Russian forces surround Sievierodonetsk and Lyschansk, according to the UK Ministry of Defense
Russian ground forces continue their attempt to surround Sievierodonetsk and Lyschansk, after recently capturing several villages northwest of Popasna, the UK Defense Ministry said in its latest report.
Russia is pushing Sievierodonetsk’s pocket even as Ukraine retains control of multiple defended sectors, denying Russia full control of the Donbass.
The Group of Forces of Southern Russia (SGF) is likely to remain in charge of occupying the territory of southern Ukraine. In recent days, Russia has probably moved 50-year-old T-62 tanks from deep storage to the SGF’s area of responsibility.
The T-62s will almost certainly be especially vulnerable to anti-tank weapons, and their presence on the battlefield highlights the shortage of modern, combat-ready equipment in Russia.
Updated at 07.24 BST
Turkey expects Sweden and Finland to stop what it says is their “support for terrorism” in order for Ankara to raise its opposition to joining NATO, said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.
The two Nordic countries formally applied to join the military alliance last week and all 30 NATO member states must give their approval in order to be admitted.
However, Turkey has challenged its NATO bids, claiming to house people linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group and supporters of Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016. .
Çavuşoğlu told reporters at a press conference, quoted by Reuters:
A concrete step needs to be taken with regard to Turkey’s concerns. They must cut back on terrorism.
The Finnish and Swedish delegations visited the Turkish capital on Wednesday for talks with Turkish officials. After the meetings, a spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Ankara had observed a positive attitude in lifting the arms export embargo.
Moscow and Kyiv blame each other for frozen peace talks
The Kremlin has blamed Kyiv for halting peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, alleging that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy “constantly makes contradictory statements.”
In his daily briefing with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said:
The Ukrainian leadership constantly makes contradictory statements. This does not allow us to fully understand what the Ukrainian side wants.
Today, Zelensky said he had repeatedly tried to arrange a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to end the war, but that Moscow did not yet appear ready for serious talks.
Zelenskiy said:
There are things to discuss with the Russian leader. I’m not saying that … our people want (for me) to talk to him, but we have to face the realities of what we are experiencing.
What do we want from this meeting? … We want our lives back … We want to recover the life of a sovereign country within its own territory.
Ukrainian experts in bomb disposal and demining equipment clean up a lake and a field of unexploded ordnance and mines in the suburb of Horenka in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photo: Christopher Furlong / Getty Images Demining and clearing unexploded ordnance in Ukraine after the Russian invasion could take five to seven years. Photo: Christopher Furlong / Getty Images Ukrainian experts in bomb disposal and demining equipment in the suburbs of Horenka in Kyiv. Photography: Christopher Furlong / Getty Images
Updated at 11:53 BST
Moscow says the West has declared “total war” on Russia
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused Western countries of waging a “total war” against Russia and its people and culture.
Western allies are “canceling Russia and everything related to it,” including a ban on Russian writers, composers and other cultural figures, it said at a ministry meeting.
Lavrov said:
The West has declared war on us, the whole Russian world. The culture of canceling Russia and everything related to our country is already reaching the point of absurdity.
He was “sure to say” that the situation “will be with us for a long time,” he said.
He said the US “and its satellites are doubling, tripling, quadrupling their efforts to contain our country,” using “the widest range of tools, from unilateral economic sanctions to completely false propaganda in the world.” ‘global media space’.
Added:
In many Western countries, daily Russophobia has become unprecedented in nature and, to our great regret, is encouraged by government circles in various countries.
Hello everybody. It’s Léonie Chao-Fong here again, in charge of Martin Belam’s live blog to introduce you to all the news about the Ukrainian war. Feel free to contact us on Twitter or by email.
Updated at 11.54 BST
Russia is making “slow but palpable” progress in Ukraine, says the United Kingdom
Andrew Sparrow
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, said that Russia was making “slow but palpable” progress in the Donbas.
