Ukraine: ‘Battle for Donbass’ begins

The Russian armed forces have launched an offensive against eastern Ukraine, which is bombing hard, while continuing to fire on the western part of the country, the Ukrainian authorities announced on Monday, the 54th day of the war.

“We can now confirm that Russian troops have begun fighting for it Donbass, for which they have been preparing for a long time. “A large part of the entire Russian army is now committed to this attack,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a sermon uploaded to the Telegram platform.

“Regardless of how many Russian troops will be sent here, we will fight. We will defend ourselves,” he added, following his warning that the Russian military wanted to “destroy” the Donbass.

Pentagon: Russia has deployed more forces east and south

Russia’s military has deployed more troops in eastern and southern Ukraine, the Pentagon said Monday.

“We see the Russians continuing the flow of (…) capabilities that will help them in the battle for Donbass,” US Department of Defense spokesman John Kerby told accredited editors.

He clarified that he referred to “artillery”, “aircraft and helicopters” and “command and control” means. “We believe that they have increased the number of their battalions in eastern and southern Ukraine,” he added.

Mr Kerby said he was not going to give details of the positions of Russian forces, but added that “regardless of this”, Washington is seeing an increase in airstrikes and artillery shelling in the southeastern part of Donbas and in the south, “especially around from and in Mariupol “.

“In recent days (…) the Russians have been doing what we call the formation of the field,” the Pentagon spokesman said. “They are trying to create the conditions for more aggressive, more open and bigger land maneuvers in Donbass.”

He also referred to the “chronic difficulties” that Washington sees in logistics, communications, business maneuver coordination and air and land resources cooperation. “It remains to be seen whether they ‘solved’ these problems and are now ready to carry out more efficiently (their business plans) in Donbass.”

What is happening on Ukrainian soil

His Ukrainian governor Lugansk Serhiy Gaydai sees “hell”: “the attack has started, the one we have been talking about for weeks,” he said via Facebook.

“There are battles in Rubizne and to Popasnaincessant fighting in other peaceful cities, “he said, acknowledging that Kremimna “Unfortunately it was captured by the whales”, according to the derogatory characterization of Ukrainian officials for the Russian military.

The city, which had a population of 18,000 before the war, is located about fifty kilometers northeast of Kramatorskits capital Donbass.

At least four civilians were killed in Russian bombings as they tried to flee Kremimnaaccording to Mr Gaidai.

For his part, the adviser to the Ukrainian presidency Oleksiy Arestovich assured that “the Russian occupying forces have not yet captured Kremimna“and that” intensive street battles “are unfolding.

Governor Gaidai again called on the civilian population to leave Lugansk.

But Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Verestsuk announced earlier that no humanitarian corridor would be opened yesterday for the second 24 hours in a row, as she said “the Russian occupation forces do not stop closing and bombing them.”

Four other civilians were killed in the clashes in the neighboring region Donetskaccording to its governor Pavlo Kirilenko.

Russia, according to the Ukrainian side, continues to try to fully understand it Mariupol, whose last defenders defied the Russian army ultimatum to lay down their arms yesterday Sunday. “Our troops are still there. They will fight to the end,” said Ukrainian Prime Minister Dennis Smigal.

However, according to the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the port of strategic importance was “probably occupied” by the Russians on Saturday, “despite denials from the Ukrainian staff”.

The capture of the city is considered an important victory for the Russian side: it allows it to consolidate its territorial gains along the coast in Sea of ​​Azov and connect the Donbasswhich is partly controlled by pro-Russian separatists, with Crimeaannexed by Moscow in 2014.

In the northeastern part of the country, the Kharkiv was bombed again yesterday. Report: at least three dead. According to the local prosecutor, a man and a woman were killed yesterday morning when a shell fell on a playground. On Sunday, at least five people were killed in Russian strikes.

In the west, Russian bombings killed seven people and injured 11 others, including a child, according to local authorities. Not far from ΛβιβRussia says it has destroyed a warehouse of “foreign weapons delivered to Ukraine in the last six days by the United States and European countries”.

