On the 118th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Tuesday June 21, Moscow authorities maintain that Alexander Drueke and Andy Huyng, Americans captured while fighting with the Ukrainians, are ” mercenaries ” will be ” held accountable for the crimes they committed “. Meanwhile, across an occupied southern region of the country, Russian TV is now broadcast for free.
► Moscow has blocked the RFI website, which broadcasts information in fifteen languages including Russian. An alternative URL address allows access to the site in French and in Russian. RFI in Russian is also available on Telegram: https://t.me/RFI_Ru via a VPN and in Russia in French via satellite on Hotbird.
► RFI’s Russian editorial site broadcasts Ukrainian public radio (in the Ukrainian language) from home page.
The main points:
► During a videoconference with members of the African Union, Volodymyr Zelensky said that Africa is hostage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
► The Russian army announces that it has connected the entire Kherson region (southern Ukraine), conquered by Moscow from the first days of the offensive in February, russian tv channels. These will now be accessible free “.
► The Ukrainian head of state expects that ” Russia steps up attacks this week »while the Twenty-Seven of the European Union must decide on Friday on the candidate status of Ukraine. For Volodymyr Zelensky, this week can therefore be “ truly historic “.
► Russia threatens to respond to the introduction of restrictions ” hostile » on the transit of certain goods via the Lithuania to its enclave of Kaliningrad. Vilnius defends itself and assures that this limited transit complies with ” european sanctions “.
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6:56 a.m .: Donbass residents exhausted but resilient
The Donbass region is now constantly under Russian fire. Part of the population had to flee, while other Ukrainians, war-weary but resilient, decided to stay despite the difficulties they face on a daily basis.
► Find the report of our special correspondents in the Donbass by clicking here
06:34: Moscow gives news of the two ” mercenaries » Americans captured
The Kremlin speaks for the first time about Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh, two former American soldiers captured in Ukraine a few days ago while fighting with the armed forces of kyiv. Moscow spokesman Dmitry Peskov gave an interview to the American channel NBC News :
” They are mercenaries and they were involved in illegal activities on the territory of Ukraine. They were involved in shooting and shelling against Russian soldiers and put their lives in danger “.
Dmitri Peskov adds that Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh ” must be held accountable for the crimes they have committed “, which ” should be investigated “. The Kremlin spokesman admitted that the characteristics of their offenses were not yet known but assured that they were not covered by the Geneva conventions on prisoners of war. As to whether they face the death penalty, ” it depends on the survey “.
06:30: Hello and welcome to this live
You can find our live from yesterday by following this link.