- Title: Battle rages for Ukrainian region of Donbas ahead of 100th day of war
- Date: 2nd June 2022
- Summary: BLOOD ON THE GROUND / HAND OF DEAD BODY SEEN UNDER RUBBLE
- Embargoed: 16th June 2022 06:01
- Keywords: 100 days of war Donetsk Eastern Ukraine Kharkiv Luhansk Lyman Lysychansk Mariupol Russian invasion Severodonetsk Ukraine Ukraine-Russia conflict strikes timeline war weapons
- Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
- City: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
- Country: Ukraine
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Europe
- Reuters ID: LVA005126528052022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES IN SHOT 19, SHOTS OF BODY BAGS THROUGHOUT AND PROFANITY IN SHOTS 33 AND 77
Having failed to take the capital Kyiv in the early phase of the war, Russia is seeking to consolidate its grip on the industrial region of the Donbas, large parts of which are already controlled by Moscow-backed separatists.
It has concentrated huge firepower on a small area - a contrast to earlier phases of the conflict when its forces were often spread thinly - bludgeoning towns and cities with artillery and air strikes.
Saturday (June 4) will mark 100 days of the invasion.
Capturing the twin cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk on the banks of the Siverskyi Donets river would give Moscow effective control of Ukraine's strategic Luhansk province and allow the Kremlin to declare some form of victory after more than three months of war.
Moscow's invasion, which it calls a "special operation" to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists, has jolted European security. Kyiv and its Western allies say the fascism assertion is a baseless pretext for an unprovoked war of aggression.
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