severodonetsk, while other cities in the Donbas are under constant airstrikes. Satellite images by Maxar Technologies show that at least two hospitals in Severodonetsk and the town of Rubijne were hit.
The bodies of more than 200 soldiers have been repatriated to Ukraine, most of them “heroic defenders” of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukrainian authorities said.
In Mariupol there is a risk of a cholera epidemic due to the corpses and garbage gathered in the city.
President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the “heroic” defense of this key city of Donbas, while warning that next winter will be “the most difficult” in the last three decades since Ukraine gained independence, while talking about the threat of an energy crisis due to the Russian invasion.
British Ministry of Defense: Ukrainian troops have recently achieved some success through counterattacks in the Kherson region
In the assessment of Wednesday’s war, the British Ministry of Defense reports that the Ukrainian army has recently achieved some successes by counterattacks in the Kherson region, including gaining a foothold on the east bank of the Inhulet River.
The British note that Russia continues to try to attack Severodonetsk’s bag from three directions, although the Ukrainian defense resists. It is unlikely that either party has gained significant ground in the last 24 hours.
Given that the front of the occupied zone stretches for more than 500 km, both Russia and Ukraine face similar challenges in maintaining a defensive line while releasing combat units capable of offensive operations, he added. London.
The British Ministry of Defense points out that in the Kherson region, Russia is forcibly integrating the administration with that of the Russian Federation by introducing the Russian ruble as a legal means of payment and by hiring Russian teachers to introduce the curriculum and the Russian language in schools.
Russia is likely to claim that the occupation of Kherson is evidence of improved governance and living standards for the Ukrainian people, the British report concludes. The term “bag” in military terminology is an area or territory with existing military units on it, around which the front line is closed by the enemy.
Huge pressure from the Russians: “There are bombings everywhere, 24 hours a day”
Ukrainian forces may be forced to retreat to better positions in Severodonetsk, but will not surrender this eastern Ukrainian city, Lugansk region governor Serhii Haidai said on Wednesday. Fierce fighting in the locality continued on Wednesday, as Ukraine expected an intensification of Russian bombing and a strong offensive, in which all Moscow’s efforts appear to be concentrated, the official told Ukrainian television. Haidai added that the Russians were also bombing the town of Lisiciansk, located on the other side of the Donets River. On Tuesday, a man was killed on the street and a woman was hospitalized. “There are bombings everywhere, 24 hours a day,” the governor said, according to Reuters.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a televised speech on Tuesday – unusual recently, AFP notes – that Russian forces have “completely liberated” residential neighborhoods in Severodonetsk, and “taking control of the industrial area and neighboring towns continues.”
In Sloviansk, about 85 km west of Severodonetsk, women with small children were queuing for help on the same day, and other locals were carrying buckets of water in preparation for the Russian offensive. Kharkov, Ukraine’s second-largest city, was also hit by shells on Tuesday, and the mayor said the bombing claimed one victim. It had been relatively quiet there for the past few weeks.
More than 1,000 Ukrainian prisoners captured in Mariupol have been deported to Russia
More than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered in the port city of Mariupol have been transferred to Russia for investigation, according to a Russian police source, Reuters reports. If confirmed, the news could further affect the peace talks between the two camps. Kyiv is trying to release about 2,000 defenders at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol through a prisoner exchange, but Russian lawmakers have demanded that some of the soldiers be tried in Russia.
“More than 1,000 people from Azovstal have been brought to Russia,” the TASS news agency wrote, citing a Russian police source, but did not provide details about what will happen next to Ukrainian prisoners.
Institute for the Study of War: Relatives of Russian Russians Dead on Moskva Ship Threatened to Cancel Financial Compensation
In the assessment from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning, the Washington Institute for War Study (ISW) reports that Russian forces have continued offensive operations in several locations in eastern Ukraine, but have not confirmed any gains in Tuesday’s ground assaults.
ISW analysts note that the Kremlin’s efforts to censor information about the dead military personnel and the ongoing forced mobilization in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics are intensifying internal tensions and opposition to the war in Russia.
Exhausted Russian soldiers complain about the conditions under which they are forced to fight: “I’m hungry”
Russia’s assault on eastern Ukraine has brought Moscow relative success on the battlefield, but those gains have also come with dissatisfaction from Putin’s troops in the neighboring country. After more than 100 days of war, Russian soldiers are showing signs of exhaustion and demanding an investigation into the precarious conditions on the front. “I am suffering from hunger and cold. For a significant period, we have been deprived of any material, medical or food support,” said Putin’s military, as The Guardian reports.
Motorcade of Russian armored vehicles, destroyed by the Ukrainian army with the help of a 15-year-old child
A 15-year-old boy helped the Ukrainian army locate and destroy a motorcade of Russian armored vehicles heading for Kyiv, which he wanted to conquer. It happened at the beginning of the invasion, only that Vladimir Putin’s soldiers in this column did not get close to the capital. The boy used his drone to locate the invading troops and communicated the position of the Ukrainian military who managed to destroy the armored column. Last summer, Andrii Pokrasa raised enough money to buy a drone.
The 15-year-old flew every day to his home near Kyiv. Andrii Pokrasa: I’m afraid of heights, but I love to fly. I like to take pictures from above.
But in February, the village of Pokrasa woke up on Russia’s war line. Russian tanks were seen advancing. The Ukrainian army did not know the exact location, so they started looking for a drone pilot.
Angela Merkel, on her relationship with Russia: “I have nothing to apologize for”
Former Chancellor Angela Merkel defends her position on her relationship with Vladimir Putin when she was in charge of Germany and says she “has no reason to apologize” for her response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, when it backed sanctions. Angela Merkel also defended her opposition to Ukraine’s accession to NATO.
Angela Merkel has been accused of leaving Germany vulnerable by maintaining economic relations with Russia.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline was built during the time when it was the chancellor of Germany and was blocked by its successor, the current chancellor Olaf Scholz, shortly before Russia attacked Ukraine. Now, under pressure to impose new sanctions, Germany is working to reduce its dependence on Russian gas without harming its own economy. In her first major interview after leaving the post of Chancellor, Angela Merkel said that Europe and Russia are neighbors and cannot be ignored. “We have to find a way to coexist, despite our differences,” she said.