Ukraine President Zelenskyy slams West as Russia intensifies attack

Fierce battles raged in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, with Russian troops on the verge of encircling a key industrial city, as President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a bitter rebuke of the West for not doing enough to help Kyiv win the war.

Lugansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday described fighting outside of the industrial city of Severodonetsk, a key military goal for Russia, as “very difficult,” saying Russian troops were shelling the city from the outskirts with mortars.

“The coming week will be decisive,” Gaiday said in a video posted on Telegram, adding he believes Russia’s goal is to “capture the Lugansk region no matter what cost”.

“There is a colossal amount of shelling,” he added.

Earlier in the day, addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry Dmytro Kuleba compared the battle for Donbass to the epic battles fought in World War II and said his country “badly” needs multiple launch rocket systems to match Russian firepower. In Kyiv, Zelensky echoed that plea.