Russian forces spent Saturday pounding Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, but have so far failed to capture several strategic locations, Ukraine’s military said.
The Russians have failed to capture Lyman in Donetsk and Sievierodonetsk and Popasna in Luhansk. “Not succeeding – the fighting continues,” the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces missive said.
The Russians had been bombarding the region “but they cannot get through our defense,” said Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of Luhansk said. Two schools and 20 homes had been leveled during the assault, he added.
Moscow military sources said 389 Ukrainian targets had been hit overnight by Russian artillery.
The restive Donbas region of Ukraine has long been home to separatists and large Russian speaking populations. Russia began its hostilities in Ukraine after recognizing two breakaway republics from the area.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that peace talks with Ukraine remained ongoing and that the lifting of western sanctions on Russia were part of that discussion. He also accused the west of undercutting their own efforts toward peace by continuing to send advanced military hardware to Ukraine.
“Progress has not been easy,” he told Chinese state television and blamed “the bellicose rhetoric and inflammatory actions of Western supporters of the Kyiv regime.”
Lavrov said his country had evacuated over 1 million people from Ukraine since the war began, though he offered no evidence to support his claim.
President Biden has offered a $33 billion aid package for Ukraine which includes $20 billion for weapons. The idea has received broad bipartisan support in Congress. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged her colleagued to approve the legislation as quickly as possible Friday.
With Post Wires
