Ukraine said on Thursday that fighting in the eastern Donbas had reached its fiercest level yet, as Russian forces pushed deeper into the industrial region.
Russia shelled more than 40 towns in the region, destroying nearly a dozen high-rise buildings, authorities said. Moscow's forces sought to surround their Ukrainian foes, outnumbering them in some places.
Russia has poured thousands of troops into the region, attacking from three sides in an attempt to encircle Ukrainian forces holding out in the city of Sievierodonetsk and its twin Lysychansk. Their fall would leave the whole of Luhansk province under Russian control, a pivotal Kremlin goal.
"The occupiers shelled more than 40 towns in Donetsk and Luhansk region, destroying or damaging 47 civilian sites, including 38 homes and a school. As a result of this shelling, five civilians died and 12 were wounded," the Joint Task Force of Ukraine's armed forces said on Facebook.
The statement said 10 enemy attacks were repelled, four tanks and four drones destroyed, and 62 "enemy soldiers" were killed.
Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Malyar told a press briefing: "The fighting has reached its maximum intensity.
"Enemy forces are storming the positions of our troops simultaneously in several directions. We have an extremely difficult and long stage of fighting ahead of us," she added.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office said 11 high-rise buildings were destroyed.
Mr Zelenskyy has said Russian troops heavily outnumber Ukrainian forces in some parts of the east and Kyiv has been trying unsuccessfully to arrange a prisoner swap with Moscow.
The Ukrainian leader also strongly rebuffed those in the West who have suggested Ukraine should cede control of areas occupied by Russian forces to reach a peace agreement.
Those “great geopoliticians” who suggest this are disregarding the interests of ordinary Ukrainians — “the millions of those who actually live on the territory that they propose exchanging for an illusion of peace", he said in his nightly video address to the nation. He was referring to comments made at the World Economic Forum in Davos by the former Henry Kissinger, the former US Secretary of State, who said Ukraine should be willing to cede some territory in pursuit of peace.
“We always have to think of the people and remember that values are not just words."
In an Instagram post accompanying the message, Mr Zelenskyy said: “No matter what the Russian state does, there is always someone who says: 'Let's take its interests into account.'
"This year in Davos it was heard again, despite thousands of Russian missiles hitting Ukraine, despite tens of thousands of Ukrainians killed, despite Bucha and Mariupol, et cetera. Despite the destroyed cities.
"And despite the 'filtration camps' built by the Russian state, in which they kill, torture, rape and humiliate like on a conveyor belt. Russia has done all this in Europe.
"But still in Davos, for example, Mr Kissinger emerges from the deep past and says that a piece of Ukraine should be given to Russia, so that there is no alienation of Russia from Europe.”
Meanwhile, Moscow pressed the West on Thursday to lift sanctions against Russia over the war. The Kremlin is seeking to shift the blame for a growing food crisis, worsened by Kyiv’s inability to ship millions of tonnes of grain and other agricultural products, because of the conflict.
Ukraine is one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat, corn and sunflower oil. However, the war, including a Russian blockade of its ports, has prevented much of that production from leaving the country, endangering the world food supply. Many of those ports are also now heavily mined.
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Service members of pro-Russian troops drive a tank past a destroyed residential building in the town of Popasna in the Luhansk region, Ukraine. Reuters -
Smoke and dirt rise from the city of Severodonetsk during shelling in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP -
Russian soldiers Alexander Alexeevich Ivanov and Alexander Vladimirovich Bobykin, left, attend their trial hearing in Kotelva, northeastern Ukraine. AP Photo -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, meets with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP -
A man drives a GAZ-21 Volga car past a damaged building in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, on the 92nd day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP -
Public transit workers sweep up shrapnel in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Getty Images -
Pro-Russian troops inspect an AT4 anti-tank launcher outside the town of Svitlodarsk in the Donetsk region, Ukraine. Reuters -
People inspect destroyed Russian tanks and armoured vehicles in Irpin, Ukraine. Getty Images -
A local resident pets a cat next to a destroyed house in Vilkhivka village, near Kharkiv, Ukraine. AFP -
The remains of a school in Vilkhivka village, near Kharkiv. AFP -
Widow and daughter of Andriy Vertiev, a Ukrainian serviceman, killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, attend his funeral at Lychakiv cemetery, Lviv, Ukraine. AFP -
Russian serviceman Vadim Shishimarin, centre, leaves a court hearing in Kyiv. EPA -
Kateryna Shelikhova, widow of Oleksandr Shelipov, 62, who was shot dead by a Russian soldier. Reuters -
A child plays against a backdrop of buildings ruined by shelling in Borodyanka, Ukraine. AP -
A Ukrainian woman in the basement of a building used as bomb shelter in Soledar, Donetsk region. AP -
Residents live in a subway station used as temporary shelter in Kharkiv. AP -
Men with salvageable material from damaged buildings after Russian bombing in Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine. AP -
A cuddly toy adorns a destroyed Russian battle tank near damaged homes in Hostomel, Ukraine. Getty Images -
A mortar explodes next to a road leading to the city of Lysychansk, in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP -
A Ukrainian army vehicle moves towards the front line at a checkpoint near Lysychansk. AFP -
A boy looks at flags honouring soldiers killed while fighting Russian troops, in Kyiv city centre. AP -
A mannequin with a fake gun is placed as bait on a roadside in the Nord Saltivka district of Kharkiv. EPA -
A man looks at a destroyed Russian tank placed as a symbol of war, in central Kyiv. AP -
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a screen at the opening ceremony for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Reuters -
Smoke billows from an oil refinery after an attack outside the city of Lysychansk, in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. AFP -
A woman walks by a destroyed apartment building in Bakhmut, Donbas region. AFP -
An elderly woman stands inside her heavily damaged house after it was hit by a missile in Bakhmut. AFP -
A mother with her daughter sit inside a bus as they leave Bakhmut. AFP -
A Ukrainian soldier prepares coffee as he takes a break near an artillery position in the breakaway enclave of Donetsk, in the Donbas region. Reuters -
A Ukrainian soldier exercises near Donetsk. Reuters -
A woman displaced by incessant Russian shelling leaves a metro station where people had been living underground for months in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Getty -
A heavily damaged home spa near Ruski Tyshky village in Ukraine. Getty -
The wreckage of a Ukrainian military helicopter is transported in Kharkiv. Getty -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Polish President Andrzej Duda in Kyiv. EPA -
Two Ukrainian national guard soldiers pay their respects at a cemetery in Kharkiv. AP -
A man pushes a wheelbarrow past a heavily damaged apartment building near Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol. Reuters -
The burnt out shells of cars in a residential area near Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol. Reuters -
Pro-Russian troops drive a tank in Ukraine's Donetsk region. Reuters -
A Russian soldier takes a break during an operation to demine the territory of Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Reuters -
Relatives and friends attend the funeral of a Ukrainian soldier killed in action, in the Odessa region city of Rozdilna. EPA -
Ukrainians wearing traditional clothing listen to their national anthem as they take part in the celebration of 'Vyshyvanka Day', an annual celebration of Ukrainian folk traditions, in Athens. AFP
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tried to put the blame for the crisis squarely on Western sanctions.
“We accuse Western countries of taking a series of unlawful actions that has led to the blockade,” he said in a conference call with reporters.
Russia itself is also a significant exporter of grain, and Mr Peskov said the West “must cancel the unlawful decisions that hamper chartering ships and exporting grain.”
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “trying to hold the world to ransom” by demanding that some sanctions be lifted before allowing Ukrainian grain shipments to resume.
