The situation throughout the region is extremely difficult. The fighting is currently concentrated in Sievierodonetsk because, from what we have been able to understand, the Russian army has thrown all its weight and all its reserves
in this battle, said the governor of the Luhansk region, Sergey Gaidai.
Early information indicates that they have managed to take over most of the city, but our forces are now pushing them back
, he assured, however. According to him, the Ukrainian army would have regained nearly 20% of the territory lost in Sievierodonetsk.
Despite the reinforcements deployed by Russia, Mr. Gaïdaï estimated on Friday that he was not realistic
to assert that Sievierodonetsk would fall within the next two weeks.
As soon as we have enough long-range weapons from Western countries, we will repel their artillery [russe] away from our positions
said Mr. Gaïdaï.
With the capture of Sievierodonetsk, Russia would secure its grip on the Donbass, an important mining basin which has been partially occupied by pro-Russian separatists since 2014.
A war of attrition
now takes place in the Donbass, said the secretary general of theOTANJens Stoltenberg.
Sievierodonetsk had some 100,000 inhabitants before the war.
Russian troops reinforce
To carry out its offensive on Sievierodonetsk, Russia reinforced its troops and used its artillery to carry out offensives in the city, according to the Ukrainian army.
Also according to the Ukrainian army, the Russian troops had to retreat following having unsuccessfully tried to advance towards the neighboring town of Bakhmut, to prevent access to Sievierodonetsk.
Governor Gaïdaï noted that four people were killed Friday in Luhansk province during attacks carried out by the Russian army.
For its part, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that its troops shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane. This transported arms and ammunition near the port of the city of Odessa.
The Russian ministry also claimed that missiles hit an artillery training center near Sumy, where there were foreign instructors. According to the Russian Defense, another strike destroyed a position of foreign mercenaries
in the Odessa region of southern Ukraine.
Still near Odessa, a Russian missile hit an agricultural warehouse, injuring two people, local authorities said.
Ukraine has also said it wants to strengthen its military presence in the region thanks to new deliveries of Western weapons before resuming peace negotiations with Russia.
Our armed forces are ready to use [les nouvelles armes] and I believe that we can then start a new round of negotiations from strengthened positions
Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia said on Friday.
After 100 days of war, Russia claimed on Friday that it had fulfilled some of the objectives of special military operation
which she launched on February 24.
Victory will be ours
retorted the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in a video where he appears in front of the building of the presidential administration in kyiv, in the company of his collaborators.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army has tripled the portion of Ukrainian territory it controls: in addition to the Crimean peninsula and the occupied territories of Donbass and southern Ukraine, Russia now controls nearly 125,000 square kilometers, according to President Zelensky.
Ukrainian intelligence in contact with prisoners of Azovstal
The Ukrainian Interior Minister said that the intelligence services are in contact with the prisoners of war who defended the Azovstal metallurgical complex in Mariupol. He said the government is doing everything to secure their release.
It is through [des services de renseignements] that we know their conditions of detention, their diet and the possibility of their release
said Denis Monastirsky on Friday evening on Ukrainian television. We hope that they will all be here in Kyiv, and we are doing everything we can to make it so.
commented the Minister of the Interior.
The fate of the hundreds of Azovstal fighters, who have been held by the Russians since mid-May, remains uncertain. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had asked them to lay down their arms following almost three months of siege.
kyiv wishes to obtain their release within the framework of an exchange of prisoners. However, Russian parliamentarians want some of these soldiers to be brought to justice. Moscow, however, assured that the fighters who have surrendered will be treated in accordance with international law.
Four foreign volunteers killed
Four foreign volunteer soldiers, including a Frenchman, were killed fighting in Ukraine, the International Defense Legion of Ukraine, the official organization of foreign volunteer fighters, announced on Saturday.
The legion said they are Dutch, Australian, German and French. She cited the names of the fighters, but did not specify the date or circumstances of their death.
We lost our brothers in battle, but their bravery, their memory and their legacy will inspire us forever.
the Legion wrote on its Facebook page, where it posted national flags and photos of the four men in camouflage and carrying small arms.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed on Friday thata fighter [français] left as a volunteer
was dead in fights
and Ukraine.
Russia this week claimed to have killed hundreds
foreign fighters in Ukraine since its invasion began on February 24.
