Sievierodonetsk falters. Ukraine issued, Wednesday, June 8, the hypothesis of withdrawing from this key city in the east of the country now largely controlled by Russian forces and subject to constant bombardment. Sievierodonetsk is the largest town still in Ukrainian hands in Lugansk, one of the two regions of Donbass, where Russian soldiers have laboriously advanced in recent weeks.
Franceinfo takes stock of the latest fighting and the diplomatic situation on the 105th day of the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
Ukrainian army opens door to withdrawal from Sievierodonetsk
Ukrainian forces may have to leave the city for better fortified positions, regional governor Sergey Gaidai said. But he assured that a withdrawal would not be tantamount to definitively abandoning this crucial city for control of the entire Donbass mining basin, a priority objective of their Russian enemies. “There are bombings everywhere, 24 hours a day” and Russia is concentrating all its forces in the region, he stressed.
Severodonestk has “largely” fallen under Russian control, while the twin city of Lysytchansk has suffered “enormous destruction”, the governor said in the evening. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed control of all residential areas of Severodonetsk on Tuesday, adding that fighting continued for the industrial zone and neighboring towns.
Turkey deems Russian requests to unblock Ukrainian cereals “legitimate”
Turkey judges “legit” Moscow’s request to lift sanctions on Russian agricultural exports to facilitate Ukrainian exports, said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, after receiving his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Ankara. “We are ready to guarantee the safety of ships leaving Ukrainian ports (…) in cooperation with our Turkish colleagues”said Lavrov, who arrived in Ankara on Tuesday evening to discuss the establishment of secure corridors to allow Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea.
“The next few weeks will be crucial for unblocking the situation. We expect clear and concrete signals from Russia, because blocking wheat exports means holding hostage and condemning to death millions of children, women and men”said Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio.
A new exchange of bodies between belligerents
kyiv announced on Wednesday a new exchange of bodies of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers. “A new exchange of bodies of killed soldiers has taken place. 50 heroes killed have been returned”announced the Ukrainian Ministry of Reintegration. “Of our 50 defenders, 37 are (steel) heroes of Azovstal”, which was the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol. The exchange took place on the front line in the Zaporizhia region (south) “according to the formula 50 against 50”according to the same source, which had already announced a first exchange of 160 bodies on both sides organized on June 2.
Briton threatened with death penalty by separatists
The International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine (LIDU) on Wednesday denounced the trial announced by the Ukrainian press of one of its members of British origin, captured by pro-Russian separatists. “It was announced in the Ukrainian press that the Russians had completed a criminal investigation against three foreigners whom they were preparing to bring to trial and that they risked the death penalty”LIDU spokesman Damien Magrou told AFP.
“One of the three names that is mentioned in the article, Andrew Hill, is a legionnaire who has a contract with the Ukrainian army”he specified. “According to Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention, he is considered in law as a legal combatant and as a prisoner of war”he added.
Ukrainian handball club goes into exile in Germany
Ukrainian club Motor Zaporizhia will line up in the German 2nd Division for the 2022/23 season, League (HBL) boss Uwe Schwenker has told German sports news agency SID. “For us it was clear: for such a question, it is a democratic decision of the clubs that must be taken. In the end, a large majority emerged in favor of an integration. The clubs said: ‘Here we help, the handball players help the handball players”Uwe Schwenker told SID.
Zaporizhia’s home matches in the 2nd division will be played in Düsseldorf. The capital of the North Rhine-Westphalia region will also provide accommodation for the Ukrainian team and according to Schwenker, the project can be set up quickly. The German Handball Championships start at the beginning of September.