Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that in the fighting against the Russians in Severodonetsk "the fate of Donbas is being decided", eastern region of the country.
"The battle for Severodonetsk is one of the most difficult since the beginning of the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the fate of Donbas is being decided there"Zelensky said in his usual late-night speech.
On the 105th day of the large-scale war launched by Russia against Ukraine, "Severodonetsk remains the epicenter of the confrontation in Donbas. We defend our positions, inflict significant losses on the enemy"he added.
this is a battle "very fierce, very difficult. Probably one of the most difficult throughout this war. I am grateful to all who defend this direction. In many ways, the fate of our Donbas is being decided there"Zelensky stated.
In addition, he said that today the Russians announced "the absolutely crazy news that they are preparing to unite some football clubs from all the occupied territories in a pseudo-championship: from Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, Melitopol, Crimea and even part of Georgia. It would be a mockery of the occupants for people who know what it was like before".
Ten years ago, he recalled, Donetsk was a city "strong, proud and developed", and then after the arrival of the Russian army "it is a ghost town that has lost most of its people, thousands of lives and absolutely all perspectives".
Zelensky insisted that "only the return of Ukraine, which will definitely happen, only our flag and only Ukrainian law will mean normal life for these territories, for these cities, again"
Ukraine refuses to hand over Severodonetsk, the last Ukrainian stronghold in the Lugansk region, although the Russian Army has forced Ukrainian troops to withdraw to the outskirts of the city.
Russian troops seem to have taken control of the city, but the Ukrainians prevent them from advancing across the river to Lisichansk, a city located almost on the administrative border with the Donetsk region.
The Ukrainian General Staff also highlighted the "successful" resistance of his troops in Severodonetsk and the outskirts of the city, which the president, Volodymyr Zelensky, described as "heroic".
According to the pro-Russians, the Ukrainian forces have already left the Severodonetsk airport and have taken refuge in a nearby forest.
Russian and pro-Russian sources say that units of the Ukrainian Army in Donbas have suffered "important casualties" in their ranks in recent days, especially in Sviatohirsk, in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.
