The Russian army continues to progress, Wednesday, May 25, in eastern Ukraine where it is at the gates of the city of Severodonetsk. kyiv, which admits that the situation is “extremely difficult” for its troops after three months of war, criticizes NATO for not “do absolutely nothing” against the Russian invasion.
Here’s what to remember from the day.
Severodonetsk surrounded by Russian forces
In the Donbass, this industrial basin in eastern Ukraine partially under the control of pro-Russian separatists since 2014, and where Moscow has refocused its offensive after failing to take kyiv and bring down the power of President Volodymr Zelensky, the Russians try at all costs to tighten their grip on the Lugansk region.
Russian forces have reached the outskirts of Severodonetsk, a city of 100,000 inhabitants where the situation is “very difficult”, acknowledged Wednesday the governor of the region. Russian forces are “so close they can fire a mortar” on Severodonetsk, he said on Telegram, adding that the city was “simply being destroyed”.
The governor accused the Russian army of bombarding the city using multiple rocket launchers, imprecise and devastating weapons. According to him, the bombs are also targeting the Azot factory where civilians are taking refuge, in a situation reminiscent of the siege of Mariupol, the large port in the south-east practically destroyed by the bombs.
“In some areas the Russian forces have temporary tactical successes, it’s no secret. But to say that the Ukrainian troops are retreating is a completely false interpretation”reacted the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, referring to a situation “very scalable”. “Sooner or later, counter-offensives will take place (…). We will liberate our land from the Russian occupiers”he promised.
Russians move south
On the southern front, Moscow is busy consolidating its hold on the territories conquered for three months. In Mariupol, mine clearance and “demilitarization” of the port are finished and it started “to operate on a regular basis”said the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Russia has also announced that it will allow residents of the Zaporizhia and Kherson regions to apply for a Russian passport via “a simplified procedure”.
Ukraine immediately denounced a measure demonstrating Moscow’s desire to carry out a pure and simple annexation of these territories. “The forced granting of passports to Ukrainians in Kherson and Zaporizhia is further proof of the criminal aim of Russia’s war against Ukraine”the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
kyiv calls for heavy weapons, Putin appears with the wounded
Ukraine, which continues to demand that the West provide it more quickly with the heavy weapons it lacks to deal with the Russian war machine, also called on the international community meeting in Davos (Switzerland) to “kill Russian exports”.
Moscow must stop “to earn money and invest it in a war machine that kills, rapes and tortures Ukrainians”Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba told the World Economic Forum, as a European embargo on Russian oil is struggling to materialize.
Brussels, for its part, has presented proposals to allow the confiscation of the assets of oligarchs on the EU blacklist, and who are trying to evade sanctions. The European Commission wants to achieve this by harmonizing the criminal justice response to the violation of sanctions within the EU – a response so far disparate.
At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin was filmed, in a white coat, with wounded soldiers on the Ukrainian front. Those men “who risk their health, their lives for the people and children of Donbass (eastern Ukraine, editor’s note), for the good of Russia, all are heroes”he assured.
Over eight million internally displaced
Thousands of civilians and soldiers have already perished in this war, without there being any figures. For the city of Mariupol alone, kyiv speaks of 20,000 dead. More than eight million Ukrainians have been internally displaced, according to the UN. Added to this are 6.5 million who have fled abroad, more than half of them – 3.4 million – to Poland.