War in Ukraine, live: Situation in Severodonetsk remains confused, where “street fighting continues”, according to Kyiv

Live moderated by Eléa Pommiers

Cover photo: A Ukrainian woman walks past an apartment building damaged by a Russian missile attack in the town of Soledar, near Sievierodonestk, Donbass, eastern Ukraine, June 4, 2022. ARIS MESSINIS / AFP

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• Russia believes it has achieved some of the goals the “special military operation” it launched to “denazify” Ukraine and protect its Russian-speaking population. The Luhansk region would be 90% under control of Russia, acc British Ministry of Defence. “Victory will be ours,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy replied on Friday, June 3, in an Instagram video in which he appeared with several of his aides in front of the Presidential Administration Building in Kyiv.
• Battle rampages in Sievierodonetsk where “the struggle for full control” of the city continues, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army said. The governor of the Lugansk region Serhi Haidai acknowledged that “the situation in the entire region” is “extremely difficult”.
• In the south, especially in Kherson, the Ukrainians fear a possible annexation of the conquered areas by the Russian Armed Forces, Moscow is threatening referendums on the issue as early as July. However, according to the Southern Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Russians are encountering very strong resistance from the population.
• Concerns about the grain supply are growing, especially in Africa. The continent imports more than half of its grain from Ukraine and Russia. Concerns were brushed aside by Vladimir Putin, who, according to him, mentioned several opportunities for export. Current African Union (AU) President and Senegalese leader Macky Sall said he was “reassured” after his meeting with the Russian president on Friday. Ukraine’s foreign minister said on Friday that Ukraine is ready to “resume its exports from the port of Odessa” on condition that “Russia does not use the trade route to attack the city.”
• The European Union has banned most Russian oil imports with an embargo within six months in its sixth package of sanctions against Moscow to dry up the financing of the war against Ukraine after tough negotiations under pressure from Hungary.
• Switzerland refused a request from Denmark to send 22 armored vehicles Swiss made in Ukraine. The Swiss War Material Act, also known as the “Neutrality Act”, prohibits the transfer of Swiss-made weapon systems, ammunition and other war material to countries involved in international conflicts.

You can find our live from yesterday here.

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