when they are fulfilled 54 days of the Russian invasion, Ukraine denounces that the great offensive in the east of the country could have begun. After several days concentrating their troops in the surroundings, this morning numerous missile attacks have been reported against the city of Kramators, as well as in other Donetsk populationssuch as Vugledar, Marinka and Gradiv.
In addition, the military authority of Lugansk ensures that the fight has already reached the streets of the town of Kreminna. “We can report that the offensive has already begun,” reads the latest regional statement, in which it is reported that the evacuation of civilians is “impossible”.
Thousands of people resist in Mariupol
The other major focus of attention remains Mariupolwhere thousands of civilians remain refugees in the installations of the Azovstal steelworks -an old metallurgical plant created in the 1930s- while the Russians bombard the city and urge the authorities to surrender.
The ultimatum imposed by Moscow expired on Sunday at noon, without the Ukrainian resisters laying down their arms and it is estimated that in that old steel mill there were entrenched, in addition to the civilians, some 2,500 Ukrainian soldiers. The port city has suffered a Russian siege since almost the beginning of the invasion and of its half million inhabitants, there are barely 100,000 people left who, according to various NGOs, are victims of a humanitarian catastrophe.
After taking control of Mariupol, Moscow intends to establish a corridor for its troops that once crimea -territory that it controls since 2014- with the pro-Russian regions of the donbas.
Five missiles against Lviv
Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Russia has started bombing Lviva city that borders Poland and which, therefore, has become place of passage for thousands of refugees fleeing Ukraine.
Until now, this area had remained practically untouched and only one attack had been recorded around the city since the outbreak of the war. This Monday, however, Ukraine has denounced a “powerful” attack with five missiles which would have caused at least six dead – among them a child – and eight woundedaccording to data provided by the mayor of the city, Andriy Sadovyi.
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