04/07/2023 16:23 (act. 04/07/2023 04:30 pm)
Ukrainian presidential adviser Podoljak reports on achievements ©APA/AFP
According to Ukrainian reports, Russia has again attacked cities in southern and eastern Ukraine. Dozens of people were injured in an explosion in the town of Pervomaiskyi in eastern Ukraine. At least 31 injuries were reported, including several minors, Kharkov Region Governor Oleh Synyehubov told Telegram on Tuesday. In the affected residential area there is damage to eight apartment buildings and five cars.
According to preliminary information, it must have been a grenade impact. The county seat is more than 100 kilometers from the front lines in the east and the Russian border in the north. According to local prosecutors, a man and a woman were killed in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. The number of wounded was initially unclear.
The government in Kiev had already reported further progress in its counter-offensive against invading Russian troops. The last few days have been “particularly successful”, the head of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, said on Twitter. The current phase is about “the maximum destruction of troops, equipment, fuel depots, military vehicles, command posts, artillery and air defense forces of the Russian army”.
The counter-offensive progressed slowly due to the massive defensive positions of the Russian military. More recently, however, Ukraine has seen slight gains in territory.
The British Ministry of Defense reported on Tuesday that the Russians had been partially successful in delaying the start of the Ukrainian counter-offensive. This was mainly achieved through the massive use of anti-tank mines. “After slowing down the Ukrainian advance, Russia attempted to hit armored vehicles with single-use unmanned attack drones, attack helicopters and artillery,” the London daily intelligence report said. However, the occupants would suffer from crucial weaknesses. The units are reduced and artillery ammo is missing.
In the northeastern city of Sumy, the death toll rose to three after a Russian drone strike on Monday. According to local reports, 21 people were injured when a multi-story residential building was hit. The city has ordered a day of mourning for Tuesday.
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, heavy fighting near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, in the Donetsk region, continued. The Ukrainian military managed to repel several attacks under heavy fire from enemy aircraft and artillery. In the east, Russian troops concentrated their attacks in the directions of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marjinka. There were over 40 battles there. Additionally, Iranian Shahed drones were used against civilian infrastructure in the Sumy and Donetsk regions and Zaporizhia in the south.
Meanwhile, Russia sees no basis for renewing the deal on Ukraine’s grain exports. This was announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow on Tuesday, nearly two weeks before the current regulation expires. However, everything will be done so that all ships can leave the Black Sea ports intended for this by 17 July.
Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova rejected the European Union’s consideration of establishing a subsidiary of Russia’s responsible agricultural bank Rosselkhosbank, which could be reconnected to the Swift international payment system. Such an approach is not feasible, said Zakharova. Russia had mentioned the reinstatement of the agricultural bank in the Swift system as one of its conditions for a further extension of the grain deal. Russia has long threatened to cancel the deal. The aggressor state accuses the West of not meeting demands to remove barriers to the export of Russian grain and fertilizer.