by Oleksandr Kozhukhar
LVIV, Ukraine (Reuters) – Ukraine expects to receive more weapons from its allies after a fresh pledge of aid from the United States, President Volodimir Zelensky said, as the battle for eastern country is raging 100 days after the start of the Russian invasion.
Russian forces now occupy about 20% of Ukrainian territory, according to Volodimir Zelensky. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s army is focused on the industrial Donbass region, made up of Luhansk and Donetsk.
Three civilians were killed in Donetsk, including two in the coal-producing town of Avdiivka, and nine people were injured, Governor Pavlo Kirilenko said late Thursday. Reuters could not immediately confirm those details.
“The entire temporarily occupied territory of our state is now a complete disaster zone, for which Russia bears full responsibility,” Volodimir Zelensky said in a late night speech.
“We expect more good news on the supply of weapons from other partners (…) We are working to bring the supply of modern combat systems to a much higher level”, a- he indicated.
A Ukrainian presidential adviser announced on Friday that the country does not plan to use the longer-range missiles it will receive from the United States to attack facilities in Russia, echoing comments made by Joe Biden earlier in the week. .
DONBASS
Moscow denies targeting civilians and considers Ukrainian infrastructure used to deliver Western weapons a legitimate target.
Asked about US plans to sell drones that can be armed with missiles to Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the influx of equipment would not change the parameters of the ‘special operation’ , but “will bring more suffering to Ukraine”.
On the ground in Ukraine, the eastern industrial city of Sievierodonetsk is now largely in ruins after days of fierce fighting. Its capture and that of Lisichansk would give Russia control of all of Luhansk.
Moscow’s forces are also trying to advance south towards the Ukrainian-held towns of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in the Donetsk region, Governor Pavlo Kirilenko said.
UN TALKS ON CEREALS
UN humanitarian aid chief Martin Griffiths is in Moscow on Thursday and Friday to discuss with Russian officials how the Black Sea shipping lanes can be cleared for exports of grain and other foodstuffs, in a context of global food crisis.
Interfax news agency quoted Russia’s Defense Ministry as saying on Thursday that ships carrying grain could leave Ukrainian Black Sea ports through “humanitarian corridors” as Russia stands ready to guarantee their safety.
As Washington blacklists a growing number of people and entities linked to the Kremlin, the European Union has given final approval to a sanctions package that includes a 90% cut in Russian oil imports by end of the year.
Russia called the import ban “self-defeating”, saying it could destabilize global energy markets.
(Reporting Reuters; writing Costas Pitas and Stephen Coates; French version Augustin Turpin, editing by Kate Entringer)