The essentials in brief:
Port city of Odessa under attack again
Ukraine confirms attack on Crimean peninsula
Stoltenberg assures Selenskyj support
Tank Repair Center in Gliwice now operational
“Odessa: another night attack of the monsters,” said Oleh Kiper, governor of southern Ukraine’s Odessa region, via the short message service Telegram. And he shared: “Unfortunately, we have a civilian who was killed.” According to Kiper, there was also material damage to “civilian infrastructure, residential buildings and religious institutions”. According to agency reports, the largest Orthodox church in the city of Odessa, the so-called Transfiguration Cathedral, was also badly damaged.
Ukraine confirms attack on Crimean peninsula
The Ukrainian military has confirmed an attack on the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014. The attack on Saturday was aimed at “military facilities” and was carried out by the Ukrainian armed forces, army sources said. No further details were given.
Crimea governor Sergey Aksyonov, appointed by Moscow, had previously announced that an ammunition dump had exploded as a result of a Ukrainian drone attack. After that, it was decided in the Krasnogvardeyskoye region to evacuate within a five-kilometer radius of the camp. According to Aksyonov, after the attack, train services in Crimea were temporarily disrupted.
Roadblock near the ammunition dump that was attackedImage: STRINGER/AFP
At the beginning of June, the Ukrainian army launched a counter-offensive to recapture areas occupied by Russia. She also stated that she wanted to regain control of Crimea. Most of the supplies for the Russian occupying forces in southern Ukraine pass through the peninsula. The 19-kilometer bridge from the Russian mainland to Crimea was only damaged by an attack earlier this week.
Stoltenberg assures Selenskyj support
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has strongly criticized Russia’s withdrawal from the international agreement on grain exports across the Black Sea. “We strongly condemn Moscow’s attempt to use food as a weapon,” he said after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Stoltenberg assured that the allies would stand by Ukraine for as long as necessary. The country attacked by Russia is closer to NATO than ever after the alliance’s most recent summit.
Zelenskyy also pushed for the continuation of grain exports across the Black Sea. “Any destabilization in this region and the disruption of our export routes brings problems with corresponding consequences for all people in the world,” he said in his video address on Saturday evening. The increase in food prices is the smallest problem.
Met in person at the NATO summit a week and a half ago: Volodymyr Zelenskyj (left) and Jens StoltenbergImage: Mindaugas Kulbis/AP Photo/picture alliance
Zelenskyi reported that he discussed steps to remove the naval blockade and secure the grain corridor with Stoltenberg. A session of the newly established Ukraine-NATO Council could help to overcome the security crisis in the Black Sea, said the head of state. The body will discuss the situation at ambassador level in the coming week, NATO said. The meeting was scheduled at Zelensky’s request.
Russia let the grain agreement expire last Monday. The Kremlin thus reinstated its blockade of Ukrainian ports and threatened ships en route to these ports with attacks. Since last summer, the agreement has enabled Ukraine to export almost 33 million tons of grain and other foodstuffs abroad despite Russia’s war of aggression.
Cluster munitions also hit war reporters
Russia has blamed the West for the death of a Russian journalist in Ukraine. The Foreign Ministry in Moscow said the attack was a “heinous and premeditated crime” committed by Ukraine and its Western backers. It announced a corresponding “response”. Those responsible for this “brutal massacre” would “inevitably receive the punishment they deserve” – including those who supplied the cluster munitions to Ukraine.
The Russian army had previously announced that Rostislav Zhuravlyov, a reporter working for the Russian state news agency Ria Novosti, had been killed in a Ukrainian attack in the southern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhia. According to Ria Nowosti, three other journalists were injured. The Russian military accused Ukraine of using cluster munitions in the attack.
Ievgen Shylko, a cameraman for Deutsche Welle, was injured by Russian cluster munitions while filming in eastern Ukraine on Saturday. DW correspondent Mathias Bölinger and a security guard survived the attack in Donbass unharmed.
Reporting for DW from Ukraine: Mathias Bölinger (archive photo)Image: DW
DW Director General Peter Limbourg took the opportunity to point out the difficult work of journalists working in the war zone. “They risk their lives every day to report on the Russian war of aggression – they have my greatest respect and thanks,” Limbourg said.
Tank Repair Center in Gliwice now operational
According to Poland, it has opened a center for the repair of tanks from Ukraine. The facility in the southern city of Gliwice has started operations, Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak tweeted. The first two main battle tanks of the German Leopard type had arrived there.
Poland does not allow Russian tennis players to enter the country
Russian tennis player Vera Zvonarewa has been banned from entering Poland. According to the Polish Ministry of the Interior, the doubles partner of the German Laura Siegemund had tried to come from Belgrade to Warsaw with a visa issued by France, where she wanted to take part in a WTA tournament. Swonarewa was therefore stopped at the airport in the Polish capital. The 38-year-old had to stay in the transit area and later flew on to the Montenegrin capital Podgorica.
Zwonareva is on a list of “undesirables” in Poland compiled in connection with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Poland does not allow people into the country “who support the actions of Russia and Belarus,” a source in Warsaw said.
wa/mak (dpa, afp, rtr, DW)
This article will be continuously updated on the day of its publication. Reports from war zones cannot be independently verified.