Russia announces progress in eastern Ukraine

Kyiv (Agencies)

Yesterday, Russia announced its control over the first neighborhoods of Chasiv Yar, which is considered a strategic city and which Moscow seeks to control in the hope of facilitating a decisive breakthrough in eastern Ukraine.
Chasiv Yar, located on the highlands, allows Russian forces to reach Kramatorsk, the largest mining city in the region, which is considered a bulwark for the Ukrainian regions in this part of the country.
Meanwhile, at least five people were killed in fresh shelling of the large city of Dnipro in central Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement: “Russian forces have taken control of the Novye neighborhood, located on the eastern outskirts of the city of Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region, which has great military importance.”
The DeepState channel on Telegram, which includes researchers and sources close to Kiev, confirmed that the neighborhood Moscow spoke about in Chasiv Yar was “completely destroyed,” explaining that continuing to control it would only lead to “more losses.”
“Withdrawing from this neighborhood is therefore a logical decision, albeit a difficult one,” she said.
On another note, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he wanted clarification from US presidential candidate Donald Trump on how he intends to end the Russian war in Ukraine within just 24 hours.
“If Trump knows how to end the war, he should tell us today,” Zelensky said in an interview with Bloomberg TV yesterday. “And if there are risks to Ukraine’s independence, if we lose independence, we want to prepare for this, we want to know.”
The former US president and Republican candidate for the upcoming presidential election has repeatedly said that he could end the war in Ukraine “within 24 hours,” without ever revealing any details about that.
In his interview with Bloomberg TV, Zelensky announced his readiness to meet with Trump and his team and listen to their proposals.
“We want to understand whether in November we will have strong support from the United States, or whether we will be completely alone,” he added.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed that Germany’s support for Ukraine would not make Germany a party to the war.
During a question-and-answer session with the government in parliament yesterday, Scholz said in response to a question on the matter: “Yes, I give this guarantee. I guarantee it as chancellor.”
The politician, who belongs to the Social Democratic Party, had expressed a similar position earlier.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has long considered Germany and NATO to be parties to the war, but this has not yet had any practical consequences.