A regional governor in eastern Ukraine said that at least six civilians were killed in the latest Russian bombing of the region, coinciding with Kyiv accusing Moscow of “destroying everything, even civilian shelters.”
The governor of Lugansk region, Sergey Gaidai, added, on Wednesday, that eight others were wounded in the bombing of the town of Severodonetsk over the past 24 hours, according to the Associated Press.
The town is at the epicenter of the fighting in eastern Ukraine’s industrial heartland in the Donbass, where Russian forces are intensifying their offensive, meeting fierce Ukrainian resistance.
Gaidai accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilian shelters.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the Russian army is trying hard to tighten the noose around the Lugansk region in the Donbass, as it has intensified its offensive with the aim of “destroying everything.”
“In the Lugansk region, the Russians are advancing from all sides at the same time,” Gaidai said on Telegram on Wednesday.
In the same context, the website stated:Pravda“Ukrainian said that the Ukrainian armed forces destroyed 38 pieces of Russian military equipment and repelled 9 attacks in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, during one day (Tuesday).”
The website quoted the army as saying that “the fighting continues in 6 locations, and during the past day, 3 tanks, 8 artillery systems and 20 vehicles were destroyed.”
He added, “Air defense units shot down a ZALA drone and 6 Orlan-10 drones over the Donbass sky.”
He added that the Ukrainian artillery repelled 3 Russian attacks, and targeted groups of Russian soldiers and equipment.
Zelensky admitted Tuesday evening that “the situation in Donbass is very difficult,” adding, “All the remaining forces of the Russian army were deployed there for the offensive because they “want to destroy everything.”
Moscow decided to intensify its offensive in the Donbass region, which includes Lugansk and Donetsk, where the Ukrainians are having difficulty defending following they managed to push Russian forces out of the country’s two largest cities, Kyiv and Kharkiv (northeast).
The defense of Donbass, which has been partly controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014, was behind Russian President Vladimir Putin’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces Staff confirmed that Moscow is increasingly resorting to aviation to support its forces on the ground.
“Because of the lack of high-precision missiles, the enemy is seeking to destroy the basic and military infrastructure of Ukraine through other means,” she said.
In the Donbass, Gaidai referred to the bombing of “increasing intensity,” noting that “the Russian army wants to completely destroy Severodonetsk,” the strategic city northwest of Lugansk.
The Russians encircle the cities of Severodonetsk and Lysichansk, which are separated by a river and form the last pockets of Ukrainian resistance.
Battles are also taking place for the control of the city of Lyman, whose capture will be an important progress in attempts to encircle, according to the head of the pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk, Denis Pushilin.