9:58 am: kyiv bombs Russian positions in the Kherson region
The Ukrainian army said on Friday that it had struck Russian positions in the Kherson region, in southern Ukraine, a region almost entirely under the control of Russian forces where kyiv fears that Moscow will soon organize a referendum with a view to annexation to Russia.
“Our air force hit Russian positions, sites where equipment and personnel are concentrated and depots around five localities in the Kharson region,” the Ukrainian army general staff said on Facebook on Friday.
Almost the entire Kherson region, including the regional capital, has been occupied by Russian troops since the first days of the Russian invasion in February.
9:51 am: Sweden wants to advance negotiations with Turkey to join NATO
Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said her country aims to make progress in negotiations with Turkey over Sweden’s NATO membership. “Our ambition is to make constructive progress on the points that Turkey has highlighted,” she told parliament, as reported by the Reuters news agency.
Sweden applied last month to join NATO, but Turkey opposes it.
8:53 a.m .: British Foreign Secretary to meet Ukrainian counterpart on death sentences
British Foreign Minister Liz Truss is due to meet her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on Friday about the death sentences of two Britons by the separatist authorities in Donetsk.
“I strongly condemn the sanction against Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner,” tweeted Liz Truss yesterday. “It is a show of judgment without any legitimacy. »
Russian news agencies announced on Thursday the death sentence for mercenary charges of two Britons and a Moroccan taken prisoner in eastern Ukraine, where they were fighting for kyiv.
8:16 a.m.: “In terms of artillery, we are losing,” says Ukrainian intelligence official
“Now it all depends on what [l’ouest] sends us,” said the Guardian Vadym Skibitsky, Deputy Director of Ukrainian Intelligence. “Now it’s an artillery war. (…) And in terms of artillery, we are losing,” he told the British newspaper.
He said Ukraine has used “almost all [ses] ammunition”, and that Europe provided him with the equivalent of 10% of what Russia has. He called on Western countries to provide long-range missiles. A meeting with NATO is scheduled in Brussels on Wednesday June 15, during which Ukraine is to request a list of weapons and equipment it needs.
6:34 a.m .: Severodonetsk and Lyssytchansk “hold on” according to Zelensky
Volodymyr Zelensky said his soldiers were “resisting” in Severodonetsk, where intense street fighting continues against Russian troops, a strategic city on which the control of the entire Donbass region in eastern Ukraine depends. “Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, and other towns in Donbass, which the occupiers now see as their targets, are holding their ground,” he said in an address on Thursday evening.
The Ice Palace, one of the symbols of the city, was destroyed in a fire caused by Russian bombing, Sergei Gaïdaï, the governor of the Lugansk region, announced on Friday on Telegram.
Taking Severodonetsk would open up Moscow’s route to another major city in the Donbass, Kramatorsk, an important step in conquering the whole of this region bordering Russia.
However, Ukraine could retake Severodonetsk “in two, three days”, as soon as it has “long-range” Western artillery, Sergei Gaïdaï had previously assured.
5:50 am: Three foreign fighters sentenced to death by pro-Russian separatists
In eastern Ukraine, the pro-Russian separatist authorities announced on Thursday the death sentences of two Britons and a Moroccan who fought alongside the Ukrainians. The three men, taken prisoner in the Mariupol region, according to the Russians, will appeal, according to the Russian news agency TASS. “We are obviously seriously concerned,” said a spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Four foreign volunteer soldiers, including a Frenchman, were killed fighting the Russian invasion in Ukraine, according to the International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine (LIDU), the official organization of foreign volunteer fighters.
“Faced with Russian absolutism, there is a constant hardline resistance”
Writer and poet Jil Silberstein has investigated the ravages of autocracy in Russia. He returns with us to this past and its current consequences.
>> Find our interview by clicking here.
5:46 am: The battle for Severodonetsk continues
The Russians and pro-Russian separatists are struggling to take full control of Severodonetsk, which has been shelled for several weeks. It is one of the “most difficult battles” since the start of the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday evening. “In many respects, the fate of our Donbass is decided there.”
Taking this city would open up the road to another major Donbass city, Kramatorsk, in Moscow, an important step to conquer the entirety of this region bordering Russia, partly held by pro-Russian separatists since 2014. Ukraine could, however, resume Severodonetsk “in two, three days”, as soon as it has “long-range” Western artillery, assured Thursday Serguiï Gaïdaï, governor of Lugansk, one of the two regions of Donbass.
What to remember from Thursday
- Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky spoke again by telephone and discussed in particular Ukraine’s application for membership of the European Union.
- During a meeting with young entrepreneurs in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin compared his policy to that of Tsar Peter the Great when the latter fought against Sweden, invading part of its territory, as well as Finland, part from Estonia and Latvia.
5:45 am: Hello everyone, welcome to this live where we will follow the situation around the conflict in Ukraine, on the 107th day of the Russian invasion.