The day of the war at a glance
Rocket fire on Kyiv – Russia punishes Kazakhstan
06/19/2022, 9:21 p.m
Russian missile attacks on Kyiv remain unsuccessful, but Moscow reports a heavy hit against Ukrainian command structures. After the Kazakh President criticized Putin, the Kremlin punished the ally. The British military prepares its soldiers for a ground war in Europe. The 116th day of the war at a glance.
Anti-aircraft defenses prevent Kyiv from being shelled
The Ukrainian capital Kyiv has again come under aerial attack – air raid sirens and explosions could be heard. However, according to official information, Ukrainian air defense shot down Russian missiles over the city. “Explosions were heard in Vyshhorod district this morning. Anti-aircraft guns fired at enemy targets,” said the military governor of the Kyiv region, Oleksiy Kuleba, on his Telegram channel. According to him, there was no damage or injuries in the city.
Russians target Kharkiv
According to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, Russian troops tried to advance on Kharkiv and bombard the city again. The situation north of Kharkiv is quite difficult, Vadym Denysenko, an adviser to the ministry, told Ukrainian television. “Russia wants to make Kharkiv a front-line city.” Kharkiv is located in the northeast and is the second largest city in the country after the capital Kyiv.
Moscow reports attack on Ukrainian command structure
According to the Russian military, a missile attack destroyed a command post of the Ukrainian armed forces with high-ranking officers. “The strike killed more than 50 generals and officers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including general staff officers and the command staff of unit ‘Kakhovka’, airborne troops and units operating in the Mykolaiv and Zaporizhia regions,” said the spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Igor Konashenkov. Accordingly, the command command post in the Dnipropetrovsk region near the settlement of Shyroka Dacha, south of the city of Kryvyi Rih, was hit by sea-based cruise missiles of the “Kalibr” type.
On both sides increasing tendency to desertion
According to British intelligence experts, the intensive fighting in the Donbass is affecting the morale of the troops on both sides. “Ukrainian forces have probably suffered from desertions in recent weeks, but Russian morale in particular is likely to remain plagued with problems,” said the Defense Ministry’s daily intelligence update on the Ukraine war in London.
Report: Kremlin punishes Kazakhstan
After Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev distanced himself from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war stance at the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia imposed restrictions on the supply of Kazakh oil. This was reported by the “Moscow Times” on its Telegram channel. The export of Kazakh oil was stopped in the port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea. Allegedly, objects were found in the port area that could be mines from the Second World War.
Tokayev said on Friday that Kazakhstan would not recognize the “people’s republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states. The UN’s right to self-determination conflicts with states’ right to territorial integrity. That’s why they don’t recognize Taiwan, Kosovo, Abkhazia or South Ossetia. “And this principle obviously also applies to quasi-state areas like Donetsk and Luhansk.”
Kazakhstan’s leadership for nuclear arms abandonment
After the provocation in St. Petersburg on Sunday, Kazakhstan’s leadership stepped up their game again. Against the background of the Ukraine war, she called for the destruction of all nuclear weapons worldwide by 2045. “The current military conflict on the territory of Ukraine, talks about nuclear rearmament and mutual threats about the use of nuclear weapons force us more than ever to think about how vulnerable humanity is and how urgently it needs to be banned and destroyed deadly weapon,” wrote Kazakh Foreign Minister Muchtar Tleuberdi in an article for the Liter newspaper’s website.
British Chief of Staff mobilizes
According to media reports, the new chief of staff of the British armed forces has sent a circular to all soldiers, calling for them to prepare for a war effort in Europe. In view of the Russian attack on Ukraine, Britain must also prepare for further Russian aggression in mainland Europe, argued General Patrick Sanders, according to the British news agency PA. “There is now an urgent need to build an army capable of defeating Russia on the battlefield alongside our allies,” PA quoted as saying from the letter from the chief of staff, who took up his post last Monday. The Chief of Staff is the senior soldier in the British Army.
Habeck is working on the gas savings plan
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck has announced measures to reduce gas consumption in Germany and to fill the gas storage for the winter. The situation is serious, said Habeck in the evening in Flensburg. The security of supply is currently guaranteed. “But everything that we consume less helps.” In the future, more coal will be used to generate electricity instead of gas. “It’s bitter, but in this situation it’s almost necessary to reduce gas consumption,” said the Green politician. The gas storage tanks should be full by winter. That has top priority. Otherwise Germany would be “politically blackmailed”.
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