Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is pleading for more heavy weaponry as Russia advances in the Donbas.
French President Emmanuel Macron has said Ukraine will have to hold talks with Russia in order to bring the war to an end.
"It is getting harder, but our military is holding back the enemy from three sides at once," he said. The ministry noted that Russia's urban warfare tactics, which are reliant on heavy use of artillery, have generated extensive collateral damage throughout the city, making it reminiscent of Mariupol, the southern port city also severely attacked by Russia earlier in the invasion.Smoke rises after a military strike on a compound of Sievierodonetsk's Azot Chemical Plant, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Lysychansk, Luhansk region, Ukraine June 10, 2022.
The U.K. added that it is highly unlikely that Russia anticipated such robust opposition, or such slow, attritional conflict during its original planning for the invasion.Valentyn Ogirenko | Reuters Ukrainian forces are battling a severe onslaught from Russian forces in eastern Ukraine with 80% of the key city of Severodonetsk now controlled by the occupiers. Zelenskyy has made repeated pleas for Ukraine to receive more long-range weapons from its Western allies, as well as tanks, drones and armored vehicles.Aris Messinis | Afp | Getty Images
Haidai said that a mass evacuation of civilians now was"simply not possible" due to the persistent bombing and fighting. The Russian defense ministry has said it will open a"humanitarian corridor" on Wednesday to allow Ukrainian civilians sheltering in the plant to leave the complex.
Connolly, who spoke on a panel hosted by Washington-based think tank CNAS, added that Russia historically maintains high defense equipment reserves. "I would say there are very few signs that he's at risk of losing power anytime soon," explained Andrea Kendall-Taylor, a senior fellow and director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, or CNAS.