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Outnumbered troops clinging on

Russian troops outnumber Ukraine’s forces by seven to one across the eastern Donbas region, as pockets of resistance fight on to keep their grip on the last Ukrainian-held cities.

Ukrainian officials said Moscow had poured ‘‘an insane number of fighters and equipment’’ into Luhansk to flatten the resistance.

Serhiy Haidai, governor of the Luhansk region, warned that Severodonetsk, the last Ukrainian-held city in the region, risked turning into another Mariupol, the southern port city which Russian forces virtually razed during a two-month siege.

In scenes reminiscent of those from Mariupol, civilians in Severodonetsk are holed up in bomb shelters inside the Azot chemical plant, which has been under almost constant Russian bombardment in recent days.

‘‘The Nazis [Russians] brought an insane number of fighters and equip- ment to our region,’’ Haidai said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. ‘‘The orcs keep helicopters and heavy weapons ready in the occupied territories.’’

A spokesman for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv’s forces were outnumbered by seven to one in some areas of the Donbas.

Capturing Severodonetsk and the neighbouring city of Lysychansk would hand Moscow control of more than half of the eastern Donbas region, in what would be a major battlefield victory for the Kremlin.

‘‘The Russians are advancing in the Luhansk region in all directions all at once,’’ Haidai said. Ukraine’s armed forces reported heavy fighting in the area, with Russian troops using heavy artillery to cover their advances.

With Russia making advances in the east of the country, Zelenskyy called on Western governments to continue pouring weapons into Kyiv.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry is promising to open a safe corridor to allow foreign ships to leave Black Sea ports. A separate corridor will be open to allow ships to leave Mariupol by sailing from the port on the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea.

The National Defence Control Centre said 70 foreign vessels from 16 countries were now in six ports on the Black Sea, including Odesa, Kherson and Mykolaiv.

The Russian military said yesterday Mariupol’s port was functioning again after three months of fighting.

Hundreds of Belarusian troops along the border with Ukraine are serving as a distraction to stretch Ukrainian forces so thinly that they cannot support operations in Donbas, military sources believe.

Up to seven battalions of the Belarusian army have been sent to strengthen the border region, the Ukrainian armed forces said yesterday. A source said there was not a huge threat of the forces invading, but they were a ‘‘considerable distraction’’.

The majority of Ukraine’s forces are fighting in the eastern Donbas region, where Russia has been concentrating its military efforts. Other forces are focused on defending key cities.

The Russians have also moved an Iskander-m missile division to the Brest region of Belarus, as close as 50km to the border with Ukraine. ‘‘The threat of rocket and air strikes on Ukraine from the territory of Belarus is growing,’’ said the Centre for Defence Strategies, a Ukrainian-based think tank.

Russian troops and aircraft have used Belarusian territory to reach Ukraine, but Belarusian forces have not been directly involved in the war. Western sanctions against Russia also include Belarus.

Ukraine must deal with Russia from a position of strength to avoid a ‘‘bad peace’’, because it is ‘‘much more dangerous’’ to show Russian President Vladimir Putin weakness than make him concessions, Estonia’s prime minister has said.

Kaja Kallas issued the warning yesterday as splits emerged between European Union member states on how tough to be on Moscow.

Italy and Hungary have urged the EU to call explicitly for a ceasefire and peace talks at next week’s European Council summit. This is backed by Hungary and Cyprus, which have blocked fresh EU sanctions against Moscow, and puts them at odds with other member states determined to stick to a hard line, such as Poland and the Baltic countries.

– Telegraph Group, The Times

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2022-05-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/281638193826722

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