The besieged city of Mariupol remains under Ukrainian control, while Russian forces are changing tactic, according to Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of the Donetsk region military administration.

Russian forces are advancing towards Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, located in the Northern part of the Donetsk region.

The towns Marinka and Avdiivka are under constant strikes and shelling.

Moreover, there is an offensive to the south toward Mariupol.

He said that the Ukrainian flag is flying over the city, while Ukrainian forces continue to defend Mariupol.

There is heavy bombardment, and there are tanks fighting on the streets.

Kyrylenko said, “The enemy is changing tactic.”

He added, “The reason for that is it has suffered losses, losses in terms of heavy artillery, in terms of its weapons and also personnel. These losses are felt by the Russian Federation itself. It is an undeniable fact. Therefore, they are forced to be more economical in terms of how they use their force, and they have to focus on certain areas in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions where they are trying to gain some strategic advantage.”

“However, we are going to frustrate their attack … It is difficult to do that, but we intend to do so. For that, we need help from our Western partners that has already been announced and that has already been requested by Ukraine. We are just asking that this help arrives more quickly and in greater volumes because we will stress again that defending Ukraine today means defending the whole civilized world,” he continued.

While violence between Ukrainians and pro-Russian rebels has raged in the region for years, he claims that pro-Russian attitudes have recently “been decreased” due to harsh Russian military operations.