“The entire Lugansk region is now the epicenter of the confrontation between Ukrainian and Russian armies.” Russians “completely control” the village of Tochkivka on the front line in the Donbass, a few kilometers from Severodonetsk and Lyssytchansk where the fighting is raging, local Ukrainian authorities said on Tuesday June 21. “According to our information, the Russians fully control Tochkivka”the head of the Severodonetsk district, Roman Vlasenko, told Ukrainian television, indicating that “the pressure persists” on the front line where “the battle of Donbass is in full swing”. Follow our live.
The Russian army inflicts “catastrophic destruction” in Lysychansk. Of the “fights (are underway) in the industrial zone of Severodonetsk” as well as “catastrophic destruction in Lysychansk”said the governor of the Lugansk region, Sergei Gaïdaï on Telegram, estimating that “the last 24 hours have been difficult” for the Ukrainian forces. According to him, “the strikes on the (three) bridges connecting Severodonetsk and Lysychansk already destroyed” continue. Consequence: Lyssytchansk, populated by about 100,000 inhabitants, is further cut off from the rest of the territories controlled by kyiv.
Russia announces that Russian television is now broadcast throughout the Kherson region in southern Ukraine. The Russian army is gaining ground on the communication front. The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday that it has connected the entire Kherson region, located in southern Ukraine, to Russian television channels. Moscow specified in a press release that approximately one million people in the region now have access “free” to these chains, in particular those of the public broadcasting group VGTRK, which actively relays the Kremlin line. As a reminder, the Kherson region was conquered by the russian army from the first days of his offensive against the country.
Moscow says the two Americans captured in Ukraine committed “crimes”. “They are mercenaries and they were involved in illegal activities on the territory of Ukraine”Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday in an interview with the American channel NBC News, in English. “They were involved in shooting and shelling” Russian soldiers and “they put their lives in danger”he continued. This is the first comment from the Kremlin on the case of these two former American soldiers, Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh, according to NBC.
Russia is stepping up its bombings in eastern Ukraine, according to kyiv. PSeveral cities are preparing for an advance of Russian troops. “The front has come closer in recent weeks, up to 15-20 kilometers”explained Monday to AFP Vadym Lyakh, mayor of Sloviansk, in the oblast of Donetsk, who hopes that “the new weapons our army needs will arrive soon”.