According to Ukrainian officials, Russia had “all its reserves” and was trying to destroy Severodonetsk in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas by blowing up bridges.
Denys Monastyrskiy, Interior Minister, also stated that Ukraine’s intelligence services had made contact with the soldiers captured by Russian troops at Azovstal steel plants in Mariupol.
Here’s what you need know about Ukraine.
Luhansk Gov. was established after the Ukrainian military seized parts of Severodonetsk. Serhiy Haidai stated Saturday that the Russian army was regrouped and was “throwing its all efforts, all its resources” at the city.
Haidai, speaking on Ukrainian television, stated that Russian troops were destroying bridges across the Siverskyi Donets River to stop reinforcements entering the city.
Both sides consider the recent fighting in the East to be one of the most dangerous phases of war. According to Ukraine, it loses 60-100 soldiers each day.
NBC News was unable to verify these claims after the Ukrainian military claimed that Russian troops had retreated in part of the city. According to a Facebook post, their withdrawal came after failed attempts to capture Bakhmut (a nearby town to southwest).
Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Kremlin, said that Russia will continue its military operations in Ukraine until all its goals are achieved.
The intelligence service of Ukraine has made contact with the soldiers captured by Russian forces at Azovstal’s steel plant last month, DenysMonastyrskiy (the country’s interior minister) said late Friday.
He said, in a televised speech, that “it is through them, that we are learning about their conditions of detention, nutrition, and the possibility of leur release,” referring to Ukraine’s intelligence service.
Since Russian troops stormed Mariupol’s sprawling port-city in May after months of siege, the fate of the captured troops is uncertain.
Russia claimed it had captured nearly 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers that surrendered to Russia after the plant was stormed. According to the Kremlin, fighters who surrendered would be treated according international standards.
In a short video message, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zilensky stated that victory would be his. It was posted to his official Instagram account on 100th day of war.
The video featured the president, four of his top leaders, and the prime minister outside the Kyiv office of the president.
Zelenskyy stated that there were three words his country was fighting for in a video he posted to Telegram.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin denies reports that his forces are preventing grain exports from Ukraine. He blames the West for global supply chain issues.
Putin stated in a televised speech that Belarus is the best way to export Ukrainian grain. It is not being stopped. However, Belarusian sanctions must be lifted to achieve this.
Russian troops have seized most of Ukraine’s south coast, while its warships command its Black Sea ports. This is where the bulk of the grain would be transported. Ukrainian farmers store 22 million tonnes of grain in their storage facilities.
Over the past year, both Russia and Belarus have been subject to harsh Western sanctions. More were imposed following the invasion of Ukraine in Feb.
After their vehicle was shot at near Severodonetsk, battles erupted and two reporters from Reuters were both injured and the driver of their vehicle was also killed.
