Ukraine fights off fresh assault in Donetsk region, credits resilience of soldiers

Kyiv: Ukraine was faced with a fresh assault by Russian forces in the Donetsk region. Moscow has been claiming that it has annexed the region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the situation is getting tougher and Russia is throwing more and more of its forces at breaking down Kyiv's defence. "It is very difficult now in Bakhmut, Vugledar, Lyman, and other areas."

Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said the Russian occupation this week threw all their efforts into breaking Ukraine's defence and encircling Bakhmut and launched a powerful offensive in the Lyman sector. "But, thanks to the resilience of our soldiers, they did not succeed," reported AFP.

Russia announced in September 2022 that it had annexed Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhya. But the troops do not have the ability to fully control these territories and Kyiv is still battling to get them back. On Sunday morning, Moscow started a fresh wave of bombardment on the eastern front lines.

Ukrainian officials reported shelling in the Chernigiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv Lugansk, Donetsk, and Mykolaiv regions. Border guard service reported four Russian soldiers were killed and seven others were wounded. Officials also recovered two British volunteers who were helping to evacuate Ukrainians from the warzone.

As a result of Moscow's continued assault on Ukraine's power grid, the southern city of Odesa suffered a massive power cut. Half a million households were in the dark after an electrical substation was damaged.