Ukraine war: "De facto annexation has begun" - Russia distributes new passports in Donbass

Created: 05/25/2022, 15:48

By: Isabel Wetzel, Nail Akkoyun

With massive shelling, the Russian army is wearing down the Ukrainian defense lines in the east - and is advancing further in the Donbass.

• Fighting in the east:

  Russia is currently concentrating on the Donbass in the Ukraine war.

• Help from the West:

  Volodymyr Zelenskyj asks for more weapons for Ukraine.

• You can find news about the Ukraine conflict in our

  news ticker

  .

+++ 3.40 p.m .:

An employee of the Mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andryushchenko, reported on Telegram that the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic” started today to issue Russian Federation passports to the residents of Mariupol and the temporarily occupied areas of the to distribute Donetsk region.

"The de facto annexation of Mariupol has begun," he added.

Soldiers from the Russian army and the militia of the "Donetsk People's Republic" guard a camp.

(Archive photo) © Alexei Alexandrov/dpa/AP

War in Ukraine: Russian soldiers cut off gas supply – 36,000 people affected

+++ 1:00 p.m .:

As Serhiy Haidai, governor of the Luhansk Oblast, reports on Telegram, Russian occupying forces have fired on the last gas distribution point in the region, injuring a station employee.

"As of yesterday, 36,000 consumers in three settlements in the Luhansk region are without gas," the official continued.

In addition, there is no central water supply, and the population is completely cut off from the power supply.

The demand is currently being met temporarily with the help of water trucks.

The information cannot be independently verified.

War in Ukraine: Attacks on Kramatorsk – Mayor warns population

+++ 11.15 a.m .:

Oleksandr Honcharenko, mayor of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, asked the residents on Wednesday not to return after a Russian air raid last night.

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"A restless night in Kramatorsk," he wrote in a statement on Facebook.

“An air raid on residential areas and the private sector.

No injuries.

Friends, I understand how difficult it is for you to be away from your hometown.

But the enemy is getting closer.

The danger isn't out there somewhere, it's here - close by!

It's too soon to go back, no matter how hard it is for you."

Ukraine War: Zaporizhia and Kryvyi Rih under fire

+++ 10:00 a.m .:

In Ukraine, the cities of Zaporizhia and Kryvyi Rih were apparently hit by Russian rockets on Wednesday morning.

This is reported by Ukrainian media unanimously.

Among other things, an industrial complex in the city of Zaporizhia was hit by three rockets.

However, the information could not be verified independently.

Ukraine War: Heavy fighting for the city of Sievjerodonetsk

Update from Wednesday, May 25, 8:30 a.m .:

According to information from Kiev, the Russian troops in eastern Ukraine have now gone on the offensive and are fighting heavy battles for the city of Sievjerodonetsk.

In addition to Sievjerodonetsk, the nearby town of Lyman is also a target of the Russian attacks, the Ukrainian General Staff said in its situation report on Wednesday morning.

Here, too, the ground offensive is supported by airstrikes and artillery.

The General Staff also reported battles from the Bakhmut area southwest of Sieverodonetsk.

Russian troops attacked several cities, but withdrew after losses for the time being.

In the Avdiivka area there was continuous artillery fire on the defenders' positions.

+++ 8.15 a.m .:

 Due to heavy losses in the Ukraine war, the Russian army is now apparently changing its strategy in Donbass.

The US think tank "Institute for the Study of War" gives new details in an analysis.

Defense in eastern Ukraine is coming under pressure: Russia is massing troops in Donbass

First report from Wednesday, May 25th.

7.30 a.m .:

Kiev – The situation in the Ukraine conflict is becoming increasingly precarious for the Ukrainian troops in the east of the country.

On Wednesday morning (May 25), the city of Zaporizhia in eastern Ukraine was hit by several rockets, according to the authorities, the regional administration announced on its Telegram channel.

One of the missiles was intercepted by air defenses.

The rescue workers are on site to get an idea of ​​the situation, the damage and possible victims of the attack.

Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of a difficult situation in the Donbass and again asked for heavy weapons.

tanks and anti-ship missiles.

Meanwhile, the military experts at the US war research institute Institute for the Study of War (ISW) report in their latest analysis of Ukraine that the Russian military is concentrating forces from different directions in the heavily contested Luhansk region.

The reserves needed for an offensive would be withdrawn from the areas around Kharkiv, Izyum, Donetsk and Zaporizhia.

In the last week, the Russian troops in the Luhansk region managed to gain more territory than in the whole of May, the analysts said.

And Zelenskyj also emphasized on Tuesday evening (May 24) that the Russian army was throwing "all the forces it still has" into this fight.

Massive attacks in eastern Ukraine: Russia is approaching an important goal in the Ukraine war

With massive artillery and air strikes, the armed forces have driven the Ukrainian defenders out of several towns in the east of the country in the past few days, and the Ukrainian front is beginning to falter.

For Russia, the complete conquest of the Ukrainian administrative regions of Donetsk and Luhansk is an important war goal.

In Luhansk, this goal has almost been achieved.

War in Ukraine: Russia apparently wants to encircle Ukrainian troops in Sievjerodonetsk and Lyssychansk

In the region, Russian troops and their pro-Russian separatist allies now control 90 percent of the territory.

The Ukrainian military holds the metropolitan area between the cities of Sievjerodonetsk and Lysychansk - both cities were large cities with around 100,000 inhabitants before the war.

According to the ISW analysis from the USA, Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin probably intends to encircle several small Ukrainian units in the area at the same time.

However, despite the progress made, the Russians have not yet achieved a “major breakthrough”.

"The occupiers want to destroy everything there," Zelenskyj warned.

He listed the cities of Lyman, Popasna, Sieverodonetsk and Sloviansk.

It will take great efforts on the part of the Ukrainian people to overcome the Russian superiority in armaments and technology.

According to the administration, 15 civilians were killed within 24 hours in the Donetsk region alone.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense also spoke of a difficult situation in the Donbass coal and steel region.

Apparently, the Russian army wants to encircle Ukrainian units in the cities of Sievjerodonetsk and Lysychansk, said spokesman Olexander Motusyanyk.

The only supply route of the Ukrainian armed forces is already under fire.

(iwe/nak)