Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky said on Wednesday that Russia is faking its conquests in Soledar, a small town in the Donetsk region, to gain support for the war among its citizens.
“The terrorist state [Rússia] and his propagandists try to fake a success in Soledar, but the battle continues. The Donetsk leadership is resisting and we are doing everything we can to strengthen the Ukrainian defense without a break, even for a day.”said Zelensky in his daily speech.
Russia assured on Wednesday that the fate of the town of Soledar, in eastern Ukraine, has been determined, although it admitted that several hundred Ukrainian soldiers are still resisting in the center of that town, which is practically in ruins after months of bombing.
“Airborne forces units have blockaded Soledar from the north and south. The airborne forces are attacking the enemy fortifications and the assault units are fighting in the city”said the spokesman of the Ministry of Defense of Russia at a press conference.
But for the Ukrainian president, Russia “and its propagandists are trying to pretend that part of Soledar, a city almost completely destroyed by the occupiers, is supposedly some kind of conquest.”
Zelensky believed that Russia presents this reality to the Russians “support the mobilization and give hope to those who support the aggression”.
The Ukrainian president also said that Russian aggression “will not run out until Russian ambitions have no choice but defeat” in the political, economic and legal spheres.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24 has so far led to the flight of more than 14 million people – 6.5 million internally displaced people and more than 7.9 million to European countries -, according to the latest data of the UN, which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
Currently, 17.7 million Ukrainians need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million need food aid and shelter.
The Russian invasion – justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russian security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and Russia political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented 6,919 civilian deaths and 11,075 wounded as confirmed since the start of the war, emphasizing that these numbers are far below the real ones.
Source: DN
