Ukraine War: East under heavy shelling

Russian attacks in eastern Ukraine continue unabated. According to the mayor of Sievjerodonetsk, 1,500 people have died there since the beginning of the war. President Zelenskyy accuses Moscow of “genocide” in the Donbass.

The Russian army has further intensified its attacks in eastern Ukraine. According to the mayor of the city, heavy attacks by Russian troops took place in Sieverodonetsk in the Luhansk region. Around 12,000 to 13,000 people remained in the city, 60 percent of the residential buildings there were destroyed. The Ukrainian forces withstood the attacks, but a Russian reconnaissance and sabotage group had broken into a hotel in Sieverodonetsk, Strjuk reported. According to official figures, around 1,500 people have been killed in the city since the beginning of the war.

The major cities of Sieverodonetsk and Lysychansk are currently the extreme Ukrainian outposts in the east. But there are also fights in the rear of these cities, which means that Ukrainian troops are threatened with being cordoned off. The city of Lyman has been lost on the northern side of this possible pocket, Presidential Advisor Olexy Arestovych confirmed on Ukrainian television. On the southern side there was fighting for the towns of Komyshuvah, Nirkove and Berestove.

Deadly Russian attacks were also reported from the northern city of Kharkiv. In Russian bombardments, nine people were killed and 19 others injured, Zelenskyj said in his speech. Although the Russian troops have withdrawn, they continue to hold their positions east of Kharkiv. The Ukrainians dug new trenches around the city and set up concrete barriers and road checkpoints in preparation for a possible new attack.

Zelenskyy accuses Russia of genocide

In view of the massive Russian attacks in the east, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fears that Donbass will be largely depopulated. With their superior firepower, the attacking Russian troops put pressure on the Ukrainian defenders around the city of Sieverodonetsk. “The ongoing offensive by the occupiers in the Donbass could desert the region,” said Zelenskyy in his evening video address. Cities would be destroyed, people killed or kidnapped. This is “an obvious policy of genocide”.

In his video, the Ukrainian President also asked why the EU was taking so long to adopt a sixth package of sanctions. Russia still earns billions from energy exports, and not all Russian banks have been sanctioned yet. How long will Ukraine have to fight to get the necessary weapons, he asked. “Ukraine will always be an independent state and will not break.” The question is what price Ukraine has to pay for its freedom. The catastrophic development could still be stopped if the world treated the war as if it were confronted with the same situation as Ukraine.

Zelenskyj’s allegations are a rhetorical echo of Moscow’s accusations: Russian President Vladimir Putin started the war against Ukraine at the end of February under the pretext of ending the alleged “genocide” of the Russian-speaking population in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk. In April, Ukraine’s parliament passed a resolution calling Russian military attacks in the country “genocide”.

US may want to deliver long-range missile systems

Meanwhile, according to a media report, the US government is considering sending advanced long-range missile systems to Ukraine. The US-made weapons systems could fire missiles hundreds of kilometers away, CNN reported, citing several officials. A new military aid package could be announced as early as next week. Ukraine asked for these types of weapons, it said.

However, the US government has been hesitant because of fears that Ukraine could use the missile systems for attacks on Russian territory. The question arises whether this could lead to a Russian retaliation, according to CNN. US President Joe Biden put into effect a new billion-euro aid package from the US for Ukraine with a volume of almost 40 billion dollars (38 billion euros) just over the weekend. Around half of the total amount from the package goes to defense. Of this, $6 billion is earmarked for direct military aid to Ukraine.