Fighting with Russian forces reached its maximum intensity — Defence Ministry

Fighting with the Russian occupation forces has reached its maximum intensity, the enemy is storming the positions of Ukrainian defenders in several directions simultaneously, said Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine, Hanna Maliar, at a press conference on May 26.

She called the situation at the front difficult and such that it "has signs of further escalation." Maliar also said that the enemy is using all forces and means to capture the territory of Ukraine and encircle our troops.

"We have an extremely difficult and long stage of the fight ahead of us. We need to understand that this is a war and, unfortunately, losses on our side are inevitable," the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said.

She noted that the aggressor conducts intense fire along the entire line of contact and in the depths of the defense of Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk operational area, using tactical missile systems, aircraft, and artillery.

"Ukraine will fight for the complete liberation of our territories within internationally recognized borders, and Putin can save face by withdrawing from our territories," Maliar said.

Intensifying offensive 

On May 24, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that the situation in Donbas is extremely difficult: Russia has thrown all the remaining forces into the offensive to attack Lyman, Popasna, Severodonetsk, and Sloviansk.

On May 24, Serhiy Haidai, Head of Luhansk Regional Military Administration, reported that the Russians had already occupied 95% of Luhansk Oblast.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) notes that Russia likely had to withdraw these forces from Zaporizhia, Donetsk, and Kharkiv Oblasts to intensify the offensive in Donbas.