Putin commands Russia to fight after crucial Ukrainian city falls

On July 4, 2022, SLOVIANSK, Ukraine - After Moscow's forces took control of the important city of Lysychansk, President Vladimir Putin on Monday gave the order for his country's military to continue their offensive deeper into the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

At a meeting, Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defense minister, informed Putin that Moscow's forces now had total authority over the Lugansk region.

Putin instructed Shoigu to continue forced stationed activities, signaling that there would be no lull in the war and that Russia now had its sights set on the entire Donetsk region.

Putin stated that all military forces, including the East and West groups, had to carry out their missions in accordance with previously agreed plans. "I'm hoping that everything will continue to go in their favor as it has” Putin said.

The Ukrainian army announced its withdrawal from Lysychansk on Sunday, saying it was doing so to protect the lives of its soldiers, who were outnumbered and outgunned by Russian forces.

Ukraine announced on Monday that it would already cost $750 billion to rebuild the country, even though the war is well into its fifth month.

Denys Shmyhal, the prime minister of Russia, said the leaders of numerous nations gathered in Lugano, "The main source of recovery should be the confiscated assets of Russia and Russian oligarchs."

The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky in a recent video described rebuilding Ukraine as the "common task of the whole democratic world" and the
"biggest contribution to the support of global peace."

Zelensky raised appeals for a greater influx of arms from the West in response to the weekend loss of Lysychansk so that Kyiv can maintain its resistance and retake lost territory.

Russia has concentrated its efforts on gaining control of the Donetsk and Lugansk districts, which make up the Donbas region, after giving up on its initial war goal of seizing Kyiv in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance.

One week after the Ukrainian army also withdrew from Severodonetsk, a nearby city, Moscow's conquest of Lysychansk frees up Russian soldiers to push on Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in Donetsk.

Sergiy Gayday, the governor of the Lugansk area, said on Telegram that violence continued in the settlement of Bilogorivka outside of Lysychansk.

On Sunday, Zelensky vowed Kyiv would fight on and ensure the military had "the most modern weapons".

"Ukraine will reach the level when the fire superiority of the occupiers will be levelled."

But Zelensky's address Sunday evening was defiant, predicting Ukrainian troops would "win back" territory in the Donbas just has they had in other regions earlier in the war.

On Monday, leaders from dozens of countries and international organisations met in the Swiss city of Lugano with the aim of hashing out a roadmap for Ukraine's reconstruction.

"Ukraine can emerge from this on a path towards a stronger and more modern country," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

But for residents in Bucha -- a Ukrainian town synonymous with war crimes blamed on Moscow's forces after their retreat in April -- fear remains even as talk begins of reconstruction.

"We're going to bed without knowing if we'll wake up tomorrow," said Vera Semeniouk, 65.

"Everyone has come back, is starting to repair houses, many are putting in new windows. It would be terrible if it started again, and we had to leave everything again."

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, making her first visit to Ukraine, visited Bucha on Monday.