The day of the war at a glance
Russians in the Donbass continue to advance – Kharkiv under fire after Zelenskyj’s visit
May 29, 2022, 9:25 p.m
In Luhansk, Russia is putting Ukraine under more pressure. The Kremlin’s troops tightened their siege ring around the twin cities of Sievjerodonetsk and Lysychansk. There are also explosions in Kharkiv shortly after President Zelenskyy pays a visit to the soldiers there. The 95th day of the war at a glance.
Russian troops surround towns in Luhansk
Russia has maintained military pressure in the east of the country. Sievjerodonetsk is particularly hard fought in Luhansk. The Russian military has almost completely surrounded the eastern Ukrainian city. “The enemy has launched new offensive operations,” reported the Ukrainian army from the area. According to Governor Serhiy Gajdaj, the Russian attack continued throughout the day and street fighting is already taking place in the city.
Gajday warned that the situation was deteriorating both in Sievjerodonetsk and in the twin cities of Lysychansk, which are separated by a river. “The coming week will be very difficult.” In Lysychansk, among other things, a Russian projectile hit a residential building, the governor reported on Telegram. “One girl died instantly, four people had to be taken to the hospital.” According to its own statements, it had previously conquered the strategically important small town of Lyman. Experts now consider the Russian attacks to be more powerful than at the beginning of the war for a variety of reasons.
Selenskyj thanks soldiers in Kharkiv when they visit
The eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkov was shelled shortly after news of a visit to the front by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy became known. Part of the country’s second largest city was hit, Kharkov Mayor Ihor Terekhov said, according to Ukrainian media. He did not give any further details. It was Zelenskyy’s first known visit to the frontline area in the east of the country since the beginning of the Russian invasion. In Kharkiv, Zelenskyj got an idea of the destruction caused by the war. Video footage distributed on the President’s official Telegram channel showed Zelenskyy, among other things, how he decorated soldiers. “I am immensely proud of our defenders. Every day they risk their lives to fight for the freedom of Ukraine,” said Zelenskyy.
EU Commission presents compromise on oil embargo
In the dispute over plans for a European oil embargo against Russia, the EU Commission presented a new compromise proposal. The draft envisages initially only allowing the import of oil transported by ship to be phased out. Oil transported via the huge Druzhba pipeline would therefore be exempt from the embargo until further notice. This would allow Russia to continue part of its business with companies in the EU. According to the EU, around a third of the total delivery volume flowed through the Druzhba pipeline. This supplies refineries in Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic as well as in Poland and Germany.
Ambassador does not assume nuclear weapons will be used
The Russian ambassador in London, Andrei Kelin, does not expect his country to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. According to the rules of the Russian military, this is only provided if Russia’s existence is threatened, Kelin said in a BBC interview. “This has nothing to do with the current operation.” When asked whether he believed President Vladimir Putin would be prepared to launch a nuclear attack on Britain if the war escalated, the ambassador said no. This and similar scenarios were publicly discussed on Russian state television a few weeks ago.
Erdogan reaffirms no to northern expansion of NATO
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is sticking to his veto on NATO’s northern expansion even after negotiations with Sweden and Finland. “As long as Tayyip Erdogan is at the head of the Turkish state, we cannot say ‘yes’ to NATO membership for countries that support terrorism,” Erdogan said, according to the Hurriyet newspaper. The countries have not taken the expected steps in the fight against terrorism. Erdogan accuses them of supporting “terror organizations” such as the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK. Ankara is also demanding the extradition of alleged terrorists from both countries.
Esken dampens annual defense spending expectations
Meanwhile, SPD leader Saskia Esken dampened expectations of exact annual compliance with the so-called two percent target for German defense spending. “We will not reach the two percent target equally every year,” Esken told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung”. The SPD chairwoman cited fluctuations in the procurement of armaments as the reason. The two percent target states that more than two percent of the gross domestic product should be invested in defense every year. The NATO members had promised themselves this.
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