Zelensky accuses Russia of ‘genocide’ in Donbas

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Moscow's brutal assault on the Donbas – where it has redirected its forces after having failed to capture Kyiv – adding that its bombardment could leave the entire region "uninhabited".

"All this, including the deportation of our people and the mass killings of civilians, is an obvious policy of genocide pursued by Russia," he said. Pro-Moscow separatist groups have since 2014 controlled parts of Donbas, but Russia now appears set on taking the whole region.

Invading forces are closing in on several cities, including the strategically located Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, which stand on the crucial route to Ukraine's eastern administrative centre in Kramatorsk.