Russia has increased the intensity of its operations in Donbas, seeking to surround the cities of Severodonetsk, Lysychansk and Rubizhne, the British Defense Ministry said Tuesday, adding that capturing Severodonetsk could give Russia control over the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine. A regional official said Severodonetsk remains under Ukrainian control but is being pummeled mercilessly by nearby Russian forces that are “destroying the city completely.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said 87 people were killed in a missile strike in the northern village of Desna in one of the single deadliest attacks of the war.
Yet a semblance of normality appears to be returning to some other parts of Ukraine. More than 2 million Ukrainians have crossed back into the country since Feb. 28, border authorities said. The subway system in Kharkiv, where Ukrainian forces successfully held off a fierce assault, will also resume operations Tuesday. It was shuttered for nearly three months and repurposed as a shelter from Russian bombardment.
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