Russian troops continue their advance in eastern Ukraine. The battle for the key city of Sievierodonetsk could come to a halt with the establishment of a humanitarian corridor, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday (June 14th). Franceinfo looks back on the highlights of the day.
Moscow proposes humanitarian corridor for civilians in Sievierodonetsk
Russia has offered to set up a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilian refugees from a factory in Sievierodonetsk on June 15. It would be open between 7 a.m. (Paris time) and 7 p.m. (Paris time), the Russian Defense Ministry said, assuring that it would guarantee “the safe evacuation of all civilians, without exception“. The Russian ministry has called on Ukrainians to raise the white flag to signal that they accept this proposal and to stop a “absurd resistance”which now seems to be concentrated in the vast Azot chemical plant, emblematic of this industrial city in eastern Ukraine.
According to the head of the administration of Sievierodonetsk, Oleksandr Stryuk, “540 to 560 people” took refuge in the underground passages of the factory, recalling the situation of the Azovstal steelworks, in the city of Mariupol.
>> IN PICTURES. War in Ukraine: the siege of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol summarized in eight photos
According to the NGO Norwegian Refugee Council, the approximately 500 civilian refugees in the Azot factory are “almost completely cut off from all supplies”. However, Ukrainian officials deny any encirclement of their forces at this stage. “The city is not isolated, there are communication routes even if they are quite complicated”asserted Oleksandr Stryukadding that the Ukrainian forces “hold on”.
Ukraine has received “about 10% of the weapons” it demands from Westerners
“Of the weapons we need, we have received about 10%”Deputy Defense Minister Anna Maliar told Ukrainian television. “No matter how hard Ukraine tries, no matter how professional our army, without the help of Western partners we cannot win this war”she pleaded.
According to her, “clear deadlines [de livraisons] must be fixed”, “because every day of delay is one more day against the lives of Ukrainian soldiers, of our people”she argued. “We can’t wait too long because the situation is very difficult”she continued, particularly in the Donbass where the Russians have been progressing little by little for several weeks to the point of practically completely controlling the Lugansk region.
Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky again urged Westerners to send “faster (…) more weapons and military equipment” because “Russians have ten, a hundred times more”. According to him, the Ukrainian army “doesn’t have enough long range weapons” and “armored vehicles”he detailed during an exchange by videoconference with Danish journalists. “The speed to reconquer occupied territories really depends on aid and weapons” sent by Westerners, hammered Volodymyr Zelensky. “If we are given more weapons, then we can move forward”he launched.
UN urges Russia not to adopt Ukrainian children
No child from Ukraine should be adopted in Russia, a UN official said. “We always insist that no child be put up for adoption during a conflict” because the UN favors “the return of children to their families”Afshan Khan, regional director of Unicef (United Nations Children’s Fund) for Europe and Central Asia, told a press conference.
“Any decision to move a child must be based on their best interests and any movement must be voluntary”with the agreement of the family, added the manager, who is returning from a stay in Ukraine. “We reaffirm, in particular to the Russian Federation, that adoption should never take place during or immediately after an emergency” humanitarian, because the children who are then separated from their families “cannot be considered as orphans”she insisted.
About the children”who have been sent to Russia, we are working closely with mediators and networks to see how we can best document these cases.”added Afshan Khan, without being able to give figures.
Emmanuel Macron supports the troops in Romania at the gates of Ukraine
The President of the Republic hailed “commitment” of the 500 French soldiers deployed in Romania to “protect” Eastern European countries threatened by the war in Ukraine. “It is the pride of France to be at the forefront”said the French president, addressing some 200 soldiers gathered at the NATO base of Mihail Kogalniceanu.
LIVE “What you have been able to implement here is unprecedented,” says Emmanuel Macron from a NATO basehttps://t.co/cEwi3c61QM pic.twitter.com/QCXokyOl2P
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) June 14, 2022
embodying “European solidarity and security”, these soldiers were deployed there in an emergency at the end of February, a few days after the start of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Commitment “fundamental”insisted the Head of State, for “prevent any attempt at destabilization and aggression against Europe”.