As of 20:00 Kyiv time, the situation in the Donetsk region is tense, but controlled by the Ukrainian Joint Forces, reports General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Russian troops continue intensive shelling.

Despite numerous air, artillery and missile strikes, as well as a large number of armored vehicles, Russian troops could not move deeper into Ukraine in the eastern part of the country. Ukrainian military managed to repel attacks and keep all key locations and infrastructure.

Fierce …

"The new unfriendly steps of the EU against Russia and also fraternal Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republic will not be able to stop the progressive development of our states and the provision of assistance to them. In accordance with the basic principle of reciprocity of international law, we will take tough retaliatory measures," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“The EU mistakenly believes that sanctions against Russia will be effective,” the Kremlin said.

After the Kremlin …

Czech President Milos Zeman condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and called for the introduction of tough anti-Russian sanctions, including the disconnection of Russian banks from the international payment system SWIFT.

"With these actions , Russia is committing crimes against humanity," Zeman said  in a televised address. “The irrational decision of the leadership of the Russian Federation will cause significant damage to Russia itself. I think that the time has come to start tougher …