Update on the situation
- Most of Sievierodonetsk controlled by the Russians
” The major part “ of Sievierodonetsk, a key city in eastern Ukraine plagued by fierce fighting between Russians and Ukrainians, is now under the control of the Russian army, announced on Tuesday, the governor of the Luhansk region, Serhi Haïdaï . “Unfortunately, today Russian soldiers control most of the city”he told Ukrainian television, considering Sievierodonetsk “90% destroyed”.
- A first commercial ship left Mariupol for Russia
A first commercial ship, loaded with metal, left the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, conquered by Russian forces, to reach Rostov-on-the-Don in Russia, announced on Tuesday, the pro-Russian separatist leader Denis Pushilin. “This transport node is very important for the Donbass”he added. “It’s a very important port on the Sea of Azov and the only one where you can tranship all types of goods, including in winter. »
- Ukrainian forces regain ground around Kherson
The Ukrainian forces claimed, however, to regain ground, particularly in the region around Kherson, a city near Crimea which came under Russian control in early March. “The enemy left the village of Mykolaivka, in the north of the Kherson region”says a bulletin of the Ukrainian army.
- Bodies of Ukrainian fighters found in Azovstal factory
The Russian army discovered the bodies of 152 Ukrainian fighters in the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol (southeast), where the fighting lasted almost three months. Moscow is ready to hand them over to Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
- New European sanctions
The leaders of the 27 countries of the European Union have reached an agreement which should allow them to reduce their imports of Russian oil by some 90% by the end of the year, in order to dry up the financing of the war led by Moscow . This embargo on crude oil within six months and refined products within eight months is the flagship measure, but also the thorniest, of the sixth sanctions package, blocked so far by Hungary.
- “Safe corridors” for Ukrainian grain
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will travel to Turkey on June 8 to discuss the establishment of “safe corridors” for the transport of Ukrainian cereals, announced on Tuesday his Turkish counterpart, Mevlüt Cavusoglu. The Europeans are stepping up their efforts to get out the grain stocks blocked in Ukraine, in particular by negotiating with Moscow secure access to the port of Odessa, in order to avoid a world food crisis.
- Sentencing of two Russian soldiers
A Ukrainian court on Tuesday sentenced to eleven and a half years in prison two Russian soldiers accused of having bombarded with multiple missile launchers two villages in the Kharkiv region (northeast). They were found guilty of “violation of the laws and customs of war”according to the Interfax-Ukraine agency, which states that they have “fully admitted their guilt”.