"The moment for negotiations will come"; Zelensky confirms withdrawal from Lysychansk

"The moment for negotiations will come"; Zelensky confirms withdrawal from Lysychansk

During the night, Ukrainian forces targeted Melitopol twice with long-range multi-barreled rocket launchers, said Vladimir Rogov, a member of the main council of the state administration of the Zaporozhye region.

He wrote on his Telegram that between eight and 10 rockets were fired at Melitopol the first time, and eight the second time. Currently, information on the victims of shelling and the degree of destruction is being determined, Sputnik reports.

The Russian army has taken control of the Kherson region and the Azov part of the Zaporozhye region in southern Ukraine.

Civil-military administrations were formed in the regions, Russian TV channels and radio stations began to be broadcast, and trade relations were restored. The regions have announced that they plan to join Russia.

Peskov: "Ukraine will have to accept Russian demands"

In order for Ukraine to make peace, it will have to accept Russian demands, including the recognition of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea as Russian territory and the ceding of Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today.

Peskov told state television that Western countries are preventing peace negotiations with Ukraine and thereby prolonging the conflict in that country, RIA Novosti reports. "At this moment, the Western countries have placed all their bets on the continuation of the war," the Kremlin spokesman said. Referring to statements by Western politicians who said they did not want to force Ukraine to negotiate, Peskov said the West, under the leadership of the US, did not allow Ukraine to "think about peace, nor to discuss it."

"Regardless, the moment for negotiations will come," said Peskov.

Zelensky acknowledged

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged this evening that Ukrainian forces had withdrawn from Lysychansk in the Donbass, but he also promised to regain control over that area, "thanks to the army's tactics and the prospects that new, improved weapons will arrive."

"If the commanders of our army withdraw people from certain points on the front, where the enemy has the greatest advantage, and this also applies to Lysychansk, it means only one thing," Zelensky said in a video address this evening, according to Reuters.

As the Ukrainian leader said, Ukrainian forces will return thanks to the increase in the supply of modern weapons. The Ukrainian military command announced earlier today that Ukrainian forces were forced to withdraw from the eastern city of Lysychansk, Kyiv's last stronghold in the Luhansk region.

"Continuing the defense of the city would lead to fatal consequences. In order to save the lives of the defenders of Ukraine, the decision to withdraw was made," stated the statement published on social networks. The Russians announced earlier today that they had taken control of Lysychansk.

Earlier, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu informed Russian President Vladimir Putin about the alleged liberation of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) and the establishment of full control over Lysychansk.