► Severodonetsk still holds
The situation becomes “extremely difficult” in Severodonetsk, Russia’s new main objective in its invasion of Ukraine. “The enemy wants to completely isolate Severodonetsk by preventing any passage of men or ammunition”, said the Ukrainian governor of the Lugansk region on Sunday, fearing that Russia would send“all his reserves to take the city”within 48 hours. The situation is there“extremely difficult”, he acknowledged.
So far, “We continue to hold our positions” in the north of the Lugansk region, assured Valeri Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, while affirming that “every meter of land (…) is covered in blood there, not only ours, but also that of the occupier”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his evening video message called Sunday a “very violent” the fighting in Severodonetsk, claiming that Moscow is deploying insufficiently trained troops and using them as ” Cannon fodder “.
► Strikes on the West
On the ground, the Russian Ministry of Defense said it destroyed in Tchortkiv, in western Ukraine and 140 km from the border with Romania, “a large warehouse of anti-tank missile systems, man-portable air defense systems and shells supplied to the kyiv regime by the United States and European countries”.
The strike on this city, located in the West so far relatively spared, left 22 injured, according to the governor of this region. To the east, in the Donetsk region, the Ukrainian presidency has affirmed that “the Russians (were stepping up) their efforts to destroy critical infrastructure.”
In Mikolaiv, a major port on the Dnieper estuary in the south, the Russian advance has been stopped on the outskirts of the city, the fighting is turning to trench warfare.
► The EU and Ukraine’s application for membership
After promising kyiv the day before an answer “by the end of next week” on Ukraine’s request to begin a process of joining the European Union, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, acknowledged on Sunday that “the challenge (would be) to come out of the European Council (scheduled for June 23 and 24) with a united position that reflects the enormity of these historic decisions”.
► Tensions at the WTO around the food crisis
For their part, the Member States of the World Trade Organization (WTO) met on Sunday in Geneva with the aim of helping to find a solution to the risk of a serious food crisis that the invasion by Russia from Ukraine, whose fertile lands traditionally feed hundreds of millions of people on the planet.
Tensions surfaced in a closed-door meeting where delegates took the floor to condemn Russian aggression. The Ukrainian delegate was greeted with a standing ovation. Then, just before Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Rechetnikov took the floor, about 30 delegates left the room.
► Nearly 100 billion euros in energy exports for Russia since the invasion
The sanctions imposed on Moscow did not prevent Russia from reaping 93 billion euros in revenue from the export of fossil fuels during the first 100 days of war, the majority of which went to the EU, according to the report of an independent research center published on Monday.
► Amnesty International denounces war crimes
On Monday, Amnesty International accused Russia of war crimes in Kharkiv. Following an investigation, the NGO claims to have found evidence showing that in seven attacks, Russian forces used 9N210 and 9N235 cluster munitions and cluster bombs, two categories prohibited by international treaties.
“People have been killed in their homes and on the streets, on playgrounds and in cemeteries, while queuing for humanitarian aid or shopping for food and medicine,” said Donatella Rovera, a researcher working for Amnesty.