The night of the war at a glance
Explosions in occupied Luhansk – Zelenskyj threatens Russian forces
07/13/2022, 06:58 am
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has expressed optimism about the further course of the war against Russia, also because of the Western arms aid for his country. Meanwhile, criminal proceedings have been initiated in Moscow against the liberal opposition politician and war opponent Ilya Yashin for allegedly defaming the Russian army.
Zelenskyj: Russians lack “the courage to admit defeat”
After initial hesitation, several western states have now also supplied Ukraine with modern rocket systems and artillery, with which attacks on Russian targets from a greater distance are possible. According to media reports, several Russian military bases, ammunition and weapons depots have been destroyed far behind the front lines in recent weeks. Multiple explosions were heard last night in the pro-Russian separatist-held city of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.
The Russians are now afraid of the Ukrainian army, also thanks to the partisan activities of Ukrainian agents in the occupied territory, Zelenskyy said in his daily video address. But they also lack “the courage to admit defeat and withdraw troops from Ukrainian territory.”
“The occupiers have already learned very well what modern artillery is, and they will no longer have a safe rear anywhere on our soil that they have occupied,” said Zelenskyy. Despite the high losses, the Russian troops could only continue fighting thanks to the “inexhaustible stocks of old Soviet weapons”.
Criminal proceedings against Russian opposition figure Yashin
The authorities in Russia have initiated criminal proceedings against the Kremlin critic Ilya Yashin for spreading allegedly discrediting false reports about the deployment of the Russian army. “The investigator just called me – a search is beginning in his house,” Yashin’s lawyer Vadim Prokhorov said on his Facebook page. If convicted, Yashin faces up to ten years in prison.
Yashin belongs to the liberal opposition and was one of the last outspoken critics of the war against Ukraine still at large in Russia. In the spring he had already been fined several times for disparaging the army. He is currently serving a 15-day detention for alleged resistance to state authority. Before the new allegations became known, Yashin had reported in online services that he should be released on Wednesday. “Maybe they’ll let me out, maybe they won’t,” he wrote.
The criminal investigation is said to have been triggered by a YouTube stream by Yashin, in which he spoke about the murder of civilians in the small town of Bucha near Kyiv. According to Ukrainian sources, more than 400 civilians died during the Russian occupation of the city. Many of the bodies were tied up and had shots in the head. Russia denies accusations of war crimes.
Chasiv Yar death toll rises to 45
Meanwhile, in the small town of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine, the death toll after a Russian rocket attack on a house has risen to 45. Nine people have been rescued from the rubble since the attack on Saturday, the civil defense in the Donetsk region said. While the authorities in Kyiv speak of a civilian residential building, the Russian army claims to have attacked a building used by the military. The information can hardly be verified independently.
Separatists lift moratorium on death penalty
The pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk region have lifted a moratorium on the death penalty. Separatist leader Denis Puschilin signed a corresponding decree, as reported by the Russian state news agency Tass. Last month, the separatists sentenced to death three foreigners serving as mercenaries in the Ukrainian army. They are two Britons and one Moroccan.
That will be important on Wednesday
- Negotiations on the lifting of the Russian naval blockade in the Black Sea and the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports begin in Istanbul. To resolve the dispute, representatives of the UN and Turkey are meeting with MPs from Moscow and Kyiv. Russia and Ukraine are major wheat exporters and thus play an important role in world food security.
- Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visits the barracks and the US military training area in Grafenwoehr in north-eastern Bavaria. According to the Office of the Federal President, he wants to thank the soldiers for their contribution to the freedom and security of Germany and NATO allies in Europe. According to the Office of the Federal President, this is the first visit by a German head of state to US troops stationed in Germany in more than 25 years.
You can read all further developments in our live ticker on the Ukraine war.