Kyiv മ്പോൾ As Russian forces continue to occupy small towns in eastern Ukraine, Germany and France urge Russia to prepare for a diplomatic solution to the problem. Russia’s Defense Ministry has said it has captured the town of Lyman, near the city of Severodonetsk, where heavy street fighting continues in the eastern Donbass. It is the railway hub of the region.
As the war entered its fourth month, Russian forces reportedly controlled the entire Luhansk region of the Donbass. Pro-Russian rebels are also fighting alongside Russian forces. British intelligence estimates that Severodonetsk, the largest city in the Donbass, about 60 kilometers (60 miles) from Lyman, will fall in the coming days. Here 90% of the buildings were destroyed in the Russian shelling. Many areas in the Donbass are already under the control of pro-Russian rebels. There are 10,000 Russian troops on the battlefield.
French President Emmanuel Macro and German Chancellor Olaf Scholes spoke on the phone for 80 minutes with Russian President Vladimir Putin for a ceasefire.
The two asked Putin to hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selensky. He also called for the release of prisoners of war from the Azovstall steel factory in Mariupol.
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