Intense fighting continues Wednesday in the strategic city of Severodonetsk, on the 105th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The governor of this region of Donbass evokes a possible withdrawal of forces from kyiv. “It may be necessary to withdraw” from Severodonetsk, Sergei Gaïdaï, governor of the Lugansk region, told the Ukrainian channel 1+1 on Wednesday. Tuesday evening, he had already indicated that holding this city was “mission impossible”, even if the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense still affirmed Wednesday that the Ukrainian forces “resist the attacks” Russian.
Information to remember:
- kyiv evokes a withdrawal of troops from Severodonetsk
- Russian Defense Minister says Russian forces have ‘completely liberated’ residential areas of Severodonetsk
- Ukraine calls for deliveries of more powerful weapons
- Discussions continue over grain exports
- 6.5 million Ukrainians fled
The Russians focus on Severodonetsk
Since the fall on May 20 of the port of Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov, the Russians have concentrated their offensive on this city of Severodonetsk, at the western limit of the region of Lugansk, one of the two regions of Donbass with that of Donetsk. They aim to take full control of this mining basin in eastern Ukraine, already partially controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014. Moscow’s forces have made only slow progress so far, causing Western analysts to say that the Russian invasion launched on February 24 turned into a war of attrition, with limited advances achieved at the cost of massive destruction and heavy casualties.
While many civilians have evacuated Severodonetsk and the neighboring town of Lysychansk, several thousand have remained – elderly people, people who care for them or those who cannot afford to move elsewhere. “Every day there is shelling, something is burning every day,” said Yuri Krassnikov, seated on a bench, in a district of Lysytchansk with many damaged buildings and charred pavilions, while artillery rumbles not far from the. “There is no one to help me (…) I tried to go to the municipal authorities, but there is no one, everyone has cleared out. They have abandoned the population! (. ..) Where am I going to go at 70?”, launches this retiree.
Severodonetsk residential areas ‘totally liberated’ by Russian forces
In a rare televised briefing on Tuesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed that Russian forces had “completely liberated” residential areas of Severodonetsk – a city known for its large Azot chemical plant – and now controlled “97%” of the territory of this region of Lugansk.
Severodonetsk and Lyssytchansk, separated by the Donetsk River, constitute the last agglomeration still under Ukrainian control in the Lugansk region. Their capture would facilitate a Russian breakthrough towards Kramatorsk, a large city in the Donetsk region.
New deliveries requested by Ukraine
If Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assured Tuesday evening that his men were continuing “the absolutely heroic defense of Donbass”, the Ukrainians repeat that they urgently need more powerful weapons to stop the Russian army. The delivery of multiple rocket launcher systems, with a range of some 80 km, slightly greater than the Russian systems, has been announced by Washington and London, but it is unclear when the Ukrainians will be able to start using them.
“We are grateful” for these announcements, but “the quantities announced are very small, we need a lot more,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba insisted on Wednesday. The Ukrainians have so far been content with Western weapons of lesser range. Such as the 22 M-109 howitzers, of American design and a range of some 20 km, that Norway announced on Wednesday that it had sent to Ukraine.
Cereal exports paralyzed
The other major battle is being played out on the agricultural front. The blocking of Ukrainian ports by the Russian Black Sea Fleet – starting with that of Odessa, the country’s main port – is paralyzing its grain exports, particularly wheat, of which it was before the war on the way to becoming the third global exporter. African and Middle Eastern countries are the first to be affected, and fear serious food crises.
Talks between Russia and Turkey
Some 20 to 25 million tonnes are currently blocked, quantities which could triple by “by the fall” to reach 75 million tonnes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Monday. While Moscow accuses the West of being the cause of this shortage because of their sanctions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Cavusoglu in Ankara on Wednesday to discuss “secure maritime corridors” that would allow to resume grain transport in the Black Sea.
At the request of the UN, Turkey has offered to help escort maritime convoys from Ukrainian ports, despite the presence of mines, some of which have been detected close to the Turkish coast. During a press conference after their discussions, Sergei Lavrov assured that Russia was “ready to guarantee the safety of ships leaving Ukrainian ports (…) in cooperation with our Turkish colleagues”.
Mevlüt Cavusoglu considered for his part “legitimate” Russia’s request to lift the sanctions which indirectly hit its agricultural exports, to facilitate Ukrainian exports. He specifically cited Russian “grain and fertilizer” exports, which are not directly targeted by Western sanctions but are de facto prevented by the suspension of banking and financial exchanges. However, the two men did not announce any concrete mechanism for exporting the cereals that are currently blocked.
kyiv accuses Moscow of “stealing” grain
Ukrainian Minister Dmytro Kouleba brushed aside their statements. The grain shortage is caused by “Russian aggression” in Ukraine and not by sanctions against Moscow, he said. He stressed that the Russian-Turkish talks, to which Ukraine was not invited, had a “broader agenda” than the issue of grain transport. For him, the discussion must take place at the UN, and other efforts to solve this problem are only welcome “provided that they take into account Ukraine’s security interests”.
kyiv, supported by Washington, accuses Moscow of “stealing” grain from it. And the two belligerents accuse each other of destroying grain stocks. On Tuesday evening, the Russian Ministry of Defense notably affirmed that the Ukrainian forces had “purposely set fire to a large grain depot”, containing some 50,000 tons of grain, in the port of Mariupol, in Russian hands.
6.5 million Ukrainians fled
The war has forced some 6.5 million Ukrainians to flee their country and caused thousands of deaths: at least 4,200 civilians, according to the latest UN assessment, which estimates the real figures “considerably higher”, and thousands of soldiers, even if belligerents, rarely communicate about their losses.
For the second time in a week, Russians and Ukrainians exchanged bodies on Wednesday, 50 on each side, according to the Ukrainian ministry in charge of the occupied territories. On June 2, 160 bodies had already been exchanged. Among the bodies recovered on the Ukrainian side, “37 are heroes of Azovstal”, specified this ministry.
The last Ukrainian defenders of the port of Mariupol, who were entrenched in the huge Azovstal steelworks, surrendered to Russian forces on May 20, after three months of intense fighting. Nearly 2,500 fighters are now detained by the Russians, who intend to try them as war criminals.