Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on America and European countries to speed up the sending of military aid to his country in order to stop and push out Russian troops, noting that Donbass is being subjected to massive air and artillery strikes. deliveries of heavy weapons to balance Russia on the battlefield.
He stressed the need for the speedy liberation of all Ukrainian lands, pointing out that the goal of the Russian forces behind the massive shelling has not changed – to destroy the entire Donbas step by step.
“We have repeatedly stressed the need to accelerate the delivery of weapons to Ukraine in order to achieve maximum parity on the battlefield with the Russians, to stop these wild crowds and push them beyond our borders,” Zelensky said.
The call came as the cities of Severodonetsk and Lesichansk witnessed fierce fighting in a bitter war of attrition that has been going on for days in the Donbass, while hundreds of civilians are still trapped at the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk, where the fighting continues. raging between Russian and Ukrainian forces control of the city, which was badly damaged by bombing.
Earlier, Moscow confirmed that it had taken control of the city, and Kyiv troops were besieged in Severodonetsk, where the most intense fighting took place in recent times: “Russian forces do not fully control the city.” In Lysekhansk, pro-Moscow separatists have confirmed that the Ukrainians are now besieged and cut off from supplies after seizing the road connecting the city with the city of Severus, according to what the TASS news agency reported yesterday, while Zelensky’s adviser Oleksiy Aristovich said that the fighting is ongoing and “it looks like how two boxers fight in the eighteenth round of a match and can barely get ahead”, referring to the balance of power on the battle fronts, which indicates the existence of fights of attrition.
150 dead, 450 wounded in Ukraine in two days
For his part, the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov, confirmed that the Ukrainian army suffered heavy losses, explaining that the losses in the 34th battalion of the 57th motorized rifle brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which were defeated near the village of Mirnaya Dolina in the Luhansk People’s Republic In two days, it amounted to more than 150 killed and about 450 wounded, according to Russia Today.
The representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense added: In each of the companies of this battalion there are no more than 15-20 military personnel, the junior commanding staff abandoned their subordinates and deserted from the combat zone, while in the units of the 30th mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as a result of the bombing of the RF Armed Forces in less than 50% of the personnel remained near the village of Klinovo, and more than 170 soldiers and officers were evacuated from the combat zone, seriously wounded.
The representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense continued: “The Russian Armed Forces continue shelling military facilities on the territory of Ukraine. Yesterday, June 22, in the Nikolaev region, about 49 fuel depots for supplying military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed by high-precision weapons of the Russian Air Force, in addition, over the past 24 hours, up to 50 jet multiple launch rocket systems in the hangars of combat vehicles, including foreign-made complexes, and high-precision weapons of the Russian Air Force 3 bases for the repair of armored vehicles in the Nikolaev region, 4 areas of concentration of commanders, personnel and military equipment in 18 regions.
Ukraine: We are ready to start negotiations
In this regard, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, Andriy Yermak, announced his country’s readiness to implement the European Commission’s plan to start negotiations on Ukraine’s full membership in the European Union, Russia Today reports. The head of the Office of the President of Ukraine said: We are waiting for the green light, Ukraine deserves the status of a candidate for accession to the European Union, but our clear goal is full membership in the European Union.
“We will be ready to start implementing the European Commission’s plan in this regard,” the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine added.
