President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the West to quit fooling about with Russia and put harder sanctions on Moscow to quit its “senseless conflict” in Ukraine, saying that his nation will stay independent at whatever cost.
Zelensky’s criticism of the West has grown in recent days, as the European Union advances cautiously toward a potential Russian oil embargo and as thousands of Russian troops attempt to surround two major eastern towns, Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk.
Three months into its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has abandoned its attack on Kyiv in favour of attempting to secure control of the industrial eastern Donbas area, where it has supported a separatist insurgency since 2014.
Following the capitulation of Ukraine’s troops in Mariupol last week, Western military experts regard the struggle for Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk as a turning point in the conflict.
“Ukraine will remain an independent state indefinitely.”
“The only issue is how much our people will have to pay for their freedom, and how much Russia will have to pay for this foolish war against us,” Zelensky said in a late-night statement on Thursday.
“The disastrous developing events may still be averted if the world approached the situation in Ukraine as if it were facing the same scenario if the powers that be did not play games with Russia but urged for an end to the conflict.”
Zelensky expressed concern about divisions within the EU about further sanctions against Russia and questioned why certain countries were permitted to veto the proposal.
The EU is considering a sixth wave of sanctions, including a ban on Russian oil imports. Such a change needs unanimous agreement, but Hungary is now opposed to the notion on the grounds that its economy would suffer too much.
“How much longer will the European Union strive to get an agreement on a sixth package?” Zelensky inquired, adding that Russia receives one billion euros every day from the EU27 for energy supply.
“Putting pressure on Russia practically means saving lives.”
Zelensky’s remarks represent the second day in a row that he has stepped up his criticism of the international community’s stance on the conflict.
On Wednesday, he slammed ideas that Kyiv make concessions to establish peace, comparing the concept to Nazi Germany’s appeasement in 1938.
RUSSIAN TROOPS ON THE MOVE
On Thursday, Russian soldiers assaulted from three directions in an attempt to surround Ukrainian forces in Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk, according to Ukraine’s military. If the two cities flanking the Siverskiy Donets river collapse, Russia would control practically the whole Donbas province of Luhansk.
Serhiy Gaidai, governor of Luhansk, claimed roughly 50 Russian forces had reached the roadway and “gained a footing,” even putting up a checkpoint.
“The checkpoint was breached, and they were sent back… “
“The Russian army does not now control the road, but they are bombarding it,” he said. It was probable that Ukrainian forces might evacuate “one or two settlements.” “We must win the war, not the fight,” he said.
“It’s apparent that our guys are gradually withdrawing to more entrenched positions. – we need to keep this rabble at bay.”
According to Ukrainian interior ministry advisor Vadym Denisenko, 25 Russian battalions are seeking to encircle Ukrainian soldiers.
Reuters journalists in the Russian-controlled area to the south observed evidence of Moscow’s advance in Svitlodarsk, where Ukrainian soldiers retreated earlier this week.
Pro-Russian fighters have taken over the local government building and placed a Soviet hammer and sickle flag on the entrance.
Drone imagery from the neighbouring abandoned battleground showed holes dotting a grassy landscape surrounded by demolished structures. Pro-Russian fighters milled about in trenches.
Massive artillery shelling has aided the Donba’s advance. According to the Ukrainian military, 50 towns in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions were shelled on Thursday.
Valeriy Zaluzhny, the chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, asked Telegram for more Western armaments, namely “weapons that would enable us to kill the adversary from a long distance.”
Later, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that any military supply reaching Russian territory would be a “significant step toward intolerable escalation.”
RISK OF ESCALATION
Western nations, headed by the United States, have supplied Ukraine with long-range armament, including M777 howitzers from Washington and Danish Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
According to Reuters, Washington is contemplating giving Kyiv a rocket system with a range of hundreds of kilometres and has conducted conversations with Kyiv about the risk of escalation if it hits far within Russia.
“We have worries about escalation, but we don’t want to place geographic restrictions or bind their hands too much with the material we’re sending them,” said a US official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Russia refers to its efforts in Ukraine as a “special operation” aimed at disarming the country and protecting it from Nazis. Ukraine and the West deny the fascist charge and argue that a conflict is an unjustified act of aggression.
Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, said Moscow expects Ukraine to accept its requests in any future peace negotiations. It wants Kyiv to recognise Russian authority over the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014. It also wants separatist-claimed territories to be independent.
