Jonathan Landay and Tom Balmforth

RUSKA LOZOVA (Ukraine) – Russia attempted to encircle Ukrainian forces within the Donbas, and fend of a counteroffensive surrounding the city Izium.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg claimed that Russia had stopped its offensive in Donbas and Ukraine was likely to win, a conclusion few military analysts anticipated at the beginning of conflict.

Stoltenberg stated to reporters that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was not progressing as Moscow planned.

As a major strategic victory for Russia which had long opposed NATO expansion and its NATO-style policies, Finland confirmed on Sunday that it will apply to the Atlantic Military Alliance.

On Sunday, the ruling Social Democrats of Sweden endorsed NATO membership. It opened up the possibility for an application to NATO and ended decades of nonalignment.

NATO and USA said that both nations would be admitted to NATO. They also stated they believed Turkey could overcome its reservations. Turkey wants countries like the Nordics to stop supporting Kurdish terrorist groups in their territories.

Ukraine scored several successes after Russia invaded Kyiv on Feb. 24. These include a reverse of the advance made on capital Kyiv, and the driving out of Kharkiv by the Russians in the East.

Russian forces concentrated much of their firepower since mid-April on two eastern regions known as the Donbas.

Moscow recognized the independence of Donetsk People’s Republic, and Lugansk People’s Republic within the Donbas before it invaded Ukraine.

According to British military intelligence, Russia lost about three-quarters of its ground combat force in February and that the Donbas offensive was “significantly behind schedule”.

Russia lost large numbers of soldiers and military equipment. However, the West has provided military assistance to Ukraine, while economic sanctions have been imposed on Russia.

According to U.S. Embassy Kyiv, Ukraine deployed large numbers of new U.S. M777 howitzers on the front lines. Washington also delivered most of the 90 artillery pieces that were required.

U.S. legislators are expected to continue this week their efforts to send additional aid.

Moscow refers to the invasion of Ukraine as a “special military operations” in order to expel fascists. Kyiv and Western leaders claim that this is an absurd pretext for a unprovoked war.

FIGHTING AROUND IZIUM

Ukrainian troops felt a sense of pride after their win in Eurovision, and some said it was a signal for future victories.

Vitaliy, a soldier stationed north of Kyiv, said, “We have proven that we can fight and we can sing very nicely.”

Most intense fighting was seen around Izium in eastern Russia, which is held by Russia. Russia claimed that it had attacked Ukrainian positions using missiles.

Ukraine’s Joint Forces Task Force said its troops had repelled 17 attacks on Sunday and destroyed 11 pieces of Russian equipment. According to the command of Ukraine’s air force, Ukrainian forces had destroyed seven Russian equipment, including two drones and two cruise missiles. .

Russia continues to attack civilian areas in Donetsk and Luhansk, with 23 towns and villages being shot at, according to the task force.

Reuters couldn’t confirm independently the reports. Russia denies targeting civilians.

Moscow can’t encircle Ukrainian troops at the Donbas without Ukraine being able to sustain its pressure on Izium supply lines and Russian supply line.

The Ukrainian military acknowledged its setbacks and said that Russian forces “continued to advance” in many areas of the Donbas.

According to Ukrainian officials, the missiles that destroyed military infrastructure in the western Ukraine and Poland overnight were shot from the Black Sea.

According to the regional council, another 10 civilians were injured in Mykolaiv’s southern region. However, they did not give any details.

The Russian bombardment of Mariupol’s steelworks was not stopped on Sunday, according to the Ukrainian military. A few hundred Ukrainian fighters have been fighting for their lives in Mariupol since the fall of Kiev into Russian control weeks ago.

In a video uploaded by a pro Russian separatist commander, brightly-colored munitions can be seen falling on steelworks.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, stated that “very difficult negotiations” are being held to save Azovstal and Mariupol from famine.

Some residents of port city ate outside and chatted with each other after the shelling and fire that erupted in April.

Natalya, a resident said she saw smoke coming from the kitchen. “I began to take out all my possessions and saved what I could.”

She stated that three of her neighbors had been killed during the fighting.

The shelling prevented us from burying them. Every day, we were putting someone in a grave but couldn’t cover it with soil.