Ukrainian forces launched a large-scale operation in early June to retake territories occupied by Russia, but gains have so far been limited due to a strong Russian defense and a lack of military air force and ammunition. ‘artillery.
Ukraine on Monday claimed to have retaken 37 square kilometers in the east and south after a “difficult” week as part of its counter-offensive, while reporting that Russian troops were also on the attack on other front sectors. “Last week was difficult on the front, but we are making progress. We are moving forward step by step,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky summed up on Telegram.
According to Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar, the Ukrainian army has over the past seven days taken over 28.4 square kilometers in the south and 9 km2 in the east, where it is fighting in particular around the devastated city of Bakhmout .
Russia: five Ukrainian drones neutralized near Moscow and its region
Five Ukrainian drones were neutralized on Tuesday morning near Moscow and its region, the Russian Defense Ministry said, stressing that the attack did not cause any casualties or damage.
“This morning, an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist act was prevented with five drones” targeting sites in the Moscow region and on the edge of the Russian capital, the ministry said in a statement. Four drones were destroyed by anti-aircraft defense near Moscow, and the fifth was neutralized by “electronic warfare means” in its region.
“Today, a new attack attempt by Ukrainian drones” took place at the end of Moscow and in its region, wrote on Telegram the mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sobyanin. “All attacks were repelled by anti-aircraft defense, all detected drones were neutralized,” he said.
Moscow and its region, located more than 500 km from the Ukrainian border, have only rarely been targeted by drone attacks since the start of the offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, even if this type of attack has is multiplied elsewhere in Russia.
Journalist Gershkovich, detained in Russia, is in “good health”
The United States ambassador to Russia was authorized Monday to visit in prison the American journalist Evan Gershkovich, arrested at the end of March, who according to her is “in good health”. Lynne Tracy went to Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, the US State Department said. This is only their second meeting since the arrest of the journalist from wall street journal during a report in Yekaterinburg (Urals) on March 29.
The Russian authorities have repeatedly refused to grant a consular visit to Evan Gershkovich, targeted by accusations of “espionage” which he rejects. “Ambassador Tracy has communicated that Evan Gershkovich is in good health and remains strong, despite the circumstances,” a State Department spokesperson said.
Evan Gershkovich, who worked for AFP, is the first foreign journalist arrested in Russia for espionage since the fall of the Soviet Union. His arrest comes in the context of serious diplomatic tensions between the United States and Russia caused by the conflict in Ukraine, where Washington supports kyiv militarily and financially against Moscow.
Scholz and Zelensky call for extension of Ukrainian grain deal
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday called for the extension of a landmark agreement allowing the export of Ukrainian grain to the world market, which expires soon.
During a telephone conversation, the two leaders “requested that the cereals agreement concluded under the aegis of the United Nations be extended beyond July 17”, said in a press release Steffen Hebestreit, spokesperson for the German chancellor. This agreement, negotiated by the UN a year ago and renewed on several occasions since, “helps to improve the world food situation”, he underlined.
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who ordered the February 24, 2022 invasion of Ukraine, said he was “considering” a Russian exit from the deal, sparking concern. Asking for guarantees for its own fertilizer exports, Moscow has repeatedly threatened to end the agreement, which allows safe passage for Ukrainian grain exported via the Black Sea.
An office to investigate the crime of “aggression” against Ukraine opens in The Hague
An international office to investigate the crime of ‘aggression’ against Ukraine opened in The Hague on Monday, in what Kiev says is a ‘historic’ first step towards the creation of a special court to bring to justice Russian leaders.
This form of prosecutor’s office has the mission of investigating and collecting evidence, with the aim of holding a trial against Russian civilian and military officials involved in the invasion of Ukraine.
The International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA) brings together prosecutors from kyiv, the European Union, the United States and the International Criminal Court (ICC). It must fill “a gaping hole in the responsibility for the crime of aggression”, declared Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin, the ICC only having jurisdiction to try this crime if the country accused of it is a signatory to the Rome Statute – the international treaty that led to the creation of this jurisdiction in 2002 – which is not the case with Russia.