Battlefield videos show Ukrainian troops' skills and Russia's surprisingly ill-trained military, former US special operators say
Business InsiderSep 08, 2022
Day 106 Roundup: 'Fate of Donbas' Hangs on Battle for Severodonetsk, Zelenskyy Says
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Image copyright: Reuters [via Reuters]
The Facts
In his nightly address on Wed., Ukrainian Pres. Zelenskyy said fierce fighting continued in the Luhansk city of Severodonetsk, describing it as "probably one of the most difficult during this war." He added: "The fate of Donbas is being decided there."
Earlier, Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai said: "Our [forces] now again control only the outskirts of the city. But the fighting is still going on, our [forces] are defending Severodonetsk. It is impossible to say the Russians completely control the city."
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
As the war shifts to the strategically important Donbas regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, the US and its allies need to continue to do everything in their power to arm Ukraine with all the weapons they need. Doing so is the only way to push Putin's forces back as was done in Kyiv.
Pro-Russia narrative
As stated by Putin, the whole purpose of the war was never to invade Kyiv, but to liberate the ethnically Russian people of Donetsk and Luhansk, who have been subjected to systematic killing by Ukrainian forces for not recognizing the 2014 coup in Kyiv. This tragedy would have been avoided if NATO had kept its promise not to expand eastward in return for German reunification.
