Kiev : On the eve of the anniversary, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said up to 100 of his soldiers were dying each day as they resisted Russia’s push to control the country’s eastern region, the BBC reported. He also said that Russia now occupies a fifth of Ukraine’s territory. Before the war, which began on February 24, Russia and Moscow-backed separatists accounted for less than 10 per cent of Ukraine’s make up.
Following the end of the battle in Mariupol last month, with Russia taking control of the Azovstal steel plant and the city, both sides have now shifted their military focus to the northeastern part of the Donetsk region, and the western part of the Luhansk region, both in Donbas. The current military action is centred around two strategically important cities in the Luhansk region, namely Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, reports Xinhua news agency.
The Ukrainian side has confirmed that heavy fighting continued in Severodonetsk. The head of the Luhansk regional military administration Sergei Haidai recently said that Russia was gaining control of most of the city, while Ukrainian forces were still showing resistance. During his visit to the frontline in Kharkiv region on Sunday, President Zelensky said his country’s troops were facing an extremely difficult situation. In a Telegram post following the visit, the leader said his country would defend its land till the very end and would fight and definitely win. Meanwhile, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu confirmed that Moscow’s special military operation, a term Moscow uses for the war, would continue despite Western pressure and increased Western assistance to Kiev.