Kyiv (Kyiv)/Moscow/Donetsk. According to their own statements, the Ukrainian armed forces successfully repelled attacks from the Russian side in the Sloviansk region in the eastern region of Donetsk. The general staff announced on Sunday in Kyiv that there had been massive artillery shelling of military and civilian infrastructure in various towns. But the enemy was unsuccessful. The information might not be independently verified.
The Russian armed forces had suffered many losses and had withdrawn following resistance from the Ukrainian side, it was said. The Russian military also fired massively with artillery in the direction of Siwersk and Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. Dozens of towns were affected by the attacks. “In view of the heavy losses in their own ranks, the majority of the occupying forces’ units are in a very bad moral and psychological condition and are looking for a way to avoid participating in further hostilities,” the Ukrainian General Staff report said.
The Ukrinform news agency had previously said that three civilians had been killed and 12 injured in the Russian shelling of the Donetsk region in the past few days. A statement to this effect was made on Telegram by the head of the military administration of the Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko.
623 civilians killed
“On July 16, 2022, the Russians killed three civilians in the Donetsk region: two in Udachne and one in Pokrovsk. Twelve other people were injured,” Kyrylenko wrote. In total, 623 civilians have been killed and 1,598 injured in the Donetsk region since the Russian invasion began. According to the Ukrainian agency, the exact number of victims in Mariupol and Volnowacha cannot yet be quantified.
A total of almost 38,300 Russian attackers have been eliminated since the war began on February 24, 160 of them on the past day alone. This comes from the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Ukrinform reported. The staff also said that more than 1,015 children have died across Ukraine as a result of Russia’s armed aggression. The number of unreported cases is likely to be even higher.
Russia wants to expand attacks
The Russian Defense Ministry recently announced an expansion of the attacks in eastern Ukraine. After capturing the Luhansk region, Russia next wants to wrest the Donetsk region from complete Ukrainian control. The head of the Ukrainian military administration for the Luhansk region, Serhiy Hajday, said on Sunday that two villages there are still under Kyiv’s control. He contradicted reports from Moscow that Russia had completely taken over the Luhansk region.
According to British information, the Russian military is strengthening its defense positions in the occupied territories in southern Ukraine. Troops and equipment would be increased between Mariupol and Zaporizhia and in the Kherson region, the Foreign Ministry announced on Twitter in London, citing the latest reports from the military intelligence service. Security measures would also be increased in Melitopol. (apa)
