(Drouzhkivka) The Russian army continued its bombardments in Ukraine on Saturday and is preparing, after four and a half months of war, “new actions”, according to Ukrainian officials.
Updated yesterday at 5:46 p.m.
The United States, which continues to increase its military aid to Kyiv, has asked China to condemn “Russian aggression” in Ukraine and the United Kingdom welcomes a first group of Ukrainian soldiers who have come to train.
In the Donbass, in the gradually conquered eastern Ukraine, “the brutal strikes of Russian artillery do not stop one day, Sloviansk, Bakhmout, Avdiivka…”, condemned President Volodymyr Zelensky, in the evening , still demanding “modern and powerful” weapons to defend themselves.
“In one day, Russia struck Mykolaiv (South), Kharkiv (North-East), Kryvy Rig (hometown of Mr. Zelensky in the East, editor’s note), the villages of the Zaporijjia region (East)… It hit […] deliberately, intentionally, mere houses, civilian objects, people. There are victims, dead, injured, ”he listed.
In the east, residents of the small town of Druzhkivka south of Kramatorsk were awakened on Saturday by a suspected missile attack that left a huge crater in front of a damaged supermarket.
PHOTO MIGUEL MEDINA, FRANCE PRESS AGENCY
A Ukrainian T-72 tank leads guard near Bakhmut in the east of the country.
Russian forces, which announced in early July that they had taken control of the Luhansk region, are now targeting the Donetsk region to occupy the entire Donbass mining basin, partially controlled since 2014 by Moscow-backed separatists after Russian annexation. of the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula.
Russian bombardments left at least one dead and two injured in Kryvy Rig according to the Ukrainian general staff.
“New Actions”
For its part, the Russian army claims to have inflicted significant damage on the Ukrainian army and equipment in the regions of Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk.
In its statement, the Russian Ministry of Defense also claims strikes on the regions of Donetsk and Kharkiv, where six civilians were injured according to the local Ukrainian prosecutor’s office.
The separatist “authorities” accuse Kyiv of having cut off the gas in Zaporijjia.
PHOTO EVGENIY MALOLETKA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Firefighters clear the rubble of a Kharkiv house destroyed by a Russian strike.
The Russian army is “in the process of regrouping, or rather reconstituting its groups and preparing new actions in Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Bakhmout”, estimated Friday on Telegram the governor of the Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko.
According to him, “the entire front line is under constant bombardment”. On Saturday morning, he reported five civilians killed and seven wounded the day before.
Luhansk Governor Sergiy Gaidai said on Saturday that Russian forces were targeting the Donetsk region from their bases in the Luhansk region where there is “no full occupation” and which “continues to fight”.
The governor of Kharkiv and that of Donetsk accused the Russian forces of causing fires, particularly in fields, with their fire. “They are trying to destroy the crops by all means,” said the latter on Friday.
In the south, police in the Kherson region announced the initiation of criminal proceedings after the destruction of crops by Russian forces.
Weapons and diplomacy
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, quoted by Ukrainian media, called on the population of the areas occupied by the Russian army to evacuate by all possible means, warning: “There will be massive fighting”.
Mr. Zelensky also put an end to the mission of five Ukrainian ambassadors abroad, including Andriï Melnik, stationed in Berlin, and who had judged openly timid Germany’s support for his country.
“A simple rotation as is customary,” he assured.
He thanked Washington for the new component of military aid announced the day before for an amount of 400 million dollars. This includes four Himars multiple rocket launcher systems and a thousand 155mm shells, which should improve Ukrainian capabilities to target weapons depots and the Russian military’s supply chain.
Washington has already provided $6.9 billion in military assistance to Kyiv since the Russian invasion began on February 24.
The United States also exerted diplomatic pressure during a G20 ministerial meeting on Friday in Indonesia.
US Secretary of State Antony Blink asked his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during an interview on Saturday to distance himself from Moscow and condemn Russian “aggression” against Ukraine.
The day before, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had slammed the door of the G20 meeting after a torrent of criticism regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
For its part, the United Kingdom announced on Saturday the arrival of a first group of Ukrainian soldiers as part of an “ambitious new training program” mobilizing 1,050 British soldiers, unveiled on June 17 in Kyiv by the first now resigning minister Boris Johnson.