- The Donbass region has been completely destroyed – Zelenski
- The group of seven is sending billions more to Ukraine
- The US Senate has approved $ 40 billion in additional aid
Kyiv / SLATINE, Ukraine, May 20 (Reuters) – Russian forces have stepped up their offensive in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region, using artillery, missiles and planes to damage defense around Donetsk, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Friday.
“Russia’s enemy has carried out massive artillery shelling of civilian infrastructure, including volley-loading systems,” the statement said.
Russian shelling in Luhansk, also in Donbas, has killed 13 civilians in the past 24 hours, according to regional governor Sergei Gaidai.
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Twelve were killed in the city of Severodonetsk, where the Russian attack failed, he said.
The Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine said 232 children had been killed and 427 wounded since the Russian invasion.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports, and Russia denies targeting civilians.
The Donbass industrial region, the focus of recent Russian offensives, has been destroyed, President Vladimir Zelensky said, while some of the world’s richest countries have promised to support billions of dollars in Kyiv.
After deviating from the Ukrainian capital, Russia used massive artillery and armor to try to seize more territory in the Donbass, consisting of the Donetsk and Luhansk districts, which Moscow claims on behalf of the separatists.
“The occupiers are trying to put even more pressure. There is hell – and this is no exaggeration, “Zelenski said in a statement Thursday night. There were also “constant strikes” on the Odessa region to the south, he said.
“Donbass is completely destroyed,” he said.
Moscow calls its invasion a “special military operation” to liberate Ukraine from the Nazis, a claim that Kyiv and its Western allies say is an unfounded pretext for an unprovoked war.
Russia is likely to step up operations in Donbass after defending the southern port city of Mariupol, the scene of a week-long siege, British military intelligence said.
As the invasion approaches its three-month mark, the U.S. Senate on Thursday approved a vast majority of nearly $ 40 billion in new aid to Ukraine, the largest package of U.S. aid to date.
The Group of Seven Rich Nations also agreed to provide $ 18.4 billion to Ukraine. Ukraine has said that money will speed up victory over Russia and is just as important as “the weapons you provide”.
The White House is working to put advanced anti-ship missiles in the hands of Ukrainian fighters to help overcome Russia’s naval blockade, officials said. Read more
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has accused Russia of using food as a weapon, holding hostages not only to Ukrainians but to millions around the world. Read more
The war led to rising world prices for cereals, cooking oil, fuels and fertilizers.
The EU has said it is looking for ways to use the frozen assets of Russian oligarchs to fund Ukraine’s reconstruction, while the United States does not rule out possible sanctions against countries that buy Russian oil.
NATO OFFICE
But the split in NATO has also manifested itself, with Turkey opposing the accession of Sweden and Finland to the alliance in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a move that will turn generations of military non-alignment.
Ankara has accused the two Scandinavian countries of harboring Kurdish extremists, but US President Joe Biden and European leaders have said they are confident Turkey’s concerns can be addressed. Read more
Last week, Russia secured its biggest victory since the invasion, with Kyiv announcing it had ordered its garrison at the Mariupol steel plant to withdraw after a long siege.
British military intelligence says about 1,700 troops may have surrendered to the Azovstal steel plant, a similar figure released by Moscow on Thursday.
Ukrainian authorities, who demanded an exchange of prisoners, declined to comment on the issue, saying it could jeopardize rescue efforts.
Late Thursday, Svyatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov Regiment defending the steel plant, released an 18-second video saying he and other commanders were still at the plant.
“There is a certain operation going on, the details of which I will not disclose,” he said.
The Swiss-based International Committee of the Red Cross said it had registered hundreds of prisoners at the plant now owned by Russia, but did not give an exact number.
The leader of the Russian-backed separatists who control the area said nearly half of the fighters remained at the steel plant.
The wounded received medical treatment, and those who are fit were taken to a penal colony and treated well, he said.
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Report by Natalia Zinets and Max Hunder in Kyiv and Reuters journalist in Mariupol; Additional reports from Reuters offices; Writing by Richard Pullin and Stephen Coates; Edited by Angus McSwon
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