Russia and Ukraine

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced this The future of Ukraine It depends on the outcome of the wars in the east of the country. The Ukrainian president added that things are very difficult and very painful in eastern Ukraine, stressing the need to destroy the military power of Russian forces.

The Ukrainian General Staff announced that fighting in Pakmut was continuing, noting that Russian forces had not stopped trying to capture the city.

Ukrainian and Russian forces announced on Monday that they were engaged in “fierce battles” for control of the city center of Pakmut in eastern Ukraine, which Moscow has been trying to control despite suffering heavy losses since the summer.

The city has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance in the face of the Kremlin, while Kiev hopes to launch a wider counteroffensive to exhaust enemy forces there.

From Pakmut (AFP)

The army’s media office quoted Ukrainian ground forces commander Oleksandr Chersky as saying, “Assault units (of the Russian armed group) Wagner are attacking from several directions, trying to break through the defenses of our forces and advance towards the central neighborhoods.”

It came as Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the “Wagner” group fighting on the front lines of this battle, said, “The closer we got to the city center, the more intense the fighting became, and the use of artillery.”

Chersky confirmed that Ukrainian forces had “inflicted heavy losses on the enemy” in the longest war since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. “All attempts to capture the city were thwarted … by artillery and tanks fire,” he said.

Prigogine admitted that his forces faced stiff resistance. “The situation in Pakmut is difficult, very difficult. The enemy is fighting at every meter,” he said in a message on social networks. “The Ukrainians throw endless precautions (in war),” he added.

Several months ago, the city of Pakmut, which had a population of 70,000 before the Russian invasion began in February 2022, became the epicenter of fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Although the city, a large part of which was destroyed by bombing, has become a symbol of fierce Ukrainian resistance to the invasion, analysts question its strategic importance.

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