Summary of the Events of the Day
The Battle for the Donbas has begun in full force. On the first day Russian forces took the frontline town of Kreminna. But their victory was at a heavy loss. Russia also began firing missiles at cities all around Ukraine to send a message that Ukrainians are not safe wherever they are.
Battle for the Donbas (Donetsk, Luhansk, Mariupol)
Russian forces stepped up their attacks along the Donbas Contact Line, but at great loss, losing twice as many soldiers and equipment than the day before. Russian troops took Kreminna but lost Svyatohirsk making it a draw for the day.
The offensives over the night on Sunday were mainly against four communities – Marinka and Avdiivka in Donetsk, and Popasna and Novotoshkivske in Luhansk. Popasna has been completely leveled like Mariupol. Russian forces also dug in near Rubizhne and Kreminna. Ukraine forces destroyed three helicopters, one drone, nine tanks, five artillery systems, and fifteen fighting vehicles, and five trucks.
Russian forces began shelling Kreminna in the morning forcing Ukrainian troops to retreat from the city. Russian forces poured into Kreminna firing artillery destroying seven homes and the sports complex where Olympic athletes train. They also fired on a car of civilians trying to flee the city killing all four inside.
Then artillery fire fell all over on the Contact Line. Artillery fire on Zolote destroyed several residential buildings killing two civilians. Three homes in Rubizhne were destroyed by shelling with injured taken to the hospital. And two houses were shelled in Popasna. In Lysychansk the police administration building was hit injuring six police officers. Kramatorsk was also shelled destroying some infrastructure buildings.
Russian forces that punched a hold into Ukraine’s defense line by taking the western half of Izyum last week attempted unsuccessfully to move farther south and expand their hole by taking Zavody, Dmytrivka, and Dibrovne. On their retreat, Ukrainian forces ambushed them destroying 18 tanks, at least 10 infantry fighting vehicles, and one helicopter.
Ukrainian forces in Mariupol, now only 400 soldiers, continue on despite over ten thousand Russian forces encircling them.
Battle for Kharkiv
Russia continued to shell Kharkiv hitting 18 residential buildings in the city where no military targets exist killing nine civilians and injuring 25. Later in the day they shelled a playground and a humanitarian aid center killing three adults.
Battle for Kherson (Kherson, Mykolaiv)
Russia fired artillery on infrastructure buildings in Mykolaiv. Russian forces dug in and did not attempt to take back any territory lost last week to Ukrainian forces.
Other Regions
Early in the morning, a missile struck the outskirts of Kryvyi Rih killing one civilian.
Several missiles were fired on railway infrastructure in Dnipropetrovsk region, but all but one was shot down. The one missile that hit destroyed a railway facility killing two people.
Five Russian missiles were fired on Lviv, but one was shot down. Three missiles struck military targets and one hit a tire factory damaging the rail line nearby used to transport weapons from Western countries to the front lines. Seven people were killed and eleven injured including one child.
International Support
An open letter signed by students and faculty of Novosibirsk State University, in the third largest city of Russia, demands their government remove all Russian soldiers from Ukraine and calls for investigations of war crimes committed against Ukrainian civilians.
The United States has begun training Ukrainian soldiers in the use of the howitzers and other sophisticated weaponry the U.S. has given to Ukraine. The training is being done in an undisclosed country and then the Ukrainian soldiers will return to Ukraine to train others there.