Fighting continues in Ukraine, according to Kyiv, particularly around the strategic city of Lysichansk in the country’s east and south, where at least 21 people have died in rocket attacks on buildings near Odessa.
Fighting continues around Lysichansk, the last major city not yet captured by the Russians, in the Luhansk region, one of two industrial areas in the Donbass that Moscow seeks to fully control.
“(Russian) forces have reached the Lyshchansky Gate, and the Ukrainian army is suffering heavy losses,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Friday.
The governor of the Luhansk region Sergei Gaidai confirmed that the Russians “are trying to encircle our army from the south and west” in the area of this city.
For his part, Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged that the situation in Lischansk is still “very difficult.”
The British Ministry of Defense said that Russian troops “confirm that they have captured the village of Previlia”, located northwest of this city. She added: “Most likely, heavy fighting continues to capture the heights around the refinery.”
This reading of the situation has been repeated by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), based in Washington. “Russian forces are likely trying to cross the northeast corner of the refinery to advance towards Lyschansk,” the institute said.
The French General Staff considered that even if “Russian forces exerted strong pressure on Lyshchansk”, they did not threaten “at this stage the overall cohesion of the Ukrainian defense system in the Donbass.”
But he also talked about “strengthening Russian armor, increasing air support and strikes against the rear of Ukrainian troops.”
On the other hand, the governor of the Odessa region, Maxim Marchenko, reported on the Telegram app that “the enemy fired three rockets at the village of Sergeevka, Belgorod-Dnestrovsky district.” “One building was destroyed, as well as a tourist complex,” he added.
Marchenko said that “21 people died, including a 12-year-old child, another 38 are being treated in the hospital, including five children, two of whom are in serious condition.”
The governor of Odessa confirmed that “there was no military target” at the bombing site.
“This was a deliberate Russian strike, not just a mistake or an accidental strike,” Zelensky said while receiving Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store.
Berlin: Inhuman and shameless attack!
The German government condemned the attack, with spokesman Steffen Hepsreith saying that “the Russian side, which once again speaks of collateral damage, is inhuman and shameless.” And “this once again shows us in a cruel way that the Russian aggressor deliberately accepts the death of civilians,” calling on “the Russian people to finally face this reality.”
Explosions in Nikolaev
The mayor of the Ukrainian city of Nikolaev, Oleksandr Senkevich, said in a message on the instant messaging app Telegram that strong explosions were heard in the city early yesterday morning.
The official wrote: “There are strong explosions in the city! They have pledged to stay in shelters.” The cause of the explosions was not immediately known.
Pentagon: new military aid to Ukraine
The US Department of Defense (Pentown) on Friday announced $820 million in new military aid to Ukraine, including rockets, missiles and air defenses to fight the Russian army in the south and east of the country. In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Todd Presley stressed that “Norway is helping the United States make a historic delivery of two advanced air defense systems that will help Ukraine respond to brutal Russian air attacks.”
