Ukraine will not cede an inch of its land to Russia - the issue of surrendering Ukrainian territories will not be part of any diplomatic negotiations to end the war. Volodymyr Zelensky stated this in an interview with CNN..

“Ukrainians are not ready to give up their land, to agree that these territories belong to Russia. This is our land. We always talk about it and intend to prove it,” the President said..

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Zelensky acknowledged that Russia now controls almost the entire Lugansk region, saying that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are now fighting on the outskirts of this region. According to him, Kyiv retreated to avoid massive losses in the army..

“I don’t even understand what they control there. They destroyed cities, schools. These are the occupiers of the rubble? "

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In order to save the lives of the soldiers, the Ukrainian troops left their positions after heavy fighting for Lisichansk in the Lugansk region..

As of the morning of July 7, the Russians still have not reached the borders of the Lugansk region and cannot advance in all other directions.

Aleksey Arestovich, Advisor to the Head of the President’s Office, explained that the defense of the Lisichansk-Severodonetsk agglomeration is a successful military operation.

According to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the withdrawal of the Ukrainian troops to Seversk, Donetsk region, will allow the Armed Forces of Ukraine to somewhat reduce the risk of encirclement by the Russian army..