On the 116th day of the war, fighting continues near Severodonetsk, a key city in eastern Ukraine pounded by Russian forces who have been trying to take control for weeks, according to Ukrainian authorities who have reported “fierce battles” in the surrounding localities.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky went for the first time to the forces which contain the Russian offensive in the South, in the coastal strip of the country coveted by Moscow on the edge of the Black Sea.
- The war in Ukraine could last “for years”
“We must be prepared for this to last for years”, warned the NATO Secretary General in a interview published on Sunday by the German daily Bild. “We must not falter in supporting Ukraine, even though the costs are high, not only in terms of military support but also due to rising energy and food prices,” he said. he added.
These costs are nothing compared to that paid daily by the Ukrainians at the front, judged the head of the Atlantic Alliance. In addition, if Russian President Vladimir Putin were to achieve his goals in Ukraine, as in the annexation of Crimea in 2014, “then we would have to pay an even greater price”, judged Jens Stoltenberg.
- Johnson calls on Ukraine’s allies for strong and long-term support
Ukraine’s allies must support kyiv firmly and for a long time if they do not want to see “aggression” triumph in Europe as never since the Second World War, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday. Countries supporting Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion must keep their cool and ensure kyiv has “the strategic stamina to survive and ultimately prevail”, he wrote in a statement. forum published by the Sunday Times.
Boris Johnson made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital on Friday, the day after that of the French, German and Italian leaders, who gave their support to kyiv’s candidacy for the European Union.
- Volodymyr Zelensky on the southern front, another stake in the conflict
The Ukrainian president visited Saturday with the forces which contain the Russian offensive in the south of the country. Barricaded in kyiv for weeks at the start of the conflict when the capital was threatened by the Russian army, Volodymyr Zelensky went to the troops in the regions of Mykolaiv and Odessa, in the coastal strip of the country coveted by Moscow on the edge of the black Sea. He thanked the soldiers containing the Russian troop thrust, supported in the east from annexed Crimea, for their “heroic service”. At the same time, “fierce” fighting continued in the east, notably in Severodonetsk, where the regional governor is “preparing for the worst” after weeks of shelling by the Russian army.
- Five civilians killed, 12 injured in shelling in Donetsk
“As a result of shelling by Ukrainian forces, five people were killed and 12 others were injured in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR),” said the General Staff of local authorities – pro-Russian and separatist Ukraine – in the press release published on Telegram. Donetsk is the de facto capital of the self-proclaimed “republic” of Donetsk, in the Donbass coal basin in eastern Ukraine.
- Russia puts the world in danger of famine (EU)
Russia is putting the world at risk of starvation with the blocking of grain exports from Ukraine and restrictions on its own exports, the head of European diplomacy, the Spaniard Josep Borrell, accused on Saturday.
Threats to food security and the “narrative battle” with Russia over the reality of the sanctions imposed on Moscow will be at the center of discussions by EU foreign ministers on Monday in Luxembourg. “We are ready to work with the UN to prevent any undesirable impact of our sanctions on world food security”, assures Josep Borrell in an article published on his official blog.
The head of European diplomacy denounces “Russia’s conscious political choice to ‘militarize’ grain exports and use them as a tool of blackmail against anyone who opposes its aggression” in Ukraine.