While Ukraine is making progress in Russia, it is coming under further pressure in the Donbass. According to the leadership in Kiev, urgently needed supplies have already arrived. Meanwhile, a military base is being set up at a key gas hub.
With Russian forces mounting in eastern Ukraine, Kiev is now paying the most attention to the defense of the Donbass. “Toretsk and Pokrovsk, most of the Russian attacks are taking place there,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily video address. Urgently needed supplies have already arrived. “Everything that is needed now.” However, Zelensky did not provide information on whether additional troops had been deployed.
As for the attacks on Ukrainian defensive positions around the Donbass, the General Staff in Kiev announced on Thursday evening that 68 battles had taken place since the beginning of the day. According to the situation report, the focus of the fighting was again on the cities of Torezk and Pokrovsk, which had been fought over for weeks. According to information, the Russian soldiers were supported in their attacks by fighter pilots.
Ukraine establishes a base in Sudja
According to Zelensky, the Ukrainian military operation in the western Russian region of Kursk remains satisfactory. “There is a new impetus,” he said, without giving further details. The town of Sudya, not far from the border, is now fully under Ukrainian control.
The gas transfer and metering station in Sudja is the only access point for Russian natural gas to the Ukrainian gas pipeline network and for further transport to Europe. Austria in particular is heavily dependent on this transport route.
In addition, other towns and settlements were captured, more than 80 in total. This and similar information from both sides about the war can hardly be independently verified.
Zelenskyi’s evening speech in the video:
The small town of Sudja is located just a few kilometers from the Russian-Ukrainian border. The town had almost 6,000 inhabitants before the war and is the administrative center of the Sudja district. Now it will become the headquarters of the first Ukrainian military command on Russian territory. According to the wishes of Kiev, Major General Eduard Moskalyov is to ensure law and order in the occupied parts of Western Russia.
Kiev expands “exchange fund”
As the fighting progressed, Ukrainian forces reportedly took more prisoners. Zelensky welcomed this as “further access to the exchange fund,” while Russia and Ukraine continue to exchange prisoners of war. Accordingly, an unspecified strategy for the next exchange, including lists, was developed at the meeting of the Stavka, the armed forces’ high command.
The Ukrainian head of state also announced tougher action against so-called traitors. “Whoever serves Putin (Kremlin leader Vladimir), justifies his war or helps evil, does not deserve to keep everything that the Ukrainian state has honored him or her with,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky wants to tighten the laws
This applies to traitors who fled to Russia after the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, but also to wartime collaborators, in short: “all criminals who serve the Russian state.”
Zelensky demanded that all Ukrainian titles and awards be revoked from them, not only by a declaratory decision on revocation, but also by law. Corresponding bills have already been introduced in parliament.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
