Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video post Thursday that Russian forces "want to destroy the whole Donbas step by step," as officials reported airstrikes raining down on the twin cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk.
The big picture: Russian forces have been trying to take the two key eastern Ukrainian cities in the Luhansk region of the Donbas for weeks. Now the battle is "entering a sort of fearsome climax," Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said, per Reuters.
