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President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces were “holding on” in the flashpoint eastern city Severodonetsk where intense street battles with Russian troops could determine the fate of the Donbas region. Follow FRANCE 24’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
06:21am: Ukrainian forces ‘holding on’ in key Donbas battles, Zelensky says
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces were “holding on” in the flashpoint eastern city Severodonetsk where intense street battles with Russian troops could determine the fate of the Donbas region.
Moscow has concentrated its firepower on the industrial city, which it now mostly controls, with the area’s governor saying on Friday that Russian forces had destroyed a major sports arena.
Pro-Russian rebels sentenced one Moroccan and two British fighters to death on Thursday after they were captured while fighting for Ukraine and accused of acting as mercenaries for Kyiv.
Zelensky said in his evening address on Thursday night that several “cities in Donbas, which the occupiers now consider key targets, are holding on”.
He added that Ukrainian forces have made positive strides in the Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions, and are in the process of “liberating our land”.
With the fiercest fighting now concentrated in Severodonetsk, governor Sergiy Gaiday – who earlier called for Western artillery to quickly help secure a Ukrainian victory – said “one of the symbols of Severodonetsk was destroyed. The Ice Palace burned down”.
Western countries have provided weapons and aid for Ukraine since the February 24 invasion, while several people from abroad have joined the fight against Russian forces.
Up to 100 Ukrainian soldiers were being killed every day in frontline fighting and as many as 500 wounded, Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said.
(FRANCE24 with REUTERS, AP and AFP)
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