Russia has said its forces have seized a village near the Ukrainian industrial city of Severodonetsk, a major target of Moscow’s campaign to control the east.
The Defense Ministry said on Sunday that it had won Metyolkine, a settlement of less than 800 people before the war began. The Russian state news agency TASS reported that many Ukrainian fighters had surrendered there.
The Ukrainian military said Russia had a “partial success” in the area, which is about 6 km (4 miles) southeast of Severodonetsk.
After failing to take the capital Kyiv at the start of the war, Russian forces have focused on trying to take full control of the Luhansk and Donetsk provinces, which together comprise the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. . Parts of the Donbas were already occupied by Russian-backed separatists before the February 24 invasion.
Ukrainian soldiers fire on Russian positions from a US-supplied M777 howitzer in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk. [Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo]
Moscow said on Sunday that its offensive to win Severdonetsk continued successfully.
Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai told Ukrainian television that the fighting made evacuations of the city impossible, but that “all the Russian claims that control the city are lies. They control the main part of the people, but not all the town”.
Among communities around Severodonestk, Haidai told Ukraine TV that a Russian attack on Toshkivka, 35 km (22 miles) south, “had some success.”
Last update of the Defense Intelligence on the situation in Ukraine: June 19, 2022
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– Ministry of Defense 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) June 19, 2022
The UK Ministry of Defense said on Sunday that both Russia and Ukraine had continued heavy bombardment around Severodonestk “with few changes on the front line”.
The UK military assessment said the morale of Ukrainian and Russian combat units in the Donbas was likely “variable”.
“Many Russian personnel of all ranks are likely to be confused about the objectives of the war. Moral problems with Russian force are probably so significant that they limit Russia’s ability to achieve operational objectives,” the ministry tweeted.
Russia continues to bomb
In the twin city of Lysychansk in Severodonetsk, residential buildings and private homes had been destroyed by Russian bombing, Haidai said. “People are dying on the streets and in the air raid shelters,” he added.
He later said 19 people had been evacuated on Sunday. “We are managing to bring in humanitarian aid and evacuate people as best we can,” Haidai said.
In Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, northwest of Luhansk, the Russian Defense Ministry said its Iskander missiles had destroyed weapons recently supplied by Western countries.
A view shows a tram depot destroyed by a Russian missile attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine [Vitalii Hnidyi/Reuters]
Russian forces were trying to approach Kharkiv, which was heavily bombed early in the war, and turn it into a “front-line city,” a Ukrainian Interior Ministry official said.
In southern Ukraine, Western armaments had helped Ukrainian forces advance 10 km (6 miles) toward Russia-occupied Melitopol, its mayor said in a video posted on Telegram from outside the city.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday urged Western countries to be prepared to provide long-term military, political and economic support to Kyiv during a war that could last for years.
“We must not weaken our support for Ukraine, even if the costs are high, not only in terms of military support, but also because of rising energy and food prices,” Stoltenberg told the newspaper. German Bild.
Germany is phasing out Russian gas
Meanwhile, Germany’s economy minister said the country would focus on coal and limit the use of gas for electricity production amid concerns about a possible shortage caused by a reduction in gas supply. Russia.
Germany has tried to fill its gas storage facilities to capacity before the cold winter months.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck said Germany would try to offset the measure by increasing the combustion of coal, a more polluting fossil fuel. “This is bitter, but it is simply necessary in this situation to reduce gas consumption,” he said.
“It simply came to our notice then [Russian President] “Putin’s strategy is to raise the price and divide us,” Habeck said. “We will not let that happen.”
Russian gas giant Gazprom has said exports to countries outside the former Soviet Union fell 28.9 percent between January 1 and June 15 compared to the same period last year. last year.
Separately on Sunday, Italy’s state energy exchange revealed that Gazprom said it would only partially comply with a gas supply request from Italy’s Eni on Monday, indicating a sixth consecutive daily deficit.
The head of Italian energy giant ENI said on Saturday that with additional gas purchased from other sources, Italy should overcome next winter, but warned Italians that “restrictions” may be needed to affect gas use.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that supply cuts were not premeditated and were related to maintenance problems. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has dismissed the explanation as a “lie”.