As the discovery of dead bodies and the massive destruction in areas of northern Ukraine previously occupied by the Russians continue to cause international horror, Kiev is preparing for a major offensive in the east of the country. Russia is gathering troops to achieve its objectives in the Donbas, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said today.
Regional authorities urged residents to leave the area immediately. Meanwhile, the Russian military is assuming that thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are ready to fight in the port city of Mariupol.
“These few days could be the last chance” to leave eastern Ukraine, said Ukrainian governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Gajday. Russian forces tried to cut off possible escape routes to the west. “Please go,” Gajdaj pleaded. Because the Ukrainian authorities did not want “a second Mariupol” – tens of thousands of deaths are now presumed in the port city.