- The arms research agency says the risk of a nuclear war is higher today than at any time since the height of the Cold War.
- Local officials said Russian troops blew up a bridge over the Donets River in Sivirski that connected the embattled city of Severo Donetsk to its twin city Lisichansk, cutting off a possible evacuation route for civilians.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia could have suffered more than 40,000 casualties in June since the war began.
- Moscow-backed officials are consolidating their control of the occupied territories, installing the Russian flag in the administrative center of Melitopol and flying the Russian flag on the highway leading to the strategic city of Mariupol, while at the entrance to the port city. The emblem is painted in the colors of the Russian flag.
- The officials, who called themselves officials, also celebrated Russia Day on Sunday and started issuing Russian passports to residents of Melitopol, RIA Novosti reported.
Here are all the latest updates:
Canadian Foreign Office condemns official visit to Russian embassy
Canada’s foreign minister said it was “unacceptable” for a Canadian official to attend Russia Day celebrations at the Russian embassy in Ottawa.
The Globe and Mail reported in a report that Yasemin Heinbecker, Canada’s deputy minister of protocol for global affairs, attended Friday’s event with representatives from Egypt, Pakistan and some African countries.
Melanie Jolly tweeted, “Canada representatives should not be attending events at the Russian Embassy, nor will Canadian representatives participate in such events again.”
Jolly also reiterated Canada’s support for Ukraine against Russian aggression.
Russian army should seize bridges, not destroy them: ISW
The Institute for War Studies (ISW) said that the Russian military should in principle seek to seize the bridges rather than destroy them, as Russian troops have struggled in the past to cross the Seversky Donetsk River.
Ukrainian officials recently said Russia had destroyed bridges over the rivers linking Severo-Donetsk and Lisichansk, cutting off civilian evacuation routes, a move that the War Institute said may have been designed to cut off the route from Bakhmut to Lisichansk and Ukrainian terrestrial communication line in Severo-Donetsk.
“They may want to trap the Ukrainian defenders in Severo Donetsk by cutting off the retreat route, but the advantage of seizing relatively few defenders does not seem It’s probably worth the price of imposing a disputed river crossing for the Russian military.”
The Institute of War said it is likely that Russian troops would break through their positions from near Toshkevna or Popasna and encircle Lisichansk or attack it from the west bank of the river, “thus avoiding the need to seize bridges or make opposing crossings. “.
Ukraine finds 50 Russian agents in Lisichansk: Governor
The governor of the Luhansk region said Ukraine detected sabotage in Lisichansk by 50 people who leaked information on Ukraine’s operations to Russian troops to help Moscow launch an offensive.
Ukrainian security services and police searched through shared network data and found the operator’s mobile device “to share information too vividly with the Russian Telegram channel,” Sergey Gadayi said.
“Traitors, they went to our humanitarian headquarters, used the internet to leak information to the Russians, and the city burned down,” Al-Qaeday wrote on Facebook.
“It’s worth noting that Russian agents transmit data through the Starlink satellite network… They deceived Ukraine, they know that their actions are killing and destroying, why should they betray their own people?” But he did not Explain what the consequences of this behavior are.
Russian climbers raise Ukrainian flag on Mount Everest
A Russian climber and blogger unfurled the Ukrainian flag as she climbed Mount Everest to oppose her country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Photos of Ekaterina Lipka on top of Mount Everest were loaded like crazy after Olexander scherba, the former Ukrainian ambassador to Austria, shared the incident on Twitter on Sunday. photo.
The climber also released a photo of himself on the summit with the caption “Free Navalny” in support of Russian anti-corruption activist and opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in March Sentenced to 9 years in prison.
Russian original McDonald’s store reopens in Moscow
Hundreds of people flocked to its famous former location in Moscow’s Pushkin Square as the restaurant reopened on Sunday under a Russian owner and a new name, after a three-month suspension of operations in Russia.
The logo is different, but still reminiscent of the golden arches: a circle and two yellow rectangles – representing beef patties and French fries, and the new name of the Russian chain was not announced until a few hours before the Pushkin Square restaurant opened: Vkusno-i Tochka (Tasty-period).