Regional Governor Maxim Kozicki spoke of strikes with four Cruise missiles from Caspian: three hit military installations, a parking lot, causing fires. About four kilometers from its center Λβιβjournalists of the French Agency saw a parking lot in the flames.

Far from the fronts, near the border with Poland, the Λβιβa shelter for internally displaced persons and a stopover for refugees heading to Europe, has suffered – comparatively – a few blows from the Russian army.

Russian military says it destroyed 16 Ukrainian military installations yesterdayespecially areas where weapons, ammunition and Totchka-U missiles were stored.

Russia: Ukraine strikes a village on the border, one injured

Ukrainian forces hit a village near Russia’s border with Ukraine, injuring a resident, said the head of the local government in the province Belgorod.

It is not clear if the blows to Golovtsinoreferred to by Vyacheslav Gladkov via Telegram, were made by guns, mortars, rockets, or by air.

Earlier this month, Russian officials accused Ukraine – where the Russian armed forces invaded on February 24 – of attacking helicopters on a fuel depot in Belgorodrepeated bombings of villages in the same province, as well as missile strikes aimed at establishing an ammunition depot.

Weapons are a major issue for both Moscow and Kyiv

Continuing to support Ukraine, the United States announced yesterday that the first shipments of the new package of military aid – worth 800 million dollars – arrived yesterday Sunday at the border of the country, where it was received by the Ukrainian army.

Among the weapons to be received by the Ukrainian army were 155mm M777 trailers, with a digital fire control system and the ability to target using satellite positioning data.

The European Union, for its part, has condemned “the continuation of illegal indiscriminate bombing of civilians and political infrastructure” by Moscow forces. “There can be no impunity for war crimes,” said EU foreign policy chief Giuseppe Borrell.

On the other hand, Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday awarded an honorary distinction, for her “heroism”, “persistence” and “high professionalism” in the 64th Motorized Rifle Brigade. According to Ukrainian officials, this is the unit that allegedly committed “slaughter of civilians” in Boutsaa suburb of Kiev.

Ukrainian investigators are in the suburbs to gather information on what President Zelensky’s government calls “war crimes.”

Russia, for its part, denies that its men killed civilians and speaks of “directing” by the Ukrainian authorities and the Western media.

Exchange of Victor Medvenchuk?

In Russia, public television broadcast a video yesterday depicting two British prisoners of war, Sean Piner and Eden Eislin, who fell into the hands of Russian forces during the fighting in Ukraine. Addressing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, they said they expected their release to be negotiated in exchange for that of Victor Medvedev, a Ukrainian businessman and politician close to Vladimir Putin who was recently arrested by Ukrainian secret services.

For its part, Ukraine broadcast a video depicting Mr Medvetsuk assuring that he wanted to be exchanged for “defenders and residents of Mariupol”.

Diplomacy

On the diplomatic front, Ukrainian President Zelensky said yesterday that he hoped his country would gain EU candidate status “in the coming weeks.” “the opportunity to start this process in a few weeks or months,” he said.

Meanwhile, the United States and its allies are preparing to announce another round of sanctions against Russia, targeting “its military-industrial complex” and its “supply chains.”

Britain plans to send Stormer armored vehicles with short-range multi-role anti-aircraft missile launchers

The British government plans to send Stormer anti-aircraft defense systems to Ukraine soon, armored with short-range multi-missile launchers, following Russia’s offensive to occupy Donbass.

The British Ministry of Defense demonstrated the system to Ukrainians, the so-called Stormer High Velocity Missile (HVM) launcher, two weeks ago, at the Salisbury Plain test site, according to the military editor of The Sun.

A report in the newspaper emphasizes that several such vehicles, weighing 13 tons, can arrive in Ukraine by C-17 transport aircraft within days.

Stormers, manufactured by BAE Systems, need a three-member crew. They launch Starstreak missiles, which can shoot down low-flying aircraft or attack helicopters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has demanded that the West send more firearms to his country to counter the Russian invasion. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on April 7 that he was “certainly considering what kind of military assistance we can still offer” to Ukraine. According to reports, London is considering sending armor like the Stormer.