Russia Continues Major Offensive in Eastern Ukraine
2022-06-28
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1Russia is carrying out a major offensive on the last Ukrainian stronghold in the eastern Luhansk area.
2The local governor said Russian troops are "pouring fire" on the city of Lysychansk from the ground and air.
3Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai said Russian forces were attacking Lysychansk after recently capturing the neighboring city of Sievierodonetsk.
4The Russian offensive aims to capture the larger Donbas area from Ukrainian government control.
5Western experts say capturing the Donbas has become the new main goal of Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine.
6The war has now lasted five months.
7"After the takeover of Sievierodonetsk, the enemy army has concentrated all its forces on capturing (our) last stronghold in the Luhansk region: Lysychansk," Haidai told The Associated Press.
8Over the past week, the Russian army has captured several villages and towns southeast of Lysychansk.
9It is launching air strikes and artillery fire from those towns.
10The office of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at least six civilians were killed and 31 others injured during Russian attacks on several cities in the past day.
11Kyiv and some cities in the south and east also came under attack.
12Russian forces continued to target the southern port of Odesa.
13A missile attack there destroyed apartment buildings and injured six people.
14In Lysychansk, at least five buildings in the city and the last road bridge were damaged over the past day, Haidai said.
15An important highway connecting the city to government-held territory further south could not be used because of shelling.
16But the highway has not been captured yet, he said.
17The fighting is also making the evacuation of civilians more difficult, Haidai said.
18The city had a pre-war population of around 100,000, about half of whom remain.
19Lysychansk is on the Siverskiy Donets River and is a large area covered with hills.
20This gives an advantage to Ukrainian troops, military experts say.
21The Siverskiy Donets River borders Lysychansk on the north and east.
22The Ukrainian army continues to hold territory west of the city which it uses to supply arms and humanitarian aid.
23Russian forces have now moved to block Lysychansk from the south.
24To the west, in the government-controlled city of Sloviansk, local officials accused Russian forces of using a cluster bomb Monday.
25They said it hit a civilian neighborhood.
26A cluster bomb is a kind of explosive that contains many smaller bombs and is considered very deadly.
27Officials say the number of dead and injured has not yet been confirmed.
28The shockwave from a big explosion Monday in Sloviansk destroyed most of the windows in the surrounding apartment buildings and nearby cars.
29Monday, a Russian missile struck a crowded shopping center in Ukraine's central city of Kremenchuk, officials said.
30Dozens of civilians were feared killed or wounded.
31Officials said there were more than 1,000 civilians inside the shopping center at the time of the attack.
32Meanwhile, leaders of the Group of Seven countries meeting in Germany appeared willing to provide Ukraine with air defense systems.
33Russia hit Kyiv with long-distance missiles on Sunday.
34The U.S. appeared ready to announce the purchase of a surface-to-air missile system for Ukraine.
35I'm Dan Novak.
1Russia is carrying out a major offensive on the last Ukrainian stronghold in the eastern Luhansk area. The local governor said Russian troops are "pouring fire" on the city of Lysychansk from the ground and air. 2Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai said Russian forces were attacking Lysychansk after recently capturing the neighboring city of Sievierodonetsk. The Russian offensive aims to capture the larger Donbas area from Ukrainian government control. 3Western experts say capturing the Donbas has become the new main goal of Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine. The war has now lasted five months. 4"After the takeover of Sievierodonetsk, the enemy army has concentrated all its forces on capturing (our) last stronghold in the Luhansk region: Lysychansk," Haidai told The Associated Press. 5Over the past week, the Russian army has captured several villages and towns southeast of Lysychansk. It is launching air strikes and artillery fire from those towns. 6The office of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at least six civilians were killed and 31 others injured during Russian attacks on several cities in the past day. Kyiv and some cities in the south and east also came under attack. 7Russian forces continued to target the southern port of Odesa. A missile attack there destroyed apartment buildings and injured six people. 8In Lysychansk, at least five buildings in the city and the last road bridge were damaged over the past day, Haidai said. An important highway connecting the city to government-held territory further south could not be used because of shelling. But the highway has not been captured yet, he said. 9The fighting is also making the evacuation of civilians more difficult, Haidai said. The city had a pre-war population of around 100,000, about half of whom remain. 10Lysychansk is on the Siverskiy Donets River and is a large area covered with hills. This gives an advantage to Ukrainian troops, military experts say. 11The Siverskiy Donets River borders Lysychansk on the north and east. The Ukrainian army continues to hold territory west of the city which it uses to supply arms and humanitarian aid. Russian forces have now moved to block Lysychansk from the south. 12To the west, in the government-controlled city of Sloviansk, local officials accused Russian forces of using a cluster bomb Monday. They said it hit a civilian neighborhood. A cluster bomb is a kind of explosive that contains many smaller bombs and is considered very deadly. 13Officials say the number of dead and injured has not yet been confirmed. 14The shockwave from a big explosion Monday in Sloviansk destroyed most of the windows in the surrounding apartment buildings and nearby cars. 15Monday, a Russian missile struck a crowded shopping center in Ukraine's central city of Kremenchuk, officials said. Dozens of civilians were feared killed or wounded. Officials said there were more than 1,000 civilians inside the shopping center at the time of the attack. 16Meanwhile, leaders of the Group of Seven countries meeting in Germany appeared willing to provide Ukraine with air defense systems. Russia hit Kyiv with long-distance missiles on Sunday. The U.S. appeared ready to announce the purchase of a surface-to-air missile system for Ukraine. 17I'm Dan Novak. 18Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting from The Associated Press. 19________________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21stronghold - n. a protected place where the members of a military group stay and can defend themselves against attacks 22concentrate -v. to cause attention, effort or strength to be used or directed in one place 23evacuate - v. to remove someone or to be removed from a dangerous place 24apartment building -n. a large building with several or many separate living areas within it 25advantage - n. something that helps or puts a person or group in a good position 26shock wave - n. a movement of high pressure air that results from an explosion