The United Nations on Friday said there would be no victor from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the conflict entered its 100th day and Moscow’s forces pressed deeper into the eastern Donbas region.
Amin Awad, Assistant Secretary-General and United Nations Crisis Coordinator for Ukraine, in a statement, said, “This war has and will have no winner. Rather, we have witnessed for 100 days what is lost: lives, homes, jobs, and prospects,”
After being repelled from around the capital, President Vladimir Putin’s troops have set their sights on capturing eastern Ukraine, prompting warnings the war could drag on.
Some of the fiercest fightings are now centred on Severodonetsk in the Donbas region, 80 per cent of which the Russians have seized, but Ukrainian forces are stiff resistance.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said late Thursday that Ukrainian forces had had some success in the battle for the industrial hub, which is in the Lugansk region.
“But it is still too early. It is the toughest area at the moment,” he added.
Lugansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said on Telegram that “for 100 days, they have been levelling everything”, accusing the Russians of destroying hospitals, schools, and roads.
“But we are only getting stronger. Hatred of the enemy and faith in our victory makes us unbreakable.”
Since Russia’s February 24 invasion, thousands of people have been killed and millions forced to flee, while Zelensky says up to 100 Ukrainian soldiers are dying every day on the battlefield.
Severodonetsk’s Azot factory, one of Europe’s most extensive chemical plants, was targeted by Russian soldiers who fired on one of its administrative buildings and a warehouse where methanol was stored.