Ukraine this Friday claimed to have recaptured a site in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine from the Russian-speaking independence forces and the Russian military as Moscow organizes annexation referendums in several regions of Ukraine that are outside of Kiev’s control.
“The Ukrainian army has recaptured Iatskivka,” Oleksii Gromov, chief of the Ukrainian General Staff, announced on television. Control of this city, on the eastern bank of the Oskil River, seems to confirm the continuation of a counter-offensive that has already enabled Kiev to recapture several thousand square kilometers in the neighboring region of Kharkiv.
“Ukrainians have also regained control in positions south of Bakhmut,” a strategic city in the Donetsk region that has been the target of attacks by Russian-speaking separatist forces and the Russian army for a week, Gromov said.
Russia’s annexation referendums have begun today in regions partly or wholly controlled by local forces and by Moscow, polls labeled as “simulacra” by Kiev and the West point to a new escalation of the conflict.
Kiev also announced that a civilian has been killed in a Russian drone attack on the port city of Odessa and that an Iranian-designed unmanned vehicle has been shot down by Ukrainian forces.
“Odessa was attacked by kamikaze drones coming from the sea. Two drones destroyed an administrative building in the port area and rescue services extinguished the flames. A civilian was killed. A ‘Shahed-136’ drone was shot down at sea by air defense forces” , the Ukrainian military said in a statement.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on Feb. 24 has already resulted in more than 13 million people fleeing — more than six million internally displaced persons and more than 7.4 million to European countries — according to the latest data from the UN, which ranks this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the generality of the international community, which has responded by sending arms to Ukraine and impose it on Russia. political and economic sanctions.
Source: DN
