As Russia stepped up an effort to evict Ukrainian troops from key areas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the military situation in the eastern region of Luhansk was very difficult.
As per news agency Reuters, Russian forces have captured several settlements near the embattled cities of Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk in the Luhansk region, the regional governor and Ukraine’s general staff said on Tuesday.
Luhansk Governor Serhiy Gaidai told that Russian forces had captured the settlement of Toshkivka to the south of Sievierodonetsk, confirming previous reports.
“Unfortunately, the enemy threw at it huge amounts of armaments and soldiers and captured Toshkivka,” Mr. Gaidai said.
Earlier, Mr. Zelensky had warned on Sunday that Russia was likely to intensify its “hostile activity” this week, as Kyiv awaits a historic decision from the European Union on its membership application.
Drone strike hits Russian refinery near Ukraine
A drone strike caused a fire at a refinery in southwestern Russia near the border with Ukraine on Wednesday, but no one was hurt and the blaze was contained quickly, officials said.
The fire engulfed industrial equipment at the Novoshakhtinsk oil processing plant in the Rostov-on-Don region. The authorities said that dozens of firefighters extinguished the flames in a half-hour and no one was hurt.
The refinery said in a statement that the fire was caused by a strike carried out by two drones, describing it as a “terrorist” act.
It didn’t give further details, but the state news agency Tass said that two Ukrainian drones flew over the plant and one of them slammed into a heat exchanger, triggering the fire.
Ukrainian officials haven’t claimed responsibility for the drone strike.
A video posted on a messaging app channel showed a drone flying by and hitting what was purported to be the refinery, a giant plume of smoke rising into the sky.
The authenticity of the video couldn’t be independently verified. - AP
Indonesian President to visit Kyiv, Moscow this month: Minister
Indonesian President and G20 chair Joko Widodo will visit the leaders of Ukraine and Russia this month to discuss the economic and humanitarian fallout of Moscow's invasion, his Foreign Minister said on Wednesday.
The summit of the Group of 20 major economies -- which will be held on the Indonesian island of Bali in November — has been shrouded in controversy thanks to Jakarta's decision to invite Russia despite alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
Indonesia holds the rotating presidency of the G20 this year, and has come under pressure from some Western countries, led by the United States, to exclude Russia from the meeting.- AFP
‘Everything is on fire’: Ukraine region weathers bombardment
Russian attacks laid down a curtain of fire on Tuesday across areas of eastern Ukraine where pockets of resistance are denying Moscow full military control of the region, almost four months after the Kremlin unleashed its invasion.
“Today everything that can burn is on fire,” Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region, told The Associated Press.
Russia’s war has caused alarm over food supplies from Ukraine to the rest of the world and gas supplies from Russia, as well as raising questions about security in Western Europe.
War-damaged Russian tanks to go on display in Polish square
Polish and Ukraine government officials say they plan to put on public display in Warsaw damaged or burnt-out Russian tanks and armoured vehicles captured by Ukrainian forces during the war.
The head of the Polish prime minister’s office, Michal Dworczyk, said the idea is to highlight Russian “atrocities” and the Ukrainian response.
“On one hand we are showing the atrocities that the Russian army is carrying out in Ukraine, (and) on the other hand we are showing the heroic defence of Ukraine’s armed forces and the results of these fights,” Mr. Dworczyk said.- AP
Ukraine and Russia forces entrenched, Putin to mark WWII anniversary
Ukrainian and Russian forces remained entrenched in eastern Ukrainian battlegrounds going into Wednesday, a day of commemoration in both countries to mark the anniversary of Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.
Fighting in the months-long war has favored Russia in recent weeks because of its huge edge in artillery firepower, a fact Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy acknowledged in a late Tuesday night address.
“Thanks to tactical maneuvers the Ukrainian army is strengthening its defences in the Luhansk region,” Mr. Zelensky said. “That is really the toughest spot. The occupiers are also pressing strongly in the direction of Donetsk.”- Reuters
Russia warns Lithuania, pushes into Ukraine’s Donbas
Moscow warned Lithuania of “serious” consequences over its restriction of rail traffic to Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave, as Kremlin forces made gains in Ukraine’s strategic Donbas region.
The row over Lithuania, the arrival of sophisticated German weaponry in Ukraine’s arsenal and an imminent decision on Kyiv’s candidacy to join the European Union threaten to further ratchet up tensions between the West and Moscow.- AFP
Ukraine’s Zelensky says military situation in Luhansk region is very tough
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said the military situation in the eastern region of Luhansk was very difficult as Russia stepped up an effort to evict Ukrainian troops from key areas.“That is really the toughest spot. The occupiers are pressing strongly,” Mr. Zelensky said in an evening video address.- Reuters
