Ukraine announced today, Saturday, that its forces repelled Russian attempts to advance in the east of the country amid fierce battles, and stressed that the coming months will be decisive.
While the Russian bombing of the Azovstal complex in Mariupol continued, sources spoke of the intention of the pro-Moscow authorities in Kherson to request to join Russia.
In the latest field developments, the governor of the Lugansk region in eastern Ukraine, Sergey Gaidai, confirmed that the Ukrainian forces repelled Russian attempts to cross a separating river and encircle the city of Severodonetsk.
"Violent fighting is raging on the border with the Donetsk region," Gaidai said, noting heavy Russian losses in equipment and personnel.
For his part, Al-Jazeera correspondent reported the intensity of the mutual shelling between the Ukrainian forces and the separatists in Donetsk to the east, confirming that violent explosions were heard in the center of the city.
The pro-Russian separatists said that the Ukrainian army targeted with heavy artillery and Grad missiles the Petrov, Kuibychovo and Kirov neighborhoods north and west of the city, which are close to the line of contact.
The separatists confirmed that the bombing led to the destruction of residential homes and the burning of shops, without announcing the loss of life.
Russian novel
For its part, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it targeted hundreds of positions of Ukrainian forces and military vehicles during the last night in Donetsk.
Its spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, said that Russian forces had killed about 100 Ukrainian soldiers.
On the other hand, the Ukrainian General Staff said that the Russian forces fired mortars and artillery to drain its forces and destroy its fortifications in the Donetsk region.
She added, in a statement, that there are attempts by the Russian side to improve its tactical situation in several areas in Donetsk.
In the eastern province of Kharkiv, the commission stated that the Russians were focusing on maintaining occupied positions and supply routes.
Russian forces near Kharkiv, northern Ukraine (Getty)
The situation in Mariupol
In Mariupol, the Ukrainian General Staff said that the Russian forces continue to besiege their units in the Azovstal region with the continued raids.
An advisor to the mayor of Mariupol said that more than 150,000 residents of the city are still trapped in the city with no opportunity to escape to other areas.
And the mayor of the city published scenes showing the effects of the destruction and the suffering of citizens due to the lack of water, stressing the lack of access to water and the absence of the basic requirements for life.
For his part, Assistant Mayor of Mariupol Peter Andryushenko said that the Russian forces continued to attack the Azovstal Industrial Complex by land and air.
The Ukrainian official published a clip documenting part of the Russian attacks on the complex, accusing at the same time, the Russian forces of intimidating the families of the defenders of the Azovstal complex by publishing their personal information and phone data on social media.
continuous bombardment
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Ukrainian forces can leave the Azovstal complex after laying down their weapons, recalling the offer of Russian President Vladimir Putin in this context.
The Russian bombing of the Azovstal complex continues, at a time when the Ukrainian side said that half of the Ukrainian soldiers inside the complex were wounded and need treatment, calling for help in evacuating them through a humanitarian operation with the participation of the International Red Cross.
In the same regard, Ibrahim Kalin, a spokesman for the Turkish presidency, said that Ankara had proposed carrying out an evacuation by sea for the injured fighters.
Kalin said in an interview with Reuters that he personally discussed the proposal with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv two weeks ago and that the proposal was still "on the table" although Moscow had not agreed to it.
Ukrainian soldiers during operations south of Kherson (Getty Images)
Developments in Kherson
Meanwhile, British military intelligence said that the pro-Russian authorities in Kherson announced their intention to request joining Russia.
British intelligence added that the goal of the pro-Russian authorities in most regions of Ukraine is a military one, but that they succeeded in this only in Kherson, this shows their failure.
British intelligence said if Russia held a referendum in Kherson, it would be expected to manipulate the results to show that most citizens would prefer to leave Ukraine's rule.
She stated that it is likely that the citizens of Kherson will continue to oppose what she called the Russian occupation.
Decisive months
While Western leaders have predicted a protracted conflict in Ukraine due to the slow Russian progress, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence, General Kirilu Budanov, said the coming months will be crucial.
He added in press statements that he was "optimistic" about the current course of the conflict, adding, "The interval will be in the second half of August," adding that "most of the actual combat operations will have ended by the end of this year."
In this context, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, in a tweet on Twitter, ruled out the ability of Moscow to subjugate Ukraine.
The minister said that Putin has not and will not be able to bring Ukraine under his control, and that the United Kingdom and its allies must move forward, as the strategic and moral duty is victory for Ukraine, as she put it.
It is noteworthy that the Group of Seven major industrialized countries confirmed that they would "never recognize" the borders that Russia is trying to redraw through war and vowed to impose more sanctions to tighten the screws on Moscow.