{O/C} Fighting has intensified in Ukraine's beleaguered east as Russia rained down artillery fire on the industrial Donbas region, apparently capturing a railway hub.
For all the hardball tactics, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky remained unbowed, vowing Ukraine will never be cleaved in two as Ukrainian troops prepare to retreat from two eastern cities making up the Donbas.
{Take SOT}
{Upsound 00:00 - 00:02}
In a conspicuous attempt to get its feet under the table, Russian reconnaissance and sabotage groups fought to capture the Mir Hotel and the surrounding area in Sievierodonetsk, including a railway hub of Lyman.
1,500 have already been slaughtered there.
The mayor of the eastern city claimed 90 percent of the buildings were mauled, eliciting fears of a carbon copy of the horrors afflicting Mariupol residents.
This amateur aerial footage shows the detritus of fighting in Luhansk, with perforated land or mass graves nearby Lysychansk, also among the remnants of Ukrainian stronghold there.
In spite of a possibly bungled retreat from the two cities, the governor of Luhansk said giving a wide berth to the Russians for now would set Ukraine on the fast track to victory.
{Upsound 01:02 - 01:03}
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed "Donbas will be Ukrainian" in the face of the burgeoning debate over whether ceding some territory to Russia will do.
Given Ukraine's position as a major food exporter, Russia also got it in the neck for hobbling Ukraine's ability to produce and export food, raising the prospect of having certain nations fend for themselves.
And Ukraine has been given anti-ship missiles and howitzers from Denmark and the United States respectively to bulk up Ukrainian boots on the ground.
Comments