Russia’s offensive in Donbass intensified on Monday and left 10 dead in Severodonetsk, an important administrative center still under kyiv’s control, as Russia warned it would respond by putting in place ‘military infrastructure’ of ‘NATO in Finland and Sweden, candidates for entry into the Atlantic Alliance.
In Brussels, theEU tried to agree to a halt to Russia’s oil purchases, Hungary refused, disputing the financial burden that such a proposal would weigh on it.
In Severodonetsk, a city that has been important to Ukrainians since Moscow -backed separatist forces occupied part of Donbass (eastern Ukraine) in 2014, at least 10 people were killed on Russia’s bombings, the region’s governor announced Monday.
This city was mostly surrounded by Moscow forces.
In a previous message on Monday, Serguiï Gaïdaï reported artillery strikes in Severodonetsk and its twin city of Lysychank, which caused fires in residential areas.
Severodonetsk suffered a very strong strikehe added, his message accompanied by images of destruction.
Despite calls from Ukrainian authorities to evacuate Lyssytchansk, separated from Severodonetsk only by one river, the Siversky Donets, and regularly bombed, more than 20,000 civilians - against 100,000 inhabitants before the war - remain, according to volunteers distributing aid. in the place.
I don’t think people fully understand the situationlamented Viktor Levtchenko, a policeman trying to convince them to evacuate. We need to avoid bombings and cross very dangerous areas to reach them, feed them and try to evacuate them..
Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the neighboring Donetsk region, for his part announced that nine civilians were killed on Monday and 16 were injured in his region.
Continuation of border control in the Kharkiv region
In the northeast, Ukrainians regained control of part of the border in the Kharkiv region, according to kyiv.
Posting a video on its Facebook account showing Ukrainian soldiers in front of a border pole painted in Ukrainian colors, yellow and blue, the Ministry of Defense admitted on Monday that its forces had expelled the Russians.
The Russians have been bombed for weeks in the northern and eastern districts of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, from localities recently taken by Ukrainians.
However, the Russian army said firing, at night from Saturday to Sunday high precision missiles sa command points Ukrainians in this region, especially in Tsapivka, as well as in arms depots in the Donetsk and Lugansk (east) regions, which make up the Donbass.
Ukrainian authorities now expect that isolated units from the Kharkiv region will reinforce Russian troops in the Donbass, where they are only advancing hard, according to Oleksiï Arestovych, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency.
We are preparing for new Russian attempts to attack the Donbassfor intensify its movement towards southern Ukrainesaid Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday.
Several Western officials, including British military intelligence, have pointed out in recent days that Russia’s offensive in eastern Ukraine has not resulted in any major territorial victories in recent times.
In Mariupol, a major city devastated by bombs in southern Donbass, more than 260 Ukrainian fighters were evacuated on Monday from Azovstal steelworks, the last stronghold of Ukrainian resistance at this strategic port, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense, Ganna announced Malyar.
Some 53 seriously injured were evacuated from Azovstal to Novoazovsk for medical assistance and 211 others were taken to Olenivka via a humanitarian corridorhe says.
These localities are located in territory controlled by Russian and pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, but Ganna Malyar clarified that the fighters should be returned to Ukraine-controlled territory in the future, as part of the exchange procedure.
Warnings from Moscow
The Kremlin has been adding warnings since last week in another area, that the possible expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to Finland and Sweden, two countries whose Russian invasion of Ukraine, triggered on February 24, is pushed back. decades of military misalignment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that these memberships do not constitute an immediate threat. But, he continued, the placement of military infrastructure in the territories of these countries will surely lead to a response.
Russia specifically explained its attack on Ukraine through the rapprochement of its western neighbor inNATObelieving it posed a threat existential for his safety.
On the possible entry of Finland intoNATOit is 1300 km of additional land borders that Russia will share with the Atlantic Alliance.
After Finland the other day, Sweden announced on Monday that it would apply for membershipNATOthen consult its Parliament.
These nominations prove thataggression does not paycondemned Atlantic Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
He also said trust on the possibility for the Alliance States to find a compromise with Turkey, which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted on Monday that it was not will not give up about his refusal to see Finland and Sweden enter intoNATO. Ankara accuses them of showing tolerance to the Kurdish rebels of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) which is considered a terrorist organization.
Monday night, France confirmed this tatayo sana of the two countries in case there is aggression, while London has called for them to be included in theNATOsoon.
After a visit to Germany where he welcomed the evolution of the Berlin position, which is now ready to deliver heavy weapons to kyiv, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba was in Brussels on Monday to discuss, among others more things, the new sanctions against Russia.
His EU counterparts are meeting there to try to unblock a project of Russia’s oil import embargo, which Hungary has rejected, which relies heavily on it-to the chagrin of the Member States closest to kyiv .
The entire Union was unfortunately held hostage by a Member State who could not help us find a consensuslamented the head of Lithuanian diplomacy, Gabrielius Landsbergis.
For the head of Hungarian diplomacy, Peter Szijjarto, the Hungarians are legitimately waiting for a proposal for a solution to supply investments (new infrastructure) and compensate for price increases, a total amount of approximately 15-18 billion euros. [20 - 24 milliards de dollars canadiens].
At the end of the meeting, the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell admitted that the finalization of the 6th package of sanctions will last. An extraordinary European summit is scheduled for May 30 and 31.
Meanwhile, the effects of the unprecedented sanctions already taken by the West are increasingly being felt on the European economy.
The European Commission announced on Monday that it had lowered its economic growth forecast for the euro zone in 2022 by 1.3 points, to 2.7%.
The sanctions prompted French automobile group Renault, leader in Russia-it owns the Lada brand there-to sell its assets to the Russian state, the first major nationalization since the offensive began. of Russia to Ukraine.
Also on Monday, American fast food giant McDonald’s, which has been in Russia for more than 30 years, but temporarily closed its 850 restaurants in early March, announced that it would definitely leave the country.
Source: Radio-Canada