The Russian army made it clear yesterday that no part of Ukraine is safe.
At least thirteen people were killed when a Russian missile hit a shopping center in the city of Kremenchuk, in central Ukraine.
The Russian attack also caused at least 40 wounded, of which a score have had to be hospitalized, although the rescue teams continued yesterday putting out the fire and looking for possible victims among the rubble.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the mall had "no strategic value" for the Russian military, adding that "it is just an attempt by people to live a normal life, which makes the occupants very angry. (...) It is useless to expect decency and humanity from Russia”.
Russian missiles, always according to the Ukrainians, also killed two people yesterday near Kharkiv, in the north, and wounded six in Odessa, in the south.
In the east, after the Ukrainian withdrawal from Severodonetsk, the administrative center of Luhansk, Russian troops are advancing towards Lisichansk, considered the gateway to the neighboring Donetsk region.
“They are trying to blockade the city from the south, destroying everything they can with their artillery and fire systems,” explained Sergi Gaidai, the governor of Luhansk.
He denounced that the enemy hammering has already destroyed a large number of houses, administrative buildings, industrial and civil infrastructure and two churches. The same happens in the adjacent towns, which are attacked from Popasna, about 40 kilometers to the south.
The Kyiv General Staff reported that “near Verkhnokamianka” the Ukrainian troops “inflicted heavy losses on the enemy and forced him to retreat”.
Meanwhile, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence, Kirilo Budanov, explained that the withdrawal from Severodonetsk was a "tactical" maneuver so that the Ukrainian soldiers would not repeat the same fate as in Mariupol, being surrounded, and hinder the Russian advance towards Lisichansk. .
"According to our military, the siege of Lisichansk is taking place in five directions," Rodion Miroshnik, ambassador of the Luhansk separatists, told Russian television.
The goal is to take the city by the end of this week, although the separatist militias acknowledge that the Ukrainian soldiers "respond and resist".
“Our troops have surrounded Lisichansk. Yes, not completely. We have entered the residential neighborhoods and the industrial zone. The city is big and we will have to fight until the end of the week,” said Vitali Kiselyov, adviser to the interior ministry of the Luhansk People's Republic.
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the Russians have consolidated their positions south of the local refinery, but the Ukrainians have repelled their advances in other directions. For this reason, Gaidai has recommended that the inhabitants of the city leave it urgently. “The situation is extremely difficult! Save yourselves and your loved ones! Take care of the children!” he declared.
After Saturday's attack on northern Ukraine from Belarusian territory, the feared Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bombers resumed attacks with Iskander cruise missiles from the same country on Kyiv and the northern regions of Sumi and Chernigov on Sunday night.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday promised Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko the supply of Iskanders, which can carry nuclear warheads.
“We are at war with Russia on our land. Although we have seen that there have been missile attacks, more than once, from Belarus," Zelensky warned. The Ukrainian leader urged the Belarusians to ignore the calls of their leaders, who want to "sow hatred" between the two peoples.
“But you are not slaves or cannon fodder. You don't have to die. And you can prevent someone from deciding for you (...). Much now depends on the ordinary people of Belarus. And I know you can refuse to participate in this war. Your lives belong only to you, not to someone in the Kremlin,” he added.
The Ukrainian General Staff warned that missile attacks from Belarusian territory and airspace are "expected to continue". But military intelligence believes it is "highly unlikely" that the Belarusian army will get involved in hostilities.
