Ukraine: Kiev’s situation “worsens” in Donbass

KYIV | Following the developments, the situation “worsened” on Monday in the main city of Chevrolet Donetsk, east of heavy firing by Russian forces, following a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zhelensky.

Read more: [EN DIRECT] Day 103rd War in Ukraine: Here are all the latest developments

Read more: Countries around Serbia are closing their airspace for Lavrov’s plane

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had to cancel a visit to Serbia on Monday morning, and the move was condemned by the Kremlin as “slander” as three European countries closed their airspace for his flight.

“The fighting in Severodonetsk was very fierce. Our guards were able to counter-attack and liberate half of the city, but the situation has worsened for us,” Sergei Kaita, governor of the Lukansk region, told Ukrainian television 1 + 1.

According to him, the bombings have intensified in Severodonetsk and Lyssytchansk, which is located at “heights” and is a strategy to “capture the defensive line” where President Zelensky visited his troops on Sunday.

The governor accused the Russians of “destroying everything by their usual burnt earth trick” so “nothing to protect”.

The industrial center is the largest integration into Ukrainian hands in the Lugansk region, where Russian troops have advanced in recent weeks after retreating or being expelled from the north of the country and around Kiev.

After being initially driven out by the Russian invasion of Severodonetsk, the Ukrainians gradually re-established themselves there.

As for Moscow, it will be decisive to lay hands on the city for full control of the Donbass coal, which has already been partially held by pro-Russian separatists since 2014.

Its armed forces have continued their offensive on several fronts in the east over the past 24 hours, where “seven attacks (…) have been thwarted” in the Donetsk and Lukansk regions, according to Kyiv.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, its air force destroyed three artillery depots and a fuel depot near the village of Kodema in the Donetsk region.

Lavrov stopped going to Serbia

In Moscow, the head of Russian diplomacy on Monday condemned the flight of a flight to Serbia by three European countries for “slandering” their airspace.

“The unthinkable happened,” he said. Lavrov said during an emergency press conference. “We have taken away the right of the sovereign state to exercise its foreign policy,” he added, condemning the “defamatory” move.

NATO members Bulgaria, northern Macedonia and Montenegro have closed their airspace on a two-day Sergei Lavrov’s flight to Serbia, citing Brussels’ sanctions on Russia after launching its offensive in Ukraine in February. 24.

For his part, President Zhelensky visited his troops on Sunday near Bakmouth (Donetsk region) and Lisitshansk (Lukansk).

In the pictures released by the President, we can see the head of state in military uniform talking to the soldiers inside the buildings.

“We brought something to the military. I will not look at it in detail,” Zhelensky said.

The head of state also went to Japorjia in the south of the country. There he met Mariupol residents who were able to escape the Russian bombings.

Further south, the situation in the Kherson region is “critical”, with the absence of “mobile and Internet networks, food, medicine and money”, according to Ukrainian officials. “Three Residents (Killed)” at a seaside resort in Lasorne where the Russians cut off the coast.

The Kharkiv region (northeast), where 10 civilians were killed in 24 hours, is the target of intense bombings.

The Russian military says it has “destroyed high-precision, long-range air-to-air missiles” at a Ukrainian armored vehicle repair factory near Los Angeles.

In support of its attack, the enemy is “actively updating” the road infrastructure and “setting up floating railway bridges over rivers” around Kharkiv, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said.

However, it is estimated on Sunday that Russia’s focus on the anti-Ukrainian Lukansk region in Severdonetsk will eventually “leave the impact on Russian defensive efforts in the Kharkiv region and the southern axis.” American Institute for War Studies (ISW)

New deliveries to Kyiv

On Sunday, Deputy Defense Minister Kanna Mallyar assured local media that if fighting intensified in the south and east, “Kiev is the main target of the Russian occupation,” and demanded “continued support” from the West.

The Ukrainian capital was actually hit by several Russian strikes on Sunday morning, for the first time since late April.

It claims to have targeted a truck repair workshop in southeastern Kiev, 10 km from Moscow city center, and destroyed armored vehicles supplied to Ukraine by Eastern European countries.

This was denied by Ukrainian authorities and witnesses at the scene.

“This is another example of Russian-made lies to justify this brutal war against Ukraine,” Sergei Leschenko, deputy director of the Railway Board’s oversight board, told AFP.

In the evening, the AFP was able to see several hangars and a large crater destroyed due to the shell.

On Rossiya-1 television, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to launch several more attacks on “bases we have not yet targeted” if the West supplies Ukraine with long-range missiles.

The warning does not preclude the delivery of rocket launchers in the 80-kilometer (M270 MLRS) range to London on Monday. .

Mr. Gelensky said on Twitter on Monday that he had spoken with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, especially about the “new reinforced package” of British military assistance.