Ukraine said on Saturday (25) that a “major bombardment” with Russian missiles had hit its territory, and that the missile was launched from Belarus, a Kremlin ally that was not officially involved in the conflict, despite providing logistical support to Moscow. its fifth month.

“A massive missile bombardment hit the Chernihiv area,” said the Northern Command of Ukrainian troops.

Twenty rockets hit the city of Desna, launched from the territory of Belarus. [e também] from the air,” he said, adding that the attacks hit the infrastructure but there were no casualties.

Although Belarus was not involved in the conflict with Ukraine, it provided logistical support to Moscow troops, especially in the first weeks of the Russian offensive, which began on February 24.

“Today’s bombing is directly related to the Kremlin’s efforts to draw Belarus into the war in Ukraine as a joint fighter,” the general directorate of Ukrainian intelligence services under the Ministry of Defense said in Telegram.

The attack came ahead of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, in St Petersburg on Saturday.

Ukraine’s Western allies will meet in Germany on Sunday at the G7 summit of the world’s largest economies. NATO members, not including Ukraine, will face a conflict that may prolong over time and will meet in Madrid next week.

Severodonetsk and Lysychansk

During these meetings, Western countries will evaluate the effectiveness of the sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus and examine possible new aid to Ukraine.

This Saturday, the Spanish government announced a new 9 billion euro direct aid plan to Ukraine. At a press conference, Head of Government Pedro Sánchez said that these direct aids added to the first package of 6 billion euros approved in March will represent around 15 billion euros by the end of the year. Multiple points of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)”.

Kyiv insists it needs more weapons to neutralize advancing Russian troops and “stabilize” the situation in eastern Donbass, where intense fighting is raging. “This will allow us to stabilize the situation in the most threatened Luhansk region,” Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said on Friday.

The situation is particularly difficult in the industrial city of Severodonetsk, which has been bombarded by Moscow for weeks and Ukrainian troops were ordered to withdraw on Friday. “(…) 90% of the city is damaged, 80% of the houses will have to be demolished,” said the governor of the Luhansk region, where the city is located.

Moscow forces are also focusing their attacks on nearby Lysychansk, which is almost besieged. For residents who decide to stay, the situation is deplorable.

Liliya Nesterenko tells that she did not have natural gas, water and electricity in her house, so she cooked with her mother over the campfire. However, this 39-year-old is optimistic. “I believe in our Ukrainian army. [ser capazes de] one hundred [os russos]”, says.

Both Severodonetsk and Lysychansk have been instrumental in controlling eastern Ukraine, which has been partially controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014.

Experts emphasize that the withdrawal of Ukrainian soldiers from Severodonetsk does not mean a radical change in the field.

‘Slow War’

“The big picture – a slow battle of established positions – has hardly changed,” researcher Ivan Klyszcz of the Estonian University of Tartu told AFP.

“The withdrawal was probably premeditated and could be considered tactical,” he said, emphasizing that the Ukrainian resistance allowed Kiev to consolidate its rear guard.

A US Pentagon official said on condition of anonymity that Ukrainian forces “consolidate their forces where they can best defend themselves”.

For example, according to Governor Gaidai, Mikolaivka, located about 20 km southwest of Lysychansk, is already in the hands of the Russian army. And now they’re trying to “conquer Hirske,” a neighboring town, he added.

Further south, in Donetsk, the other region that makes up Donbass with Luhansk, Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Thursday that “no city” in the region is “safe”.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday that Russia had killed “up to 80” Polish fighters in a bomb attack in this region, particularly in Konstantinovka. In northern Ukraine, Russia has also stepped up its attacks on Kharkiv in recent days when explosions were heard early on Saturday.

In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces have attempted to liberate lost cities in the south. In Russian-controlled Kherson, for example, a Moscow-established high commander was killed in an attack with explosives planted in his car, according to a pro-Russian official.

Russia’s ‘Weakness’

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is now entering its fifth month, with no indication that it will end anytime soon. On Thursday, the leaders of the European Union’s 27 member states agreed to grant Ukraine candidate status for membership in the bloc, a symbolic moment celebrated by president Volodymyr Zelensky.

But for the Russian government, the decision is a Western ploy to geopolitically control Moscow. The decision states that “the acquisition of the CIS area [Comunidade de Estados Independentes, que agrupa várias ex-repúblicas soviéticas] Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova continues to actively take control of Russia,” said.

Ukrainian diplomat Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter that the Kremlin’s condemnations only “showed the weakness” of Russia.