“100 Days Of War”: Russia Now Holds 20% Of Ukraine As Assault Intensifies

KYIV: Ukraine marked 100 days since the Russian invasion on Friday with a raging battle in the eastern country, where Moscow troops tightened their grip on Donbas.
The gloomy milestone came when Kyiv announced Moscow now controlled one fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea and parts of the Donbas which was confiscated in 2014.

After being expelled from around the capital, President Vladimir Putin’s troops had directed their views to capture East Ukraine, encouraging warning that war could continue.

Following the discussion of the White House with US President Joe Biden, Head of NATO Jens Stoltenberg warned Thursday that the Ukraine allies need to strengthen the tiring “friction”.

“We only have to be prepared for the long term,” Stoltenberg said, emphasizing that NATO did not want direct confrontation with Russia.

Although slower than expected, Moscow’s troops made progress – President of Volodymyr Zelensky told Members of the Lukemburg parliament around 20 percent of Ukraine is now in the hands of Russia.

Since the Russian invasion on February 24, thousands of people have been killed and millions of people have been forced to escape. On the battlefield, up to 100 Ukrainian troops are dying every day, according to Zelensky.

Street battles raged at the Severodonetsk industry center in Lugansk, part of Donbas.

Russia has controlled around 80 percent of the strategic city but its defenders put rigid resistance, with Regional Governor Lugansk Sergiy Gaiday swearing Ukraine forces to fight “until the end”.

The Azot Severodonetsk factory, one of the largest chemical plant in Europe, is targeted by Russian soldiers who fired on one of the administrative buildings and the methanol warehouse.

‘Shooting anywhere’

Ukraine troops still hold the industrial zone, said Gaiday, a situation that reminded Maruupol, where a large steel work was the last detention of the city of Port Southeast until the Ukraine troops finally surrendered at the end of May.

In the city of Sloviansk, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Severodonetsk, residents said there were continuous bombings by Russian troops.

“It’s very difficult here,” said Paramedis Ekaterina Perednenko, 24, who only returned to the city five days ago but realized that he had to leave again.

“The shooting is everywhere, it is scary. There is no water, electricity or gas,” he said.

In the southern city of Mykolaiv, Russian shootings killed at least one person and injured several other people, said Ukraine military officials on Thursday.

Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Commander of the Head of the Ukraine Armed Forces, requested a modern weaponry, said that “the enemy has a decisive advantage in the artillery.”

“That will save the lives of our people,” he added.

Financial feelings

-ADVERTISEMENT-

Led by the United States, Western countries have pump up military weapons and supplies to Ukraine to help him survive the attack.

Bridget Bink, the new US Ambassador to Kyiv, promised on Thursday that the United States would “help Ukraine win against Russian aggression,” after giving credentials to Zelensky.

Earlier this week, the United States announced that they sent a more advanced Himar rocket launch system to Ukraine.

The cellular unit can simultaneously fire some ammunition guided by precision on the target of up to 80 kilometers away.

They are the center of the $ 700 million package which also includes surveillance radar, ammunition, helicopters and vehicles.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Washington “added fuel to the fire,” even though US officials insisted Ukraine had promised not to use it to attack in Russia.

In addition to sending weapons to Ukraine, Western allies also tried to eliminate the Russian financial line in an effort to make Putin change direction.

Increasing a long embargo list, Blacklisted Blacklisted Putin’s Money Manager and Monaco company that provides luxury cruise ships for Moscow elite.

In all Atlantic, the EU countries approve new sanctions that will stop 90 percent of Russian oil imports into the block at the end of the year.

Disappointing oil steps

Russia warns that European consumers will be the first to pay partial oil embargo prices.

Large raw producers agreed to increase output by about 50 percent more a month in an effort to calm the market that is too hot and reduce inflationary pressure.

But the step disappointed investors, and prices rose after the announcement.

War is at risk of triggering a global food crisis, because Ukraine is one of the world’s top wheat producers.

It has been translated into a higher cost for important things from cereal to sunflower oil to corn, with the poorest among the most difficult.

The Head of the African Union, Senegal President Macky Sall, will visit Russia on Friday for talks with Putin.