Russian troops fired on more than 40 towns in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region yesterday, the Ukrainian military said. One of the consequences of this is that the last escape routes are in danger of becoming closed to civilians. “The occupiers shelled more than 40 cities in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions,” the army staff wrote on Facebook. “In addition, 47 civilian sites, including 38 houses and a school, were destroyed or damaged.”
However, the Ukrainian army also claims that ten enemy attacks were repulsed, four tanks and four drones were destroyed and 62 ‘enemy soldiers’ were killed. The pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas say they are holding about 8,000 Ukrainians. The figure has not been independently verified.
Completely want to conquer
Observers expect the Russians to want to completely conquer Luhansk and the adjacent Donetsk region, both in the Donbas region. Part of the area has been under control of pro-Russian rebels since 2014.
A month ago, dozens of critically ill Ukrainians were evacuated from a hospice in the Donbas because of the war. You can see that in the video below:
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The Ukrainian general also did not rule out new Russian missile attacks on the relatively quiet western part of Ukraine. Ukraine is alleged to have seen Russia move Iskander missile systems to the Brest region of neighboring Belarus, from which Ukraine can be targeted.
‘Goal is crystal clear’
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is convinced that President Putin will not succeed. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the government leader said “Putin has failed in all his strategic goals” and the conquest of Ukraine “is further away than at the start of the war.”
“Our goal is crystal clear: Putin must not win this war. And I am convinced that he will not win,” said Scholz. In his speech, he also spoke mainly about the emerging countries in Asia, Africa and South America that have so far refrained from criticizing the Russian invasion. Hoping to change that, Scholz has invited government leaders from India, Indonesia, South Africa, Senegal and Argentina to the G7 summit in Germany next month.
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