Fifteen former McDonald’s will reopen in Moscow on Sunday, and the chain’s general manager, Oleg Paroev, said he is aiming to open 200 by the end of the month.
McDonald’s sold 850 of its restaurants to businessman Alexander Govor, who owns 25 franchises in Siberia.
Kyiv exhibition shows remnants of Russia’s war with Ukraine
Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, has hosted an exhibition showcasing the country’s ongoing war paraphernalia.
From seized vehicles and collected missile remnants, to slippers, toothbrushes and burner phones used and left behind by the Russian military, all are on display at the State History Museum of Ukraine during World War II.
The head of the education ministry, Dmitro Heinedinov, said many of the objects were collected by museum staff while visiting newly liberated areas in order to “highlight certain aspects of Russia’s war against Ukraine”.
“The purpose of this exhibition is to raise awareness of the war with the help of real artifacts,” said Dmitro Heinedinov.
Weapons Institute says global nuclear arsenal expected to grow
Global stockpiles of nuclear weapons could soon rise again for the first time since the Cold War due to global tensions, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said.
“Russia has even publicly threatened the possible use of nuclear weapons in the context of the war in Ukraine,” SIPRI said in its 2022 yearbook summary.
“Despite some notable progress in both nuclear arms control and nuclear disarmament over the past year, the risk of using nuclear weapons now appears to be higher than at any time since the height of the Cold War,” said Dan Smith, head of SIPRI.
The total number of nuclear warheads worldwide has declined slightly over the past year, to an estimated 12,705, with about 90 percent of nuclear weapons in the hands of the United States and Russia.
Zelensky accuses Russian generals of using soldiers as ‘cannon fodder’
Zelensky has said Moscow’s tactics have not changed in the war, and that undertrained Russian reserves are now deployed in the Donbas campaign to fight for “every inch” of land there.
In his daily address to the nation, Zelensky questioned, “The Russian army is trying to deploy reserves in Donbass, but what reserves do they have now?”
Zelensky said, “It seems that they will try to put trained conscripts and those who have been collected through covert mobilization into battle.”
Meanwhile, Zelensky added, “Russian generals see their people simply as cannon fodder they need to gain an advantage in numbers.”
Russia war casualties may exceed 40,000 this month: Ukraine president
Zelensky has said that since the start of the war, Russia may have suffered more than 40,000 casualties in the war this month.
Addressing the nation on Sunday in his 109th daily address since the start of the Russian invasion, Zelensky reiterated Ukraine’s call for advanced Western air defenses.
Zelensky said such a defense could avert many tragedies, including Sunday’s airstrike on Ternopil that left 10 people hospitalized, including a 12-year-old girl.
Zelensky said these events are replacing Peter the Great and novelist Leo Tolstoy as the world‘s view of Russia now.
Russia destroys bridge over Ukrainian river, cutting off escape routes
Russian troops blew up a bridge connecting the beleaguered Ukrainian city of Severo Donetsk with another city across the river, cutting off a possible evacuation route for civilians, local officials said.
Russian troops have occupied much of the city, but Ukrainian forces still control an industrial area and the Azot chemical plant, where hundreds of civilians have taken refuge.
Lugansk Governor Sergei Gaidai said the Russians had destroyed a bridge over the Donets River in Sivirski that connected Severo-Donetsk with its twin city Lisichansk.
“If the bridge collapses after the new shelling, the city really has to be cut off and there is no way for cars to leave Severo Donetsk,” said Gadayi, noting the lack of a ceasefire and agreed evacuation corridors.
Russian flag flying at the entrance to Mariupol
A new city sign painted in the colors of the Russian flag was unveiled on the outskirts of Mariupol, replacing Ukraine’s blue and gold monument.
Meanwhile, Russian flags fly on the highway to the port city, which is now fully under the control of Moscow-backed forces.
According to Kremlin authorities, the seaport is now ready to operate as usual and is being used to deliver goods to and from Russia.
Click here to read all updates for Sunday, June 12.