Russian troops advanced into the Lugansk region in eastern Ukraine and on Monday took control of the city of Kreminna, which had a population of just under 20,000 when the war began.
Russian soldier at a power plant in the Lugansk region of eastern Ukraine
Photo: EPA / Ansa Brazil
Like Donetsk, Lugansk is part of the socalled Donbass, a geographical area of eastern Ukraine whose sovereignty is claimed by proRussian separatist groups and defended by Moscow.
“The occupiers have taken control of Kreminna, but fighting continues. Take care of your children,” Lugansk Governor Sergei Gaidai said on Telegram. According to him, it is no longer possible to evacuate civilians from the city.
Gaidai also said that four people trying to flee Kreminna were shot dead by Russian soldiers. “Residents tried to evacuate in their own cars and the Russians opened fire on a vehicle with civilians on board,” he said.
In addition, Ukraine also condemned Russian attacks on residential buildings and schools in Kramatorsk, in Donetsk. In that city, more than 50 civilians were killed in a bomb attack on a train station on April 8 while waiting for evacuation trains.
“At least eight houses, schools and infrastructure were destroyed. Artillery fire along the entire front continued all night. So far there have been no civilian casualties, and electricity and gas supplies have been cut off,” Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said.
The Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine was already foreseen by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is asking the West for more weapons to defend its territory. “They want to literally destroy Donbass, destroy everything that gave glory to this industrial region. While destroying Mariupol, they want to erase other cities and towns in Donetsk and Lugansk from the map,” he said in a video message.
Mariupol itself, located in Donetsk, has now been almost completely captured by Moscow, leaving only a group of fighters holed up in a steel industry.