Ukraine denies claims by pro-Russian separatists that they’ve encircled town in the Donbas plot.
Published On 2 Jul 2022
Combating has intensified for Lysychansk, Ukraine’s final bastion in the strategic jap province of Luhansk, while blasts shook a southern city after the civilian toll from Russian attacks climbed in cities nicely at the aid of the entrance traces.
Andrei Marochko, an officer of the pro-Russian Luhansk Folk’s Militia, modified into as soon as quoted by Russia’s TASS recordsdata agency on Saturday as asserting that the militia’s crimson hammer-and-sickle flag modified into as soon as now flying over the manager building in Lysychansk, though Ukraine’s protection force rejected claims that town modified into as soon as encircled.
Russian media showed movies of Luhansk militia parading in the streets of Lysychansk waving flags and cheering, but Ukraine National Guard spokesman Ruslan Muzychuk told Ukrainian national tv town remained in Ukrainian hands.
“Now there are fierce battles near Lysychansk, nonetheless, happily, town is no longer surrounded and is below the support watch over of the Ukrainian navy,” Muzychuk acknowledged.
He acknowledged the conditions in the Lysychansk and Bakhmut areas, as nicely as in Kharkiv plot, had been essentially the most sophisticated to your whole entrance line.
“The goal of the enemy right here stays fetch admission to to the manager border of Donetsk and Luhansk areas. Furthermore, in the Sloviansk route, the enemy is attempting assault actions,” he acknowledged.
Oleksandr Senkevych, mayor of the southern plot of Mykolaiv, which borders the very crucial Sad Sea port of Odesa, reported extremely efficient explosions in town.
“Close in shelters!” he wrote on the Telegram messaging app as air raid sirens sounded.
The reason for the blasts modified into as soon as no longer straight away clear, though Russia later acknowledged it had hit navy whisper posts in the quandary.
The Reuters recordsdata agency might possibly no longer independently test the battlefield reviews.
Ukrainian media quoted Vadym Denysenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry, as asserting that the Russian claims to get surrounded Lysychansk had been a lie aimed at demoralising Ukrainians and encouraging pro-Russian forces.
Kyiv says Moscow has intensified missile attacks on cities removed from the most predominant jap battlefields and that it deliberately hit civilian websites. Ukrainian troops on the jap entrance traces in the intervening time relate intense artillery barrages that get pummelled residential areas.
Lukashenko says Ukraine fired missiles on Belarus
Within the intervening time, Belarusian chief Alexander Lukashenko on Saturday accused Ukraine of “provoking” neighbouring Belarus, asserting his navy intercepted missiles fired at his country by Ukrainian forces “spherical three days ago”.
The claim came one week after Ukraine acknowledged missiles struck a border plot from Belarus, a lengthy-term Russian ally that supported the February 24 invasion.
Lukashenko on Saturday denied his country modified into as soon as searching for to intervene in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but issued a warning aimed at Kyiv and its Western allies.
“As I acknowledged extra than a Twelve months ago, we feature out no longer intend to fight in Ukraine,” he acknowledged.
“We are going to procure a way to easiest fight in a single case. As soon as you … enter our land, while you smash our folks, then we are in a position to retort,” he added, warning that Belarus would reply “straight away” to an enemy assault on its soil.
Russian troops crossed the Belarusian border into Ukraine as they tried and failed to steal the capital Kyiv.
Lukashenko is heavily dependent on Russia militarily and economically and relied on his neighbour’s crimson meat up to stabilise his field when frequent protests broke out in 2020 after an election the Belarusian opposition explain he stole.
Russian President Vladimir Putin presented final week that Moscow would bring Iskander-M missiles succesful of carrying nuclear weapons to Belarus “in the approaching months”.
“Less than a month ago, I ordered our protection force to position in our sights the option centres for your capitals,” Lukashenko acknowledged on Saturday, citing the missiles promised by Putin and the Belarusian rocket-launcher Polonez.