intense street fighting in Sievierodonetsk, Washington finds it “credible” that Moscow is stealing Ukrainian wheat

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The context

Live hosted by Alexandre Priam

Cover image: A firefighter tries to put out a fire following a Russian bombardment at a warehouse in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO / REUTERS

The contributions of this live tracking are activated between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Paris time.

• Ukrainian forces “hold on” à Sievierodonetskbut the Russians are there “more numerous and more powerful”so that the situation is « difficile » on the eastern front, Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters in kyiv. “The main efforts of the enemy are concentrated” on an attempt to completely take over this industrial center and ” to block ” Ukrainian troops in the neighboring region of Lysychansk, the Ukrainian army said in the evening. “Our soldiers keep control of Sievierodonetsk, fighting continues in its eastern part”she added in her press release.
• Regional Governor Serhi Haidai had earlier pointed out that the situation had “aggravated” for the Ukrainians, in spite of a counter-attack which made it possible to retake half of this city. Its mayor, Oleksandre Striouk, for his part told the UNIAN press agency that “the situation changed every hour” and that of“intense street fighting” were in progress, as well as a “artillery duel”. According to Mr. Gaïdaï, the bombardments further intensified on Sievierodonetsk and Lyssytchansk, a locality located on ” Heights ” and strategic for “hold the line of defense”.
• Washington considers “credible” that Moscow “steals” Ukrainian wheat “to sell it”. The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken judged on Monday June 6 “credible” information that Russia « vole » Ukrainian grain exports, blocked due to the conflict, “to sell them for his own profit”. “It’s all deliberate”he said during a virtual conference on food insecurity, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of making ” blackmail “ to obtain a lifting of international sanctions against the invasion of Ukraine.
• Ukrainian President in Donbass. Volodymyr Zelensky visited the Ukrainian troops on the front line in the east of the country, where the war is raging, on Sunday June 5, he announced in a video posted on social networks. “We were in Lyssytchansk, we were in Soledar”, said the leader, who visited command posts in these localities near Sievierodonetsk. He also went to Zaporizhiawhere he met Mariupol residents who managed to flee.
• L’oblast de Zaporijia would be 60% controlled by the Russian army. According to its military governor, Oleksandr Staroukh, the region of south-eastern Ukraine is mainly in the hands of Moscow forces.
• Moscow attacks kyiv by surprise. The Ukrainian capital, which was resuming a semblance of normal life, was hit at dawn on Sunday by several Russian bombardments, the first since the end of April. “I heard about six explosions at 5:57 a.m.”, Natalia, 72, who was awakened by the shelling, told Agence France-Presse. One injured person was hospitalized, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced on Telegram.
• Also in the South, kyiv reported the strike of an agricultural company in the large port ofOdessa with a Russian cruise missile. According to the first information, the attack made two victims. A Mykolaïvthe city’s mayor reported the death of at least three civilians after a Russian bombardment.
• UK to supply new rocket launchers to Ukraine. Following Washington, the British Ministry of Defense announced on Monday that it would provide Ukraine with rocket launchers with a range of 80 kilometers to counter the Russian offensive. These multiple rocket launcher systems (M270) will allow“significantly increase the capabilities of the Ukrainian forces”the ministry said in a statement.

Find our live from yesterday here.

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