Security Exchange News

The past week has seen a significant escalation of Russian military operations in the eastern Donbas region. The twin cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, located on either side of the Siverskyi Donets river, have suffered extremely heavy bombardment in recent days. The mayor of Severodonetsk, Oleksandr Stryuk, said that at least 1,500 people have been killed in the city since the start of the Russian invasion and that 60 percent of residential buildings have been destroyed. He said that around 12,000 people remain trapped in the city and the options for evacuations are extremely limited. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that the Russians are likely to completely encircle the twin cities in the coming days. Russian-backed separatists also claim to have taken control of the city of Lyman in the Donetsk region; although this has not yet been verified, Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, appeared to concede that Lyman had fallen to pro-Russian forces.

The UN warned this week that the Russian invasion of Ukraine could lead to a global food crisis that could last for years due to worsening food insecurity triggered by rising prices. As one of Europe’s biggest global exporters of food and agricultural goods, Russia’s strategy of cutting off Ukraine’s access to southern Black Sea ports has led to reduced global supply, causing prices to soar. The UN claims that the crisis could still be averted through talks. The warning comes as Western allies continue to rally together in solidarity against Russia’s ‘military operation’ in Ukraine, with Washington reopening its embassy in Kyiv. Meanwhile, the southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol has fallen to Russian forces after Kyiv declared an end to the Azovstal steelworks evacuation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed to retake captured areas in the south, including the occupied cities of Kherson, Melitopol, Berdiansk, Enerhodar and Mariupol.

Since our last update on Monday, the Russian military has continued to target civilian populations in towns and cities across Ukraine using heavy artillery and airstrikes. The ground offensive has made little progress, despite claims from Russian President Vladimir Putin that the operation was “going to plan” almost four weeks in. There has also been no significant progress in peace talks, while Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made further appeals to Western governments for additional support. In an address to the US Congress, he invoked the Pearl Harbour and 9/11 attacks, saying that his country needs the US “right now.” The US government has announced an additional $800m in security assistance, which includes anti-aircraft systems and anti-tank weapons. During a speech to the German Bundestag on Thursday morning, he called on the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, to “stop dithering” and do more to help.