In an interview with Bloomberg, excerpts of which are published throughout the day, Johnson said:
I think it’s very, very important that we are not fooled by the incredible heroism of the Ukrainians in pushing back the Russians from the gates of Kyiv.
I fear that Putin, at great cost to himself and to the Russian army, will continue to chew the ground in the Donbas, continue to make gradual, slow progress, but, I fear, palpable. Therefore, it is absolutely vital that we continue to provide military support to the Ukrainians.
As reported by Bloomberg, Johnson said he would like to see more military support in Ukraine, including more multi-launch rocket systems that would allow Ukrainians to attack Russian targets from a greater distance.
Boris Johnson with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during the Prime Minister’s recent visit to Kyiv. Photo: Government of Ukraine / AP
He also seemed to reject the prospect of negotiating with Vladimir Putin, saying the Russian president could not be trusted. He said:
How can you deal with a crocodile when it is in the middle of eating your left leg? You can’t trust this guy at all.
Updated at 11.55 BST
Until now …
- Ukrainian officials have admitted that Russia has “the upper hand” in fighting in the east of the country, as Ukrainian forces withdrew from some of their positions in the Donbas region.
- The governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Haidai, said that only 5% of the region remained in Ukrainian hands, down from 10% just over a week ago, and that Ukrainian forces were withdrawing. in some areas.
- Pro-Russian separatists in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic have said they have established full control over the strategic city of Lyman in eastern Ukraine. Claims have not been independently verified.
- Russian ground forces continue their attempt to surround Sievierodonetsk and Lyschansk, after recently capturing several villages northwest of Popasna, the UK Defense Ministry said in its latest report.
- Artillery struck the northeastern city of Kharkiv for the first time in two weeks yesterday, just as life in Ukraine’s second city was beginning to return to normal. Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Synehubov said at least nine people had been killed and 17 injured in attacks in the northern part of the city. He said “doctors are giving all the necessary care” and that there were no more casualties overnight.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukraine did not want to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but that it must face the reality that it will probably be necessary to end the war.
- Russia’s defense ministry says it has killed more than 250 fighters overnight, shot down a MiG-29 plane and destroyed two ammunition dumps, including one inside the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.
- The Kremlin has rejected claims that Russia has blocked grain exports from Ukraine, blaming the West for creating the situation by imposing sanctions on Russia. UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss has accused Vladimir Putin of “arming” hunger by blocking Russia’s exports of grain to Ukraine. A senior Turkish official said Ankara was in “ongoing” talks with Russia and Ukraine to open a corridor through the Bosphorus.
- Two captured Russian soldiers have pleaded guilty to bombing a city in eastern Ukraine in the second war crimes trial since Russian troops invaded the country. Alexander Bobikin and Alexander Ivanov acknowledged being part of an artillery unit that fired on targets in the Kharkiv region from the Belgorod region of Russia.
- Russia has deployed mobile propaganda vans with large-screen TVs at humanitarian aid points in the captured city of Mariupol. The Orwellian turn comes as the Kremlin continues to move forward with efforts to integrate the newly occupied territories in southern Ukraine.
- The push by Sweden and Finland to join NATO will not require adding more U.S. ground forces to either country, the U.S. general nominated for European command told senators.
- According to reports, the US is preparing to send advanced long-range rocket systems to Ukraine following an urgent request from Ukrainian officials.
- Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said “weapons, weapons and new weapons” are what the country needs. “We need more heavy weapons delivered as soon as possible, especially MLRS (multi-launch rocket systems) to repel Russian attacks,” Kuleba said.
Updated at 11.56 BST
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, addressed an Indonesian think tank this morning and said that Ukraine did not want to talk to the Russian Vladimir Putin, but that it must face the reality that it will probably it will be necessary to end the war. He said Russia did not yet appear to be ready for serious peace talks. Reuters quotes him as saying:
There are things to discuss …