Ukraine reports heavy bombing Luhansk governor: Kremlin joins forces for attack
09/04/2022 08:33
There are growing signs of an imminent Russian offensive in Donbass. According to Ukrainian information, Moscow units are increasing the bombardment of the region. The governor of Luhansk asks the civilians to flee.
Attacks by Russian units in Donbass, eastern Ukraine, continue, according to Ukrainian sources. Russian troops are focused on taking the cities of Rubishne, Nizhne, Popasna and Novobachmutivka and gaining full control of the city of Mariupol, Unian reported, citing the Ukrainian General Staff’s military situation report in the morning.
Luhansk governor Serhiy Hajday told the internet newspaper “Ukrainska Pravda” on Friday that the situation in the Luhansk region was more difficult in the cities of Rubishne and Popasna. Part of the city of Rubischne, which has a population of 50,000, had been taken over by Russian units, there were constant battles for positions and increased bombing. Popasna, with its roughly 20,000 residents, was also “under pressure” for more than a month, Hajdaj said. It is impossible to evacuate people from there because “everything is being bombed left and right”.
Speaking on public television, Hajday said the Russians were “joining forces for an offensive and we are seeing the number of grenade fire increasing”. More settlements would have to be evacuated and civilians brought to safety. 30% of the inhabitants are still in the cities of the region. They are asked to leave the area. The information could not be independently verified.
Military experts from the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) war research institute said late in Mariupol that the Ukrainian armed forces continued to hold defensive positions in the east and southwest of the besieged port city, especially at the steelworks Asovstal and the portuary zone.
According to Unian, the Ukrainian staff’s report said the country’s armed forces were able to repel seven attacks by Russian units on Friday. The attacks were also repelled around the town of Izyum in the region of Kharkiv, which is occupied by Russian troops. In the south, targets in the Odessa region were again hit by rockets from the territory of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia.