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Russia has directed Russian troops fighting eastward into Ukraine. Their move to the Donbas region, as they did not reach much in and around Kiev, could further prolong the conflict in the country, according to the US.
Russian forces have already caused a humanitarian catastrophe in the east, turning Mariupol into rubble, but have failed to inflict losses on the Ukrainian army, the BBC says.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is pushing for the liberation of Donbas, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is determined “to fight for every meter of Ukrainian land,” he said.
Putin will take control of the area that used to be the main engine of Ukraine’s coal and steel industry. However, when we talk about Donbas, we mean the two large regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, which reach as far as the northern border.
Russian forces are trying to encircle the Ukrainian army in the east. They have taken control of Izyum, a strategic city between Kharkiv and separatist areas, and bombed several cities in Luhansk, destroying apartment blocks and killing civilians there.
If Russia were to invade them, the next step could be their annexation, as happened with Crimea in 2014.
Although these areas are Russian-speaking, this no longer makes them pro-Russian. They have been facing Russian attacks since 2014, analysts told the BBC.
Civilians are fleeing ahead of Russian progress. Maryna Agafonova, confesses that she left after the Russians attacked the hospitals and houses, leaving the area without energy. “There are a lot of Ukrainian forces there,” she told the BBC. “They are not letting the Russians take over the city.”
Russian forces have already suffered heavy losses after more than five weeks of conflict and morale has plummeted.
While in the ranks of local residents there is optimism. “They have to give us back our cities, the Ukrainian army has shown capability. “I believe he will not hand over Mariupol,” a man identified as Mykyta told the BBC.
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