"The Kiev regime has undertaken another large-scale provocation, firing indiscriminately from various types of weapons, including rockets, at civilian buildings, residential houses and ambulances," the Russian President said.

"This is a heavily fortified area, which they will most likely hold until the end in order to contain our forces as much as possible, because if they do not contain them there, then the entire [Ukrainian] defense will crumble."

"Toretsk is already in an operational semi-encirclement," says Klupov, adding that the city's liberation will also curb Ukraine's ability to shell Donetsk, Gorlovka and other residential areas of the DPR.

"The Ukrainian side is suffering very serious losses in command personnel. And they cannot fill this gap... At the operational-strategic and strategic level, they often undermine themselves by top brass replacements. They replaced [Commander-in-Chief Valery] Zaluzhny with [Oleksandr] Syrsky and the situation at the front has not changed at all or maybe it has even gotten worse," the pundit concludes.

"If the world is so globally divided today and holds polar views on issues of war and peace, good and evil, morality and immorality, then Russia has the right to defend its position, values, and notions about who conducts activities for global peace in a dignified manner,” he says.

“[Leo] Tolstoy experienced war firsthand, serving as an officer and artilleryman defending Russian Sevastopol and Crimea. He participated in military events in the Caucasus and even outside Russia, on the Danube in Silistra. He was often close to death and could have been captured multiple times. He saw death and the massive loss of life. He knew what he was talking and writing about from personal experience," stresses his descendant.

"Who is Penny Wong to criticize Russia's or North Korea's behavior? North Korea and Russia are both sovereign countries, and it's not up to Australia or Penny Wong or Joe Biden or the UK or Germany or any other country in the world to stop Russian-North Korean collaboration," journalist said.