This happened in Ukraine last night

These are some of the key events related to the war in Ukraine on the night of Saturday 28 May.

Ukraine may have to withdraw its forces from the Luhansk region in the east of the country while the Russians make progress. The concern is that the last soldiers stationed in Luhansk might end up, at worst, like those who remained in the besieged city of Mariupol. The soldiers were here for weeks before they finally surrendered, according to Reuters.

– The Russians will not be able to take Luhansk in the next few days, as analysts predicted. We want sufficient strength and resources to defend ourselves. However, in order to avoid being trapped, it is possible that we will have to retreat. Luhansk Governor Serhaj Hajjaj writes on Telegram.

new attack

The Kremlin is considering a new attack on Kyiv, despite their failure to kidnap the Ukrainian capital at the start of the war, according to the independent online newspaper Medusa.

Sources close to the Kremlin and the Russian government say the leadership of Putin’s United Russia party has become confident that a complete victory in Ukraine is possible by the end of the year, the Guardian newspaper covering the issue writes.

Donbass Promise

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed that the Donbass region in the east of the country will become “Ukraine again”. Donbass includes Luhansk and Donetsk provinces. Russian forces are constantly making progress here.

In his daily video address, he described the situation in the region as “extremely difficult.” He further noted that Russia has bolstered both personnel and weapons in the region.

– That is why we must strengthen our defense, strengthen our resistance, and the Donbass will be Ukraine again. Even if Russia brings all the suffering and destruction to Donbass. We want to rebuild every village and every community. There is no real alternative, Zelensky said, according to CNN.

Expect to earn billions

Russia expects to collect another 1,000 billion rubles in oil and gas revenue this year, part of which will go to war, according to Russia’s finance minister.

– We expect to collect up to 1 trillion rubles (just under 144 billion kroner), according to forecasts we have prepared in cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Development. This was stated by Finance Minister Anton Siluanov on state television on Friday.

According to him, the government plans to use the proceeds this year rather than setting it aside for something else. The money will be used for “additional payments” to pensioners and families with children, as well as to carry out a “special operation” in Ukraine, which the Kremlin calls the war in Ukraine.

The church cuts off all ties

The Moscow-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine announced on Friday that it would cut all ties with Russia. The Church declares its complete independence.

Russian Patriarch Kirill is considered a close ally of President Vladimir Putin. The patriarch has expressed his clear support for the war, which in Russia is referred to as a “special operation”. But after the Russian invasion of the country, the situation became very difficult for the Patriarch’s Church in Ukraine.

– We disagree with Patriarch Kirill in Moscow about the war, this came in a statement of the Church after the council meeting, where the topic of Russian aggression and the question of independence was.