On Thursday, May 26, the Russian army advanced towards Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, where there are 100,000 people. Concerned about the risk of overflow, Kyiv is calling for more heavy weapons to match Russian firepower.
The Russian offensive has been concentrated in certain areas of eastern Ukraine for several weeks. "The enemy is clearly superior in equipment and number of soldiers," the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zilensky admitted Wednesday evening. He added that Ukrainian forces "resist [this] extremely violent offensive", in his daily video message.
He pleaded for help from his partners, especially weapons, just hours after Dmytro Koleba, his Foreign Minister, demanded more heavy weapons.
Russian forces are closer and closer to Severodonetsk every day. Their complete control of the Donbass is dependent on their capture of Severodonetsk. This mining basin has been occupied partially by pro-Russian separatists.
They are close enough for them to be able fire mortars upon the city. There is already fighting at the outskirts of the city, Serguii Gadai, the governor, said Wednesday. He said that the city was not "surrounded", contrary the assertions of a pro-Russian separatist official.
He said that 15,000 people remain there and in the nearby villages, despite constant shelling.
The towns along the front lines have been empty of their residents, and the elderly and recalcitrant who live in the cellars spend most of their time hiding from the authorities.
Sergey Gaidai stated that police have taken control of the funeral services in Lysychansk to bury the deceased. He said that at least 150 people were buried in the mass grave.
"Countries who are slow to supply heavy weapons to Ukraine should understand that every day that they spend deciding, weighing various arguments, people are dying," Ukraine's Foreign Minister said in Davos. . According to the services provided by the general prosecutor, 240 children have died in particular since the Russian offensive began.
He reported on the discussions between Kyiv and the United Nations regarding the possibility of safe passage starting from Odessa, amid concerns about Ukraine's inability to export grain to Russia due to Russian blockades.
On Wednesday, President Zelensky called on his Western allies to stop defending Russia and its interests via videoconference from Davos. He said:
He stated, "We must do all we can to ensure that the interests of Ukrainians don't get overridden by those who are always in a rush to meet with the dictator." He did not name Vladimir Putin, the Russian President.
Moscow has been busy consolidating its control over the territory it conquered in the south for the past three months. Russia announced it would allow Zaporizhzhia residents and Kherson region residents to apply for Russian passports through "a simplified process". Ukraine immediately condemned the measure as demonstrating Moscow's desire for a simple annexation.
