Heavy fighting raged around the eastern Ukrainian town of Pisky on Thursday, while to the west, Ukraine accused Russian forces of using a nuclear plant to shield artillery.
An official with the Russia-backed Donetsk People’s Republic said Pisky, on the front line 10 kilometres north-west of the provincial capital Donetsk, was under the control of Russian and separatist forces.“It’s hot in Pisky,” the official, Danil Bezsonov, said on Telegram. “The town is ours but there remain scattered pockets of resistance in its north and west.”
“We once had peaceful Ukrainian towns. Now we have been thrust into the Middle Ages,” he said. “People are now leaving because they are afraid of freezing in the coming winter.” Ukraine says about 500 Russian troops are at the plant, where Ukrainian technicians continue to work. Russia on Wednesday received powerful endorsement from China of its rationale for the February 24 invasion of Ukraine.