Update on the situation
Volodymyr Zelensky estimates that Ukraine is losing between sixty and one hundred soldiers a day in the east of the country. “The situation in the east [de l’Ukraine] is very difficult. We are losing between sixty and one hundred soldiers every day and something like five hundred wounded in combat”said the Ukrainian president, interviewed by the American media NewsWax.
The United States will deliver rocket launchers with a range of 80 kilometers to Ukraine. Joe Biden announced that the United States ” provide[aient] Ukrainians with more advanced missile systems and ammunition that will allow them to more accurately hit key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine”. It is, according to a senior White House official, Himars (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System), that is to say multiple rocket launchers mounted on light armored vehicles, with a range of about 80 kilometers . For Russia, Washington “pour oil on the fire” by delivering new weapons to Ukraine. Furthermore, she warns of an increased risk of a Russian-American confrontation. “Any arms delivery that continues, that increases, increases the risk of such a development”said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov.
Germany, criticized by Ukraine for limited arms shipments, to deliver advanced air defense system susceptible to “protect a big city from raids” Russians, Olaf Scholz announced on Wednesday. “The German government has decided to provide the most modern air defense system Germany has, the IRIS-T system”announced the German Chancellor before the Bundestag.
Pope calls for end to blockade of grain exports from Ukrainedefending the “universal right to food” and denouncing the use of wheat as ” war weapon “. “The blocking of grain exports from Ukraine, on which the lives of millions of people depend, especially in the poorest countries, is very worrying”Francis, 85, said at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican.
Russian gas exports were down 27.6% between January and May 2022 compared to this same period of 2021, announced the major Russian group Gazprom on Wednesday. “Exports to countries far abroad [ne comprenant pas les pays de la Communauté des Etats indépendants, CEI] stood at 61 billion cubic meters, or 27.6% [23,2 milliards de mètres cubes] less than for the same period of 2021”writes the group on Telegram messaging.
Russia is taking steps that will “to minimize” the impact of the oil embargo Russian decided by the European Union. “These sanctions will have a negative impact for Europe, for us and for the entire global energy market. But there is a shift [de l’économie russe] which will allow us to minimize the negative consequences”Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Ukraine’s pro-Russian separatists claim to have scored a tactical gain by cutting one of the only two roads leading to the town of Avdiivka, controlled by Ukrainian forces near the rebel stronghold of Donetsk. This announcement comes as Russia and its separatist auxiliaries are concentrating the bulk of their efforts in the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine, the scene of fierce fighting, particularly in the city of Sievierodonetsk. Russian forces “now control 70% of Sievierodonetsk”Serhi Haïdaï, governor of this region of the Donbass basin, said on his Telegram channel on Wednesday.