The Russian fighters aiming to capture the key city of Sievierodonetsk in Luhansk are slowly making their way to the centre of the city, officials said.The Ukrainian soldiers, however, are not at risk of being attacked as they could retreat to Lysychansk across the river, the regional governor Sehiy Gaidai said.
Meanwhile, Russia on 24th February launched its invasion of Ukraine. And, according to the latest updates, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy earlier lamented the delay in EU leaders imposing heavier sanctions against Vladimir Putin. “The pause in agreeing on new sanctions in Europe has been too long,” he said. Zelenskiy claims that Russia is blocking the export of 22m tons of grain from Ukraine’s ports and warned it posed a threat of famine. “Russia’s blockade of our exports is destabilising the situation on a global scale,” he said in his latest national address. Also, the latest sanctions package also includes removing access to Swift payments for Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank; banning three more Russian state-owned broadcasters; and further sanctions against “individuals responsible for war crimes in Ukraine”.