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| Ukrainian president vows to regain lost territory (File photo: AFP) |
Ukrainian forces have retreated from the bombed-out city of Lysiysk, after which Russia claimed full control of eastern Luhansk, a key target in its fight.
President Vladimir Zelensky has vowed to regain lost territory. Ukraine said on Sunday that the withdrawal was part of a strategy aimed at saving the lives of its troops.
The aim, he said, was to "reorganize and retaliate against Russia with the help of Western long-range weapons."
The short-lived capture of Lesie Chanesk means that it has "liberated" Luhansk. Russia says it will cede the territory of Luhansk to the self-proclaimed Russian-backed Luhansk People's Republic, whose independence it fought.
Russia's focus is now on the area of the nearby industrial city of Donetsk, where much of Ukraine is still occupied.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said in a video statement on Sunday that "if our military commanders withdraw their troops from the front lines, where the intensity of the enemy's attack is highest, the situation is similar in Lysi chansk."
So it only means that we change our strategy with the increase in the supply of modern weapons.
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| The Russian military has been targeting the industrial city of Donbass since abandoning its plan to attack Kyiv. (File photo: Reuters) |
"Russia is stepping up its offensive on the Donbass front, but Ukraine is retaliating with long-range weapons such as US-supplied rocket launchers Hammers (high-mobility artillery rocket systems)," he said.
"In fact, we are protecting the lives of our soldiers, our people, we will get our land back, and our people must be the safest," he said.
Since the abandonment, the Russian military has targeted the central city of Donbass. The area includes Luhansk and Donetsk,
where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting Ukraine since 2014.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has informed President Vladimir Putin that Luhansk has been "liberated."
Russia is using a phosphorus bomb that killed 21 people in a building attack in Ukraine
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