Russian-led separatists in eastern Ukraine reported the bombing of the city of Donetsk by the Ukrainian army. The main entrance was hit and some cars in the area were damaged, the city administration wrote on Telegram. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, fighting in the eastern provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, on the Russian border, is particularly fierce at the moment.
An administrative building was seriously damaged when the Ukrainian army bombed Donetsk, Mayor Alexei Kulemsin said, according to state news agency TASS. Among other things, windows broke and cars caught fire, he said. “Miraculously, no one died,” Kulemsin said. The information could not be independently confirmed. The industrial city of Donetsk has been under the control of pro-Russian separatists since 2014.
On Sunday, Moscow-backed forces blamed the Ukrainian army for 40 attacks on targets in the Russian-recognized “People’s Republic of Donetsk” in 24 hours. One civilian was killed and four others were wounded.
As Ukrainian President Zelenskyy explained in his video speech on Saturday night, the situation in the eastern provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, bordering Russia, remains difficult. “The situation is more difficult in the direction of Bakhmut. We are holding our positions,” said Zelenskyy. Russian forces repeatedly tried to capture Bakhmut.
Kyiv said on Friday that it expects the US and Germany to deliver advanced anti-aircraft systems later this month. In his video speech, Zelenskyy described the new US military aid with a volume of up to 725 million dollars (745.6 million euros) as “much needed”. His country became the target of new Russian attacks on Saturday. “Some of the missiles and drones were shot down, but unfortunately not all,” the head of state said. “We are doing everything we can to shoot down more enemy missiles and drones. (…) The day will surely come when our state can fulfill this task 100 percent.”
What’s more, “Generally, we do everything in the east and south to give the occupiers the feeling that they have no perspective,” Zelenskyy said. Sunday marks the 235th day since the start of the Russian invasion of the neighboring country on February 24.
Meanwhile, according to British information, Russia is no longer able to keep up with ammunition production because of its approach to the war of aggression against Ukraine. “The Russian defense industry is unlikely to be able to produce advanced munitions at the rate at which they are being consumed,” the UK Ministry of Defense said in its Ukraine War Intelligence Update on Sunday.
More than 80 rocket attacks on several Ukrainian cities earlier in the week meant a further deterioration in Russia’s long-range missile stockpile, the British said. This will likely limit Russia’s ability to hit that number of targets again in the future.
About seven and a half months into the war, Russia fired more than 80 rockets into Ukraine on Monday – including in the capital Kyiv. About 20 people died and more than 100 were injured. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Friday that attacks on lost targets would be “rescheduled”. At the same time, he emphasized that no other large-scale attacks are planned at the moment.