The Ukrainian military said Friday that Russia was trying to establish governance structures in the “temporarily occupied” areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and parts of Zaporizhia. The statement came after days of warnings that Moscow was preparing to intensify its attacks. Russia has increased the number of troops in the Donbas region as it continues its military offensive in the south of the country. The British intelligence services reported that Russia was redeploying forces from Georgia to fight in Ukraine. The Ukrainian military said: “In the occupied territories, the Russian enemy continues its illegal activities, restricting the movement of civilians, using the houses and apartments of locals to house staff and holding hostages locals and activists. “Raids and violence against Ukrainian citizens continue.” The allegations of the Ukrainian and Russian armies cannot be independently verified.

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Zelensky also said he had stripped two generals of their military ranks. The Ukrainian president called the former head of internal security at the SBU, Ukraine’s intelligence service, and a general who was previously in charge of SBU security in the Kherson region “traitors” and “anti-heroes.” Ukrainian forces have prevented Russia from occupying major cities, including Kiev, where Moscow has withdrawn some troops fighting near the capital. But the war is raging in the east and south, where Russian forces are pounding the besieged port of Mariupol despite pledges to enforce a ceasefire. Moscow has said it is in the “final phase” of operations after the “success of all key tasks” in northern Ukraine and will focus on the Donbas region in the east, where it has already occupied territory. On Thursday, a U.S. official said Russia had intensified its airstrikes on Ukraine, raising further doubts about Moscow’s claims that it was de-escalating and relocating its forces to Ukraine. The strikes rallied around Kyiv, Chernihiv, Izium, Mariupol and Donbass. “Despite all this talk of de-escalation and removal, Kyiv is very much threatened by air raids,” the official said.

“The situation in the south and in Donbass remains extremely difficult,” Zelensky said in a video clip early Friday. “In Donbas, in Mariupol, in the direction of Kharkov, Russian troops are accumulating the possibility of strikes. Strong blows. We will defend ourselves. “ Zelensky urged European Council President Charles Michel to provide more support, including more sanctions on Moscow, financial assistance to Ukraine and the country’s rapid accession to the EU. “We need more support from our partners right now. “When the Russian army gathers additional forces in certain areas,” Zelensky said. Australia said Friday it would provide armored vehicles to Ukraine a day after Zelensky addressed the country’s parliament for more help.