Andrei Marochko, an officer in the pro-Russian Luhansk People’s Militia, was quoted by Russia’s TASS news agency on Saturday as saying that the militia’s red hammer and sickle flag was now flying over the administration building in Lysychansk, although Ukraine’s military denied the claims. that the city was surrounded. Russian media showed video of Luhansk militiamen marching through the streets of Lysychansk waving flags and cheering, but Ukrainian National Guard spokesman Ruslan Muzychuk told Ukrainian national television that the city remained in Ukrainian hands. “Now there is fierce fighting near Lysychansk, however, fortunately, the city is not surrounded and is under the control of the Ukrainian army,” Muzychuk said. He said that the situations in the Lysychansk and Bakhmut regions, as well as in the Kharkiv region, were the most difficult on the entire front line. “The enemy’s goal here remains access to the administrative borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Also, in the direction of Sloviansk, the enemy is attempting offensive actions,” he said. Oleksandr Senkevych, mayor of the southern region of Mykolaiv, which borders the vital Black Sea port of Odessa, reported heavy explosions in the city. “Stay in shelters!” he wrote on the Telegram messaging app as air raid sirens sounded. The cause of the blasts was not immediately clear, although Russia later said they hit military command posts in the region. Reuters news agency was unable to independently verify reports on the battlefield. Ukrainian media quoted Vadim Denisenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior ministry, as saying that Russian claims that they had encircled Lysihansk were a lie aimed at discouraging Ukrainians and emboldening pro-Russian forces. Kyiv says Moscow has stepped up missile attacks on cities far from the main eastern battlegrounds and has deliberately hit civilian sites. Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops on the eastern frontline describe intense artillery barrages that have hit populated areas.
Lukashenko says Ukraine fired missiles at Belarus
Meanwhile, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko on Saturday accused Ukraine of “provoking” neighboring Belarus, saying his military had intercepted missiles fired into his country by Ukrainian forces “about three days ago.” The claim came a week after Ukraine said missiles had hit a border area from Belarus, a long-time ally of Russia that backed the February 24 invasion. Lukashenko denied on Saturday that his country was seeking to intervene in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but issued a warning aimed at Kyiv and its Western allies. “As I said more than a year ago, we do not intend to fight in Ukraine,” he said. “We will fight only once. If … you enter our land, if you kill our people, then we will respond,” he added, warning that Belarus would respond “immediately” to an enemy attack on its soil. Russian troops crossed Belarus’ border into Ukraine as they tried and failed to capture the capital, Kyiv. Lukashenko is heavily dependent on Russia militarily and economically, and relied on his neighbor’s support to stabilize his position when widespread protests erupted in 2020 following an election the Belarusian opposition says was stolen. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week that Moscow would deliver nuclear-capable Iskander-M missiles to Belarus “in the coming months.” “Less than a month ago, I ordered our armed forces to target the decision centers in your capitals,” Lukashenko said on Saturday, referring to the missiles promised by Putin and the Belarusian Polonez missile launcher.
