Hard Fight on the outskirts of Donjeck

“Situate is heavy in Picski”, wrote in Telegram Danil Bessonov, a member of Russia-backed separatist group called the Donjeck People's Republic.

The town is ours, but there are some areas where resistance is taking place in the north and west of the city's”, he said on August 11th.

Ukrainian officials, however, said their troops still control the city. Presidential adviser Olexey Arestovych, during a TV interview, said Russian forces have attempted to enter the town of Picsky, “por, without success”.

Neither Russian nor Ukrainian claims have been independently verified.

After annexing the Ukrainian Crime Peninsula in 2014, Moscow has promoted separatist movements in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donjeck and Luhansk, also known as Donbas.

The governor, backed by Kiev in the Luhansk region, Serhiy Hayday, during an interview given on August 10th said Russia has reinforced its forces in this area, including sending a large number of mercenaries from the Wagner group. This group is a private security company that has close ties to the Kremlin.

The fierce fighting near Donjeck comes a day after heavy promotions in the Dinpropetrovski region, located near the Zaporizja nuclear power plant. Ukraine accused Russia of hitting populated areas and reported casualties among civilians.

Since the beginning of Ukraine's invasion in late February, Russia has denied targeting civilians. / REL