Russian forces on Friday pounded the last Ukrainian strongholds in a separatist-controlled eastern province of Ukraine, including a city where authorities said 1,500 people have been killed and 60% of residential buildings destroyed since the start of the war.
Ukraine’s foreign minister warned that without a new injection of foreign weapons, Ukrainian forces would not be able to stop Russia from seizing Sievierodonetsk and nearby Lysychansk, two cities that are crucial to Russia’s goal of capturing all of Ukraine’s industrial Donbas region.
The cities are the last areas under Ukrainian control in Luhansk, one of two provinces that make up the region. Russian forces have made slow but persistent advances as they bombarded and sought to encircle both Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk.
“The Russians are pounding residential neighborhoods relentlessly,” regional governor Serhiy Haidai wrote in a Telegram post Friday. “The residents of Sievierodonetsk have forgotten when was the last time there was silence in the city for at least half an hour.”
Latest developments:
►Turkey’s foreign minister says Sweden and Finland must take “concrete steps” to alleviate his country’s security concerns to overcome Ankara’s objections to their NATO membership bid.
►Italian Premier Mario Draghi has discussed the emerging food crisis in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine has been unable to ship millions of tons of grain due to a Russian blockade of its ports.
►The Ukrainian governor of the eastern Luhansk region says Russian bombardments killed three people in and around the city of Lysychansk, which is a key focus of fighting. In the northern Kharkiv region, governor Oleh Synehubov said two men were killed and 10 others injured, including a 9-year-old girl, in shelling of the town of Balakliya.
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Ukraine agency opens hotline to support displaced Ukrainians
Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation on Friday said that displaced Ukrainians can find resources at a newly launched hotline.
Assistance in gaining temporary protection status from other countries, finding housing and employment and learning how to return to Ukraine in the future are all services the hotline offers.
The hotline will offer advice on doing business in seven EU countries, as well: Poland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania and Germany.
-Ella Lee
Ukraine foreign minister: Situation in east is 'even worse than people say'
Ukraine’s foreign minister is pleading with Western nations to provide Kyiv with heavy weapons to enable it to push Russian forces back.
Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday night tweeted a video of himself answering questions submitted on Twitter and said: “We need heavy weapons. The only position where Russia is better than us it’s the amount of heavy weapons they have. Without artillery, without multiple launch rocket systems, we won’t be able to push them back.”
Kuleba said that the situation in the east of the country, where the Russian forces are on the offensive, is "even worse than people say. We need weapons. If you really care for Ukraine, weapons, weapons and weapons again,” the minister stressed.
China criticizes US as tensions rise in South Pacific
China on Friday criticized a speech by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that focused on tensions between the world’s top two economic powers, saying the U.S. was seeking to smear Beijing’s reputation.
In his Thursday address, Blinken said the administration of President Joe Biden wants to lead the international bloc opposed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine into a broader coalition to counter what it sees as a more serious, long-term threat to global order from China.
In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the U.S. was “essentially spreading disinformation” and “smearing China’s domestic and foreign policy.”
Contributing: Associated Press
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