Russia’s 120th day of war against Ukraine opens with the announcement of new sanctions by US President Joe Biden. The United States and G7 leaders will announce new measures to increase pressure on Russia at the upcoming summit in Germany.
The deepening – War in Ukraine, now Italians are afraid: 2 out of 3 fear price increases and a drop in the standard of living
The document – The deportation of children, three hundred thousand snatched from their parents. Thus Russia faces trial for genocide
The background –
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Updates hour by hour
07.40 – The Russians conquer two villages at the gates of Severodonetsk
Russian forces have captured two villages on the outskirts of Severodonetsk, a strategic city located in the Luhansk region, in Donbass, which for days has been the declared target of the Moscow offensive. This was announced by the Ukrainian General Staff in a statement, claiming that “the enemy has conquered the settlements of Loskutivka and Rai-Oleksandrivka and is conducting assault operations to take control of the Syrotyne settlement”.
07.30 – Zelensky: Moscow wants to make Donbass like Mariupol
“There are massive air and artillery attacks in the Donbass. The goal of the (Russian) occupiers remains the same: they want to destroy the whole Donbas step by step. Lysychansk, Slovyansk, Kramatorsk: they aim to transform any city into Mariupol, a pile of rubble ». This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the night, urging the West to speed up the supply of weapons.
07.20 – London Intelligence: “The Russians have been advancing towards Lysychansk since Sunday
Since last Sunday, Russian forces have advanced over 5 kilometers towards the city of Lysychansk, in the Donbass. British intelligence underlines this in a new update of the situation on the battlefield. “Some Ukrainian units have withdrawn, probably to avoid being encircled”, the British intelligence specified, underlining how the Russian military progress in this sector is “probably the result of the recent strengthening of the units and the strong concentration of fire”. “The Russian forces are putting pressure on the Lysychansk-Severodonetsk pocket,” added the intelligence, arguing, however, that it cannot yet be said that they have taken control of the entire western part of the Donetsk oblast.
06.50 – Zelensky asks for more heavy and powerful weapons
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow’s massive air and artillery strikes are aimed at destroying the entire Donbas region and urged Ukraine’s allies to speed up the shipment of heavy weapons to match Russia on the battlefield. battle. The struggle for the twin cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk in the Luhansk region of Ukraine is “entering a kind of terrible climax,” said Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to President Zelensky. “We must liberate our land and achieve victory, but faster, much faster,” said Zelenskiy in a video speech released on the day of the European Council – in which member states will launch a document of support for Ukraine – reiterating the demands for more powerful and faster weapons. “There have been massive air and artillery attacks in the Donbas – he continued – the objective of the occupying forces is always the same, they want to destroy the whole Donbas step by step”. This is the reason, he continued, “why we stress again and again the acceleration of arms deliveries to Ukraine. What is needed quickly is equality on the battlefield to stop this diabolical army and push it beyond the borders of the country ».
06.30 – Johnson: “Putin must fail”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says no to “a bad peace in Ukraine” and invites the West not to stop. “Putin must fail,” he claims, in an interview with Corriere della Sera. For Johnson in Ukraine, it is necessary to return to the borders that existed before February 24th. “The Ukrainian territory must be restored, at least in the borders before February 24, the sovereignty and security of Ukraine must be protected,” he stresses. And he explains: “What we have to do is work together as Europeans to avoid what I believe would be a disaster, that is, a bad peace in Ukraine, forcing Ukrainians to accept terms that should be anathema to Europeans.”
02.06 – Lavrov to Tehran from Raisi to strengthen cooperation
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has arrived in Iran to hold talks on strengthening trade and energy cooperation as the two countries grapple with Western economic sanctions. Tehran and Moscow both have huge reserves of oil and gas, but are bound by sanctions that limit their ability to export production. “Upon his arrival in Tehran, Lavrov met with President (Ebrahim) Raisi,” reported the website of the Iranian state TV Iribnews. And the Russian Foreign Ministry published a part of Lavrov’s speech during the meeting in which he claims that Moscow was adapting to what he calls the aggressive policies of the West. “In all countries that suffer the negative influence of the selfish line taken by the United States and its allies – Lavrov said – there is an objective need to reconfigure economic relations, so as not to have to depend on the whims of our Western partners” . Always second Iribnews, during his two-day visit, the Russian minister is expected to discuss with Iranian officials “the nuclear agreement of 2015, the situation in Ukraine, Syria and Afghanistan and the strengthening of trade and energy cooperation” between the two countries. Last month, Moscow said that Russia and Iran – both of which are subject to Western sanctions and possess some of the world‘s largest oil and gas reserves – had discussed trading oil and gas supplies and creating a logistics hub.
00.30 – Two large agricultural terminals in Mykolaiv bombed
Agri-food multinationals Bunge and Viterra said two of their grain terminals in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv were hit in a Russian attack. The port terminal of Evri, owned by Viterra, “was damaged by a missile attack, during which one person was slightly injured,” said a spokesman for the group, adding that two silos were on fire and a third damaged. This site, purchased in 2020 by Glencore, the parent company of Viterra, has a storage capacity of 160,000 tons. As for Bunge, its facilities were “hit during the latest Russian attacks in the region,” a spokeswoman said. “A more thorough inspection is needed to assess the exact impact on the facility,” Bunge said in an e-mailed statement. None of the personnel were injured in the terminal, which has been closed since the first day of the Russian invasion on February 24, and includes a storage site, ship loading and a vegetable oil production unit.
Draghi: “Arms and sanctions to allow Ukraine to defend itself. Food crisis Russia’s fault”
00.20 – Johnson: “Russia’s momentum will slow down in the coming months”
British intelligence predicts that Russia’s momentum in Ukraine will slow down in the coming months. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told some European newspapers. “Our intelligence service believes that in the coming months Russia could reach a point where there will be no more momentum forward because it has exhausted its resources”, are the words of him reported by the Guardian. «We must help the Ukrainians to reverse the dynamics. I will discuss this at the G7 summit in Germany over the weekend, ”he added.
00.05 – Biden at the G7 will propose new measures against Russia
At the next G7 summit in Germany, US President Joe Biden will propose to the leaders new measures against Russia, to “increase the pressure” on Moscow. The American media reported this, quoting the words of a senior US administration official during a briefing.
The breaking latest news of Wednesday 22 June