The main information at midday
- Back from the southern front, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assured that his troops are keeping their spirits up and have no doubts about victory against the Russians, in a conflict that could last for years according to the head of NATO.
- Ukrainian troops said on Sunday that they repelled Russian attacks on villages near Severodonetsk.
- Germany will take emergency measures to secure its supply in the face of recent drops in Russian gas deliveries, notably involving increased use of coal.
1:51 p.m .: Russia allegedly fired missiles at kyiv
kyiv was again attacked from the air on Sunday, according to official Ukrainian information reported by the Belga news agency. Russia reportedly fired missiles at Ukraine’s capital, which were intercepted by Ukrainian defense forces. Air raid sirens sounded on Sunday as explosions sounded.
12:05 p.m .: kyiv says it has repelled Russian attacks near Severodonetsk
Ukrainian troops said on Sunday that they repelled Russian attacks on villages near Severodonetsk, a key city in the east of the country, where the two armies have been fighting bloody battles for weeks. “Our units repelled the assault in the Toshkivka area,” the Ukrainian military said on Facebook. “The enemy has retreated and is regrouping. The Ukrainian military added that Russian forces were “storming” the village of Orikhove, but had “successfully repelled” an attack near that village.
“All statements by the Russians that they control Severodonetsk are lies. Indeed, they control the majority of the city but they do not control it entirely, ”local governor Serguiï Gaïdaï said on Telegram on Sunday.
10:45 am: Germany will “use more” of its coal-fired power plants for its electricity
Germany will take emergency measures to secure its supply in the face of recent drops in Russian gas deliveries, notably involving increased use of coal, the government said on Sunday.
“To reduce gas consumption, you need to use less gas to generate electricity. Instead, coal-fired power plants will have to be used more,” the economy ministry said in a statement.
9:55 am: “We will not give the South to anyone, we will take everything back”
Back from the southern front, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assures this Sunday that his troops are keeping their spirits up and have no doubts about victory against the Russians. “We won’t give the South to anyone, we’ll take everything back, and the sea will be Ukrainian, it will be safe,” he said in a video posted on Telegram as he returned to Kyiv.
“I asked that assistance be put in place for people who have lost loved ones more generally. We will definitely rebuild everything that was destroyed. Russia does not have as many missiles as our people want to live,” he added.
Russia does not have as many missiles as our people want to live
Volodymyr Zelensky
8:40 a.m .: The governor of Lugansk, under fire, is “preparing for the worst”
Serguiï Gaïdaï, 46, leads the Lugansk region, which is home to the city of Severodonetsk, where Russian and Ukrainian forces clash in the street, and that of Lyssytchansk, where artillery fire is almost permanent. “The situation is difficult, in the city (of Lysytchansk) and in the whole region”, he said in an interview with AFP, because the Russians “are bombarding our positions 24 hours a day”. In Lysychansk, there are signs of preparations for street fighting: soldiers are digging holes and putting up barbed wire, and police are placing burnt-out vehicles across the streets to slow traffic. “An expression says: you have to prepare for the worst and the best will come by itself”, underlines Mr. Gaïdaï. “Of course we have to prepare,” adds the man who has repeatedly warned that the Russians would end up encircling Lyssytchansk by cutting off its main supply routes. “It’s a war, anything can happen,” he said. From Lyssytchansk, the Ukrainian artillery fires on the Russian positions in Severodonetsk, and the Russians respond to them with mortars and rockets.
7:10 am: The war in Ukraine could last “for years”
The war in Ukraine could last “for years”, warned the Secretary General of NATO in an interview published this Sunday by the German daily Bild, urging Western countries to register their support for kyiv over time.
“We have to be prepared for this to last for years,” said Jens Stoltenberg. “We must not falter in supporting Ukraine, even though the costs are high, not only in terms of military support but also due to rising energy and food prices. »
We must be prepared that this may last for years
6:55 a.m .: Johnson calls on Ukraine’s allies to stand firmly and for a long time
Ukraine’s allies must support kyiv firmly and for a long time if they do not want to see “aggression” triumph in Europe as never since the Second World War, said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The countries supporting Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion must keep their cool and ensure that kyiv will have “the strategic stamina to survive and ultimately win”, he wrote in an op-ed published by the Sunday Times.
“Time is a critical factor today,” Johnson points out. “It will all depend on how Ukraine can build up its ability to defend its territory faster than Russia can renew its attack capability. Our task is to give time to the Ukrainian side,” he said.
To help, he outlines a four-point plan for “continued funding and technical assistance” to Kyiv, which he says must be maintained “for years to come,” and potentially intensified.
What awaits Ukraine before hoping to join the European Union?
The European Commission on Friday recommended granting Ukraine EU candidate status. The European Council will validate or not this decision next week. But even if Ukraine obtains candidate status, it will still be a long way from becoming an EU member.
All the details to read here in our article.
6:50 a.m.: “There is a strong Ukrainian wall that protects our country,” says Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the regions of Mykolaiv and Odessa in southern Ukraine for the first time on Saturday.
“I want to thank you on behalf of the Ukrainian people, on behalf of our state, for your great work, for your heroic service,” he told the military in the Odessa region. “It is important that you are alive. As long as you are alive, there is a strong Ukrainian wall protecting our country,” he continued.
Russia puts the world in danger of famine
Josep Borrell, head of European diplomacy, denounces “Russia’s conscious political choice to ‘militarize’ grain exports and use them as a tool of blackmail against anyone who opposes its aggression” in Ukraine.
All the explanations to read in our article by clicking here.
6:45 a.m.: “Fierce battles” around Severodonetsk, pounded by Russia
Fighting continues near Severodonetsk, a key city in eastern Ukraine pounded by Russian forces who have been trying to take control for weeks, according to Ukrainian authorities who have reported “fierce battles” in the surrounding localities.
On the Telegram network, the regional governor, Serguiï Gaïdaï also spoke of additional “destruction” at the Azot chemical plant in the city, where hundreds of civilians are refugees.
What to remember from Saturday
• Volodymyr Zelensky made a rare trip to southern Ukraine to Mykolaiv, near the front. “There is a strong Ukrainian wall protecting our country,” he said.
• Ukraine could resume peace talks with Russia by the end of August, when the counter-attack operations will have been carried out, according to kyiv’s chief negotiator David Arakhamia.
• A Russian public television channel broadcast videos on social networks of two former American soldiers who had gone to fight as volunteers with the Ukrainian forces and had been missing for several days.
• The Russian army has strengthened its grip on Serpents’ Island in the Black Sea, deploying several defense systems, suggesting that it does not intend to let go of this strategic point.
• Russia is putting the world in danger of famine with the blocking of grain exports from Ukraine and restrictions on its own exports, accused the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell.
• The governor of the Lugansk region, Sergiï Gaïdaï, indicated that the city of Lysychansk was “heavily bombarded”. The city is preparing for possible street fights.
• Five civilians were killed and 12 others were injured in Ukrainian shelling in Donetsk, in the separatist east of Ukraine, pro-Russian local authorities said.
6:45 am: Hello everyone, welcome to this live where we will follow the situation around the conflict in Ukraine, on the 116th day of the Russian invasion.