Russian offensive in Donbass, where Moscow is stationing next-generation Terminator tanks, according to British intelligence. The Russians say they destroyed 13 military bases, 4 ammunition depots and 3 Ukrainian command posts with precision missiles in 24 hours. Zelenskyy speaks of an extremely difficult situation. According to the Lugansk military administration, the Russians are trying to enter Severodonetsk from four directions, but have so far been pushed back. Fire on houses and civilian structures, says Ukrainian police, in Donetsk region, 7 dead. Roads and bridges mined by the Russians in Kherson.
The Russians are concentrating their forces on attacking Severodonetsk, which is “turning into a new Mariupol,” Ukrainian Human Rights Commissar of the Verkhovna Rada Lyudmila Denizova told Telegram, reports Ukrinform. “In many areas, enemy attacks are constantly being carried out and settlements are being bombarded with rockets from artillery and skeet systems. The enemy has concentrated all its forces on the attack on Severodonetsk, on the outskirts of which fighting is constantly taking place. . The city is turning into a new Mariupol,” he said.
Russian negotiators, meanwhile, deny opening the possibility of a prisoner swap between fighters from the Azov Battalion and pro-Russian oligarch Medvedchuk. However, Zelenskyy links the fate of the military heroes to the peace negotiations themselves. But Moscow wants to bring the prisoners to justice. Polish President Duda has arrived in Ukraine: he will speak in Parliament. Draghi calls the Ukrainian President and “guarantees Italy’s continued support for the adoption of the sixth package of sanctions against Russia, the opening of ports and for Kiev’s accession to the EU”. Zelensky thanks him.
ANSA agency
The Straight from the Cities (ANSA)
ZELENKSY
“Today 22 million tons (wheat) is blocked and the Russians are constantly stealing it and taking it elsewhere. The world community must help Ukraine to free up seaports, otherwise the energy crisis will be followed by a food crisis. “Russia has blocked almost all ports and all maritime opportunities to export food: our wheat, barley, sunflowers and more. These roads must be cleared because there will be a crisis in the world. There are several ways to unlock them, and one way is through the army. That is why we are turning to our partners to demand arms,” he added.
THE CONFLICT
Explosions in the Kyiv region They were recorded around 1:30 p.m., 12:30 p.m. Italian time and were also reported in the nearby Zhytomyr region soon after. The Russians fired on civilian houses and buildings in the Donetsk region, 7 people were killed in attacks on the villages of Bakhmut, Soledar, Avdiyivka, Sviatohirsk, Mykolayivka, Toretsk, Zalizne, Raigorodok, Lastochkine, Pervomaiske, Yarova, Salt. This was reported by the National Police of Ukraine, according to Ukrinform.
“Inmates fired on 12 settlements. There were dead and wounded. More than 40 houses, a school, a music school, an institute, shops and life support facilities were destroyed.” The Russians were reported to be firing from planes, tanks, heavy artillery and several Hail rocket launchers.
Heavy casualties from Russian missile attack on Lozova on Friday, in the eastern region of Kharkiv: more than a thousand homes and 11 school facilities affected. Mayor Sergiy Zelensky, quoted by CNN, said: “The numbers are shocking: 11 schools were hit, including five schools. The extent of the damage suffered by a hospital and clinic is not yet known. Even the edifice of culture has been completely destroyed,” he said. “Among the damaged school facilities is the Lozova branch of the Kharkiv Higher Institute of Automobiles and Roads.
Seven people were injured in the attack, including an 11-year-old boy. Lozova is about 73 kilometers southwest of Izium, a Russian-occupied city in the Kharkiv region.
EUROPE
Ukraine’s EU accession will “take 15 or 20 years, it will take a very long time”: French Minister for European Affairs Clement Beaune declared that in the meantime he could join the European political community proposed by President Emmanuel Macron .
“I think there is one change that does not benefit Putin and it gives him work. Even in Russian power there are splits. It will probably take a long time, and Putin is not in a good position: now he is weaker than before and tomorrow will be weaker than today,” EU Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans said in an interview with Lucia Annunziata in Half hour more. For Timmermans, “Russian society is changing step by step, especially mothers who don’t see their children and wonder what is happening. Then there are now expressions of protest in the concerts”. “Putin’s friends are very quiet, in fact we didn’t see anyone, not even in Italy. They’re under the table, but they should be clearer and say, ‘We were wrong’.” Timmermans said he was optimistic because “the populists lost in the elections and the only populist who won was Orban, who is a friend of Putin. They talk about freedom, but then they don’t want a free society with a free press – a fight not only for the economy, but also for the values of the citizens, and we cannot lose this fight”.