President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is now focused on speed in liberated areas “in restoring normal life”. Source: manhhai, Flickr.
Ukraine has continued to strengthen their hold on recaptured territory with troops marching further east to liberate more land.
This includes areas close to the eastern city of Lysychansk, resulting in Russia not fully having control over the Luhansk region, a key war aim for Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Haidai, said the town of Kreminna and the village of Bilohorivka have been regained and wrote on Telegram “Luhansk region Is right next door. De-occupation is not far away”.
The leader of the Moscow-backed administration in the Donbas region has called for urgent referendums to make the region a part of Russia, a sign of nervousness about Ukraine’s recent success.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a televised address that “the occupiers are clearly in a panic”.
Zelenskyy also said he is now focused on speed in liberated areas “in restoring normal life” and will call on the international community to provide weapons and aid more quickly in a video address to the UN General Assembly.
In another important step in the north-east Kharkiv region, Ukrainian troops have also crossed the Oskil River during the weekend.
The river runs south in the Siverskyi Donets that go through the Donbas, which is the primary focus of Russia’s invasion.
It now seems unlikely the Kremlin will be able to control the whole of the Donbas, what Putin stated was the objective of the “special military operation” after failing to seize the capital Kyiv.
Ukraine has now liberated more than 300 settlements across the Kharkiv region over the last 12 days, forcing the Russians to flee.
Zelenskyy on Monday accused Russia of recklessly shelling near a nuclear power plant in the country’s southern Mykolaiv region.
The missile landed 300 metres away from the reactors of the Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear facility, damaging buildings and blowing out windows. Three power lines were also temporarily knocked out with no casualties or injuries among the staff.
“They forgot what a nuclear power plant is. Russia endangers the whole world. We have to stop it before it’s too late,” Zelenskyy wrote in a social media post.
Shelling around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhia plant, has already caused concerns over a possible nuclear disaster.
