Russian forces continued to pummel and gain ground in the strategic city of Toretsk in eastern Ukraine as the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, prepared to present what he calls his “victory plan” to parliament in Kyiv.
“The city has been completely wiped out. It is terrible there. The enemy is trying to destroy districts and then advance where there is already nothing left,” Ukrainian military spokeswoman Anastasia Bobovnikova said on Tuesday.
She confirmed the broad accuracy of reports that Russian troops were advancing in Toretsk, a small city in Donetsk region that has been a logistics hub for Kyiv’s forces trying hold back a bigger and better-armed invader.
“Unfortunately, we must acknowledge that this is true. In Toretsk, it is not only some buildings that are gone, but some districts as well,” she said.
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Toretsk is about 100km north of another small city, Vuhledar, that Russia seized earlier in October after months of heavy fighting, and 65km east of Pokrovsk, a larger city and Ukrainian stronghold that is now almost deserted as Russian troops have drawn closer and missile, artillery and drone attacks have intensified.
Ukraine says it still urgently needs more weapons and ammunition from allies and permission – above all from the United States – to use long-range missiles supplied by western countries to hit military targets deeper inside Russian territory.
The White House fears such a move could further escalate Europe’s biggest war since 1945, but Kyiv says it is the only way to weaken Russian supply lines and disrupt daily air strikes on Ukrainian towns and cities, military positions and infrastructure.
Mr Zelenskiy is expected to unveil parts of his “victory plan” in a speech to the Ukrainian parliament on Wednesday, while some sections are likely to remain classified.
[ How ‘unprecedented’ assistance from Ireland is helping Ukraine’s Red CrossOpens in new window ]
He has discussed the plan with several western leaders in recent weeks, and has revealed that it includes calls for deeper strikes inside Russia and a request for Nato membership guarantees for Ukraine, in what he calls a bid to force Russia to negotiate a fair peace.
However, the Kremlin says it will only end its 2½-year invasion of its pro-western neighbour if Kyiv accepts the permanent occupation of five Ukrainian regions and abandons its Nato membership hopes forever.
Mr Zelenskiy says North Korea is now sending soldiers and well as missiles and artillery shells to bolster Moscow’s invasion force, and Ukrainian intelligence sources told Kyiv media that Russia had formed a “special Buryat battalion” that would consist of some 3,000 North Korean soldiers; Buryats are a Mongol ethnic group from southern Siberia.
South Korea has said it is “highly likely” that North Korean officers were killed in a recent Ukrainian missile strike on a Russian-occupied part of Donetsk region.
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