Russian forces are preparing a “massive attack” against Ukrainian troops in the Lugansk region of eastern Ukraine, its governor, Sergei Gaïdaï, announced on Monday.
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“We see that equipment is coming from different directions, that they (the Russians) bring men, that they bring fuel (…). We understand that they are preparing for a massive attack,” he said in a video message.
“The bombardments are becoming more and more dense. Last night, there was an attempt to break through to Roubijné (not far from Lugansk, editor’s note), our defenders repelled it, disabled several tanks, there were dozens of corpses” of soldiers Russians, continued Mr. Gaïdaï.
“Yesterday, unfortunately, in the explosion of a mine or an artillery shell, two volunteers died” and “a church was bombed”, “two priests were injured”, he added , without providing further details.
The governor therefore called on the inhabitants of the region to leave it as soon as possible.
“Don’t hesitate, please. Today, a thousand people have been evacuated. Please don’t wait for your homes to be bombed,” he urged in his message.
The mayor of Borova, a town halfway between Lugansk and Kharkiv, the big city in the northeast, has also asked his constituents to leave.
“We are forced to decide to evacuate the population (…) for the safety of the citizens. Those who are able to leave in their own vehicle are encouraged to do so!” said Alexander Tertyshnyi in a statement on Facebook, noting that a bus service to the station had also been set up.
Listen to Geneviève Pettersen’s interview with Pierre Jolicoeur, full professor in the Department of Political Science at the Royal Military College of Canada, on QUB radio:
The Ukrainian authorities estimated on Saturday that the Russian forces were withdrawing from regions of northern Ukraine, in particular around Kyiv, to redeploy towards the east and the south of this country.
“The enemy is in the process of regrouping its forces with the intention of continuing the offensive (…) in the region of Mariupol (a besieged and devastated port in the south-east, editor’s note) and Kharkiv”, has to this regard affirmed Monday evening in front of the press Oleksiï Arestovitch, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency.
“The enemy will try to encircle our troops (…) and finish off Mariupol, but we are all convinced that they will not succeed,” he said.
Russia for its part recently announced that it would focus its offensive on Donbass, where the Lugansk region is located, largely already in the hands of the Russian military and its separatist allies.