Black smoke rises from the town of Rubeznoye, a small town in Luhansk Province, eastern Ukraine, following being attacked by a mortar by Russian troops on the 17th (local time). Rubez slave
It is the first time the Russian military has recaptured a city in the region since its top priority in the war was to retake Donbas, a gathering area for pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine. Kreminna, a small town in the Luhansk region of northeastern Ukraine, has been captured by Russian forces on the 19th (local time), the state authorities of Luhansk said. The Russian military’s military operation to retake Donbas is expected to accelerate.
The Russian army intensified its airstrikes on the southeastern port city of Mariupol and once more sent an ultimatum to surrender as it would open up a humanitarian evacuation route. However, the Ukrainian army refused to do so, and expressed its will to decisive warfare at the Azoustal Works. As both countries believe that the outcome of the Battle of Mariupol will determine the outcome of the war, the battle on the Eastern Front is expected to intensify.
Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from Kreminna and Russian forces have taken control of the area, the Luhansk provincial authorities said at a briefing on the same day. Governor Serhi Haidai said the Russian army was “siege” from all sides.
Kreminna was the first city in the Donbass region to be handed over to the Russian army. It is located 560 km southeast of the capital Kiiu and has a population of 18,000, although it is not large, but it is of high strategic importance in terms of the access road to Kramatorsk, a major industrial city. If Kramatorsk is handed over to the Russian army, the damage to Ukraine’s industrial infrastructure might worsen to a level that would be difficult to recover following the war.
The Russian military has been intensifying air strikes across the Eastern Front since the Battle of Donbas on the 17th. The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed on the same day that 1,260 Ukrainian military installations scattered along the Eastern Front, including the second city of Kharkiv, were destroyed with rockets and bombardment.
The Russian army sent an ultimatum to surrender to the Ukrainian forces who were resisting in Mariupol, one of the most strategic points of the war. This is the second ultimatum following the 16th. In a statement earlier this morning, the Russian Ministry of Defense pressured surrender, saying it had opened a humanitarian evacuation route for Ukrainian soldiers and civilians who were resisting at the Mariupol Azoustal Works.
The Ukrainian government refused to surrender, saying it was a deceptive tactic for the Russian army. Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Irina Bereshchuk said no humanitarian evacuation routes for civilians had been opened for the third consecutive day since the Battle of Donbas began. The Ukrainian army presented a video of the raid on the Azoustal Works presumed to have been carried out by the Russian army and said that it would continue to fight without being deceived by the Russian army’s deceptive tactics.
Major Serhi Bolina, a member of the Ukrainian 36th Marine Brigade who is resisting at the Azoustal Works, told the Washington Post regarding the internal situation through interviews and other sources. “He is living in a cellar where his body is rotting without a guide,” said Major Bolina. “At least 500 people were injured, including civilians.” He did not disclose the exact size of the Ukrainian fighters stationed at the Azoustal Works, but said, “The enemy (Russian army) is ten times larger than ours. We hope that there will be an evacuation route,” he added. According to Ukrainian government statistics, more than 20,000 Mariupol citizens have lost their lives since the start of the war.
The Washington Post predicted that the occupation of Mariupol would be an important victory for Russia, which failed to capture the capital Kiiu and recently suffered the sinking of the Moscow, a symbol of its military power, and predicted a fierce battle here. For Russia, if Mariupol is captured, it will build a land corridor connecting Donbas and Krm Peninsula (Crimea), which was forcibly annexed in 2014. In the meantime, it will be easier to solve the problem of a shortage of logistics, which has been pointed out as the cause of the slow advance speed, and the blockade of Mariupol will cut off the Ukrainian military’s maritime supply lines through the Black Sea.
The British daily The Guardian, citing European officials, reported that Russia was sending overseas mercenaries recruited following the Battle of Donbas to the Eastern Front. These mercenaries are from Syria and Libya, and it is estimated that the number of mercenaries ranges from 10,000 to 20,000. According to the Guardian, European officials believe that President Vladimir Putin is using all sorts of means in his impatience to declare Russia’s victory in the Ukraine war in time for the victory day of World War II on the 9th of next month.
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