a matter “internal to Europe”, considers the Kremlin

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2:57 p.m. : Germany is running out of gas and will have to make “very difficult choices of society” for households and businesses if Russian deliveries fall further, warned Economy Minister Robert Habeck.

1:36 p.m. : Moscow called it a“internal affair in