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A day after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory over Ukraine’s eastern province, his forces escalated their offensive in neighboring Donetsk, prompting the governor to urge more than a million residents to evacuate.
Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said it was necessary to evacuate the 350,000 people who remained in Donetsk province in order to save lives and allow Ukrainian troops to better defend the town from a Russian attack.
“The fate of the entire country will be decided by the Donetsk region,” Governor Kirilenko told reporters in Kramatrosk, the administrative center of the province and home to the Ukrainian army’s regional headquarters.
“Once the numbers are reduced, we will be able to focus more on our enemies and carry out our primary mission,” Governor Kyrylenko said.
Another Donetsk city on the Moscow offensive line was bombed continuously on Tuesday.
Mayor Vadim Lyakh said on Facebook that “massive shelling” hit Sloveniask, which had a population of about 107,000 before Russia invaded Ukraine more than four months ago.
The mayor urged residents to evacuate hours earlier, advising them to seek shelter in shelters.
At least one person was killed on Tuesday and seven others were injured, Mr. Lyak said. The city’s central market and several areas were attacked, he said, adding that authorities were assessing the extent of the damage.
The barrage targeting Slovensk suggests that Russian troops are ready to penetrate further into Ukraine’s Donbas region, a largely Russian-speaking industrial zone where the country’s most experienced soldiers are concentrated.
Mr. Liak said Sloviansk had previously used rockets and artillery fire during Russia’s war with Ukraine, but in recent days the bombing had slowed after Moscow seized the last major city in neighbouring Luhansk province. Increase.
“It is important to evacuate as many people as possible,” he warned, adding that 40 homes were damaged by shelling on Monday.
The Ukrainian military withdrew from the city of Lysichansk on Sunday to prevent them from being surrounded.
The Russian defense minister and Putin said the subsequent occupation of the city gave Moscow control of all areas of Luhansk, one of the two provinces that make up the Donbass.
The Ukrainian military is still defending a small part of Luhansk and is trying to buy time to build a fortress nearby, the Ukrainian presidential office said.
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