Day 133 of the Invasion of Ukraine: Russian Troops heading South, Sloviansk is the New Front line in Donbas

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Russian troops in Ukraine are heading south, Slavyansk is the new front line in Donbas

Russian troops are fighting hard and pushing their way into eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region after taking control of the last two towns in neighboring Luhansk.

The governor of Luhansk region, Serhii Haidai, said Russian troops had suffered heavy losses in the capture of the cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk but were directing their efforts to the south. At least two people were killed and seven were wounded in shelling of a market and a residential area in the Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, local authorities said.

The city is the new front line in Donbas. Many places in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Mykolaiv regions were subjected to intense shelling.

Russian missile strikes also hit the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, Mayor Oleksandr Senkevich said.

Separatists are ceasing foreign ships

The pro-Russian separatist authorities of Mariupol have seized two foreign ships and claim that the vessels are now "state property". The owners of the Bulgarian ship "Tsarevna", which is at the port, told BNR that these actions do not affect the Bulgarian vessel.

Meanwhile, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that the so-called special military operation in Ukraine will continue until the tasks set by the president and commander-in-chief are fully completed. Shoigu accused the West of continuing arms deliveries to Ukraine in order to prolong the conflict and assured that the Russian military was making efforts to ensure safe shipping in the waters of the Black and Azov Seas....