Russia presses Donbas assault, claims capture of key town

LYSYCHANSK, Ukraine, May 27 (AFP): Russia pressed on Friday its deadly offensive to capture key points in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine, with more bombing of residential areas and pro-Moscow forces claiming the capture of a key town on the way to Kyiv-controlled territory.
At least nine people were killed in shelling of Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv, raising fears that Russia had not lost interest in the northeastern hub even after Ukraine took back control following fierce battles.
And around 10 people were also killed in Russian strikes on a military facility in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, well away from the frontline of the offensive, the regional head of the national guard said.
Three months after Russia launched its invasion on February 24, leaving thousands dead on both sides and displacing millions of Ukrainian civilians, Moscow is focusing on the east of Ukraine after failing in its initial ambition to capture Kyiv.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated accusations that Moscow was carrying out a "genocide" in Donbas, saying its bombardment could leave the entire region "uninhabited."
Russian forces were closing in on several cities in the region including strategically located Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, which stand on the crucial route to Ukraine's eastern administrative centre in Kramatorsk.
"Russia is pressuring the Severodonetsk pocket although Ukraine retains control of multiple defended sectors, denying Russia full control of the Donbas," the British defence ministry said in its latest briefing.
Pro-Russian separatists said they had captured the town of Lyman that lies between Severodonetsk and Kramatorsk and is on the road leading to the key cities that are still under Kyiv's control.
Lugansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said in a video on Telegram that at least five civilians had been killed in his region-part of Donbas-in the last 24 hours alone.
Meanwhile, Moscow is ready to make a "significant contribution" to averting a looming food crisis if the West lifts sanctions over Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin told Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Thursday.
Russia was slapped with unprecedented sanctions after Putin ordered troops into neighbouring Ukraine on February 24.
The sanctions and military action have disrupted supplies of fertiliser, wheat and other commodities from both Russia and Ukraine. The two countries produce 30 percent of the global wheat supply.
"Putin emphasises that the Russian Federation is ready to make a significant contribution to overcoming the food crisis through the export of grain and fertiliser, subject to the lifting of politically motivated restrictions by the West," the Kremlin said in a statement following the call.
It added that Putin also spoke about the "steps taken to ensure safety of navigation, including the daily opening of humanitarian corridors for the exit of civilian ships from the ports of the Azov and Black Sea, which is impeded by the Ukrainian side".
Putin also described as "unfounded" accusations that Russia was to blame for the problems with food supplies on the global market.