Ukraine Gives Fierce Resistance To Russian Troops In Donetsk, President Zelensky: Finally Western Artillery Works, Their Accuracy Needed

Russian attack destroys buildings in Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons/State Emergency Service of Ukraine)

JAKARTA - Ukraine is struggling to prevent any major Russian advance into the northern Donetsk region, but pressure has increased with heavy shelling in the city of Sloviansk and nearby populated areas, the Ukrainian military said on Wednesday.

Russia and its separatist proxies were already in control of the southern part of Donetsk province when they effectively settled the seizure of neighboring Luhansk territory on Sunday by capturing the city of Lysychansk, which is now largely in ruins.

Moscow says the expulsion of the Ukrainian military from both regions is at the heart of what it calls a "special military operation, to ensure its own security, an offensive of more than four months of what the West has called an unwarranted war."

The provinces of Donetsk and Lugansk make up the Donbas, a highly industrialized eastern region of Ukraine that has been Europe's biggest battlefield for generations, where Russia is eager to wrest control for the separatists it supports.

In its evening notes on Wednesday, the Ukrainian military stated that Russian troops were intensifying pressure on Ukrainian defenders along the northern flank of Donetsk Province.

It said Russian troops bombarded several Ukrainian cities with heavy weapons to allow ground troops to advance south into the region and approach Sloviansk.

"The enemy is trying to improve its tactical position, (They) are advancing before being repulsed by our soldiers and retreating at a loss," the Ukrainian military update read, citing Reuters July 7.

President Volodymyr Zelensky. (Source: President.gov.ua)

Other Russian troops, he said, were aiming to capture two towns en route to the southern Sloviansk city of Kramatorsk, and were also trying to take control of the main highway linking the provinces of Lugansk and Donetsk.

"We are holding the enemy at the (Luhansk/Donetsk) border," Lugansk Governor Serhiy Gaidai told Ukrainian TV. Later, he said that Lugansk was still not completely occupied by Russian troops, that Russia had suffered a "huge loss".

"They will continue to try to advance in Sloviansk and Bakhmut. There is no doubt about that," he said.

Meanwhile, Sloviansk Mayor Vadym Lyakh said in a video briefing that the city had been under attack for the past two weeks.

"The situation is tense," he said, adding that 17 citizens had died there since President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops into Ukraine on February 24.

Russia's Defense Ministry said it was not targeting civilians and on Wednesday said it was using high-precision weapons to deal with military threats.

Separately, in his evening video message, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian fighters carried out real attacks on Russian logistical targets such as depots, affecting their offensive potential.

"Finally, the Western artillery began to work with strong, weapons that we got from our partners. And their accuracy was sorely needed," said President Zelensky.

Ukraine has repeatedly pleaded with the West to send in more weapons to repel an invasion that has killed thousands, displaced millions and razed cities.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he spoke Wednesday with his German and US counterparts, during which he said the importance of continuing military aid had been discussed.

Russia has said it was forced to try to demilitarize Ukraine after the West ignored its pleas to guarantee that its fellow former Soviet republic and neighbors would not be accepted into NATO. Moscow says it must also root out what it says are dangerous nationalists and protect Russian speakers.

Ukraine and its Western backers say Russia's stated goal is a pretext for unwarranted imperial-style land grabs.