Russian forces are “firing heavily” as a multilateral offensive takes place in three areas, according to the Ukrainian military leadership. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Thursday that the Russians are focusing on making a significant discovery in the Izium region of eastern Ukraine. Izium – in the Kharkiv region – has become a stopping point for Russian forces as they try to advance through the neighboring areas of Donetsk and Luhansk. “In order to strengthen the promoted team, the occupiers transferred additional airborne units to the city of Izium,” the General Staff said in its daily operational briefing. One of Russia’s goals is to move to the Liman settlement, which is located near the Sloviansk industrial and transport hub, he said. “The enemy has improved its tactical position, trying to launch an attack on the village of Liman,” said the General Staff, which is preparing to cross the Seversky Donets River. Pictures that surfaced Wednesday show a bridge over the river destroyed. In the southeast, near the city of Donetsk, “the main efforts are focused on encircling the Defense Forces,” the General Staff said, with the towns of Mariinka and Oceretin coming under fire. In the Luhansk region, the Russians are attacking the small town of Orikhove, the General Staff announced. Serhii Haidai, head of the Luhansk regional military administration, said Russia’s attack near Orikhove had not been successful. But the city of Lysychansk, about 28 kilometers (17 miles) away, was hit hard, with 13 buildings destroyed. “Of all the successes in Lysychansk, 99% (…) are in residential neighborhoods, homes, markets and shops,” Haidai said. Haidai said the hospital in Sheverodonetsk was still operating despite Wednesday’s bombing. In southern Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian military, the Russians are using an airport at Melitopol airport as a base for Su-25 attack aircraft, Ka-52 attack helicopters and Mi-8 transport and combat aircraft. The army acknowledged that the Russians had made gradual progress in the Kherson area as they tried to advance on the town of Mykolaiv. “The enemy has established itself in the area of ​​the Tavrijske settlement, and from there nearby villages are being bombed,” he said. The General Staff claimed that a Russian plane and six drones were shot down on Wednesday, while five tanks and other armored vehicles were destroyed on the ground. Background: As part of the second phase of its invasion, Russia has stated that it wants to secure all of eastern Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk – parts of which have been backed by Russian separatists since 2014 – and to establish a landlocked bridge connecting the Russian region of Rostov with the Crimea, which Russia occupied from Ukraine eight years ago.