The situation at a glance: Ukraine War: Heavy fighting along the entire front line

The war between Russia and Ukraine once again saw heavy fighting on both sides of the border. “The occupiers continue the air force operation and have carried out attacks on almost all sectors in the east and south of our country,” the Ukrainian General Staff said. Ukrainian positions there were attacked with over 100 glide bombs. The Russian Air Force also used more than 30 glide bombs in the contested Russian border region of Kursk. As a rule, the information provided by both warring parties cannot be independently verified.

The Ukrainian General Staff said there were a good 160 battles along the entire front line during the day. The situation in the Pokrovsk section was described as particularly delicate. “The situation is difficult, but under control,” it said. Accordingly, there are ongoing battles around the city of Selydove, among other things. According to Russian and Ukrainian military observers, much of the settlement is already under Russian control and its imminent fall is expected. More than 20,000 people once lived in the mining town.

In addition, the Ukrainian troops near the city of Hirnyk are under pressure. This is also said to have been largely conquered by Russian units. Hirnyk has not appeared in the reports of the Ukrainian General Staff since Thursday. Before the war, around 10,000 people lived in the place.

Russian glide bomb attack on Kostiantynivka

A Russian attack with two 250-kilogram glide bombs on the eastern Ukrainian industrial town of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region left one dead and three injured, wrote Governor Vadym Filaschkin on Telegram. Almost two dozen buildings were damaged, including several residential buildings. Filaschkin repeatedly called on the city’s residents to evacuate. The front line runs only about nine kilometers east of Kostiantynivka.

In the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, Russian troops shelled the city of Stanislav with artillery. According to Governor Olexander Prokudin, two men were killed.

Zelenskyj: “Abstractions and words are not enough”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for an international response in light of new civilian casualties and a possible deployment of North Korean soldiers on Russia’s side. “Ukraine will actually be forced to fight against North Korea in Europe,” the head of state stated in his evening video message. Without decisive steps from allies, Russian President Vladimir Putin will only be encouraged to commit further “terror.”

Ukraine has been warning for days that up to 12,000 North Korean soldiers would soon be deployed on the Russian side. The first soldiers are said to have already arrived in the Kursk region of Russia. The USA has so far only confirmed a transfer of North Koreans to Russian military training areas in the Far East. Russia and North Korea reject the intention to engage in combat in the Russo-Ukrainian war as speculation. Kremlin chief Putin recently referred to a strategic partnership between the two countries – what follows from this “is our business.”

With a view to the reaction he was hoping for from the allies, Zelensky said: “Abstractions and words are not enough. Concrete steps are needed.” These were listed in his recently presented “victory plan”. The plan includes, among other things, an immediate invitation for Ukraine to join the Western military alliance NATO and a massive armament of the country with Western money. “We expect greater support for Ukraine. That will be fair,” emphasized Zelensky. The longer a decision is made, the more victims there will be.

On Saturday night, at least five people were killed and more than two dozen injured by Russian missile and drone attacks in the city of Dnipro and the capital Kiev. Ukraine has been defending itself against the Russian invasion with Western help for more than two and a half years.