Russia pushes to block 2nd city in east Ukraine
KYIV: Russian forces are trying to block a city in eastern Ukraine, the region’s governor said on Saturday, after their relentless assault on a nearby city forced Ukrainian troops to begin withdrawal after weeks of intense fighting.
Russia also launched missile attacks on areas far from the heart of the eastern battles.
Serhiy Haidai, governor of the Luhansk region, said on Facebook that Russian forces are attempting to blockade the city of Lysychansk from the south. That city lies next to Severodonetsk, which has endured relentless assault and house-tohouse fighting for weeks.
After Haidai said on Friday that Ukrainian forces had begun retreating from Severodonetsk, military analyst Oleg Zhdanov said some of the troops were heading for Lysychansk. But Russian moves to cut off Lysychansk will give those retreating troops little respite.
Russian bombardment has reduced most of Severodonetsk to rubble and cut its population from 100,0000 to 10,000. Some Ukrainian troops are holed up in the Azot chemical factory on the city’s edge, along with about 500 civilians.
Ukraine reports massive attack from Belarus
Ukraine said it came under “massive bombardment” on Saturday from neighbouring Belarus, a Russian ally not officially involved in the conflict.
Twenty rockets targeted the village of Desna in the northern Chernigiv region, Ukraine’s northern military command said in a statement, adding that infrastructure was hit, but no casualties had yet been reported.
Belarus has provided logistic support to Moscow since the February 24 invasion, particularly in the first few weeks, and like Russia has been targeted by Western sanctions - but is officially not involved in the conflict. “Today’s strike is directly linked to Kremlin efforts to pull Belarus as a co-belligerent into the war in Ukraine,” the Ukrainian intelligence service said.
Russia claims to kill ‘up to 80’ Polish fighters
Russia said on Saturday its troops have killed “up to 80” Polish fighters in “precision strikes” in eastern Ukraine.
“Up to 80 Polish mercenaries, 20 armoured combat vehicles and eight Grad multiple rocket launchers were destroyed in precision strikes on the Megatex zinc factory in Konstantinovka” in the Donetsk region, the Russian defence ministry said.
‘Russia has removed several key generals’
The British defence ministry said on Saturday that Russia had likely withdrawn several generals from key command roles in the Ukraine conflict this month.
“Since the start of June, the Russian high command has highly likely removed several Generals from key operational command roles in the war in Ukraine,” the ministry said in its daily Twitter update.