Ukrainian soldiers fire on Russian positions from a US-supplied M777 howitzer in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region. A day after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory in seizing an eastern Ukrainian province essential to his wartime goals, a town in Moscow’s path of attack came under sustained shelling, its mayor said on Tuesday. Mayor Vadim Lyakh said in a Facebook post that “massive shelling” had hit Sloviansk, which had a population of about 107,000 before the Russian invasion of Ukraine more than four months ago. The mayor, who urged residents hours earlier to evacuate, advised them to take shelter. At least one person was killed and seven others were injured on Tuesday, Liak said. He said the city’s central market and several districts were attacked, adding that authorities were assessing the extent of the damage. The barrage targeting Sloviansk underscored fears that Russian forces were positioned to advance further into Ukraine’s Donbas region, a predominantly Russian-speaking industrial area where the country’s most experienced soldiers are concentrated. Sloviansk has come under rocket and artillery fire during Russia’s war in Ukraine, but the shelling has intensified in recent days after Moscow captured the last major city in neighboring Luhansk province, Lyak said. “It is important to evacuate as many people as possible,” he warned on Tuesday morning, adding that shelling had destroyed 40 houses on Monday. The Ukrainian army withdrew its troops on Sunday from the city of Lysychansk to avoid encirclement. Russia’s defense minister and Putin said the subsequent capture of the city put Moscow in control of all of Luhansk, one of the two provinces that make up Donbas. The Ukrainian president’s office said the Ukrainian army was still defending a small part of Luhansk and was trying to buy time to set up fortified positions in nearby areas. The question now is whether Russia can muster enough strength to complete its takeover of Donbas by also seizing Donetsk province. Putin acknowledged Monday that Russian troops who fought in Luhansk must “rest and strengthen their combat capabilities.” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday that the war in Ukraine will continue until all goals set by Putin are achieved. However, Shoigu said “the main priorities” for Moscow right now are “preserving the lives and health” of troops, as well as “precluding the threat to the safety of civilians.” When Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, his stated goals were to defend the people of Donbass against perceived aggression by Kiev and to “demilitarize” and “demilitarize” Ukraine. Pro-Russian separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces and have controlled much of Donbas for eight years. Before the invasion, Putin recognized the independence of the two self-proclaimed separatist republics in the region. He also tried to portray Ukrainian forces and government tactics as similar to those of Nazi Germany, claims for which no evidence has emerged. The Ukrainian army’s General Staff said Russian forces also shelled several Donetsk towns and villages around Sloviansk in the past day, but were pushed back as they tried to advance towards a town about 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the city. South of the city, Russian forces were trying to push towards two other cities and shelling near Kramatorsk. Meanwhile, Moscow-based officials in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region announced Tuesday the formation of a new regional government there, with a former Russian official at the helm. Sergei Yeliseyev, the head of the new Moscow-backed government in Kherson, is a former deputy prime minister of Russia’s western exclave of Kaliningrad and also worked for Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, according to media reports. It was not immediately clear what would happen to the “military-civilian administration” installed earlier by the Kremlin. The head of the government, Vladimir Saldo, said in a statement on Telegram that the new government “is not a temporary, not a military, not some kind of interim administration, but a proper governing body.” “The fact that not only the people of Kherson, but also Russian officials, are part of this government speaks clearly about the direction the Kherson region will take in the future,” he said. “This direction is towards Russia.” There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials. In other developments: — NATO’s 30 allies signed the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland, sending the two nations’ membership bids to alliance capitals for legislative approval. The move further increases Russia’s strategic isolation following its invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February and military struggles since then. Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg hailed the signing as “a truly historic moment for Finland, for Sweden and for NATO”. — The war in Ukraine has drawn millions of dollars from countries with other crises. Somalia, which is facing food shortages due to war, may be the most vulnerable. Its funding is less than half last year’s level, while overwhelmingly Western donors have sent more than $1.7 billion to respond to the war in Europe. Yemen, Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, Congo and the Palestinian territories are similarly affected. — Spain has increased military spending in an effort to meet its NATO commitment to devote 2% of GDP to defense. Spain’s cabinet approved a one-time defense ministry outlay of nearly 1 billion euros ($1 billion) that the government said was needed to pay for unexpected costs from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Spain has sent military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine and deployed more troops and aircraft to NATO missions in Eastern Europe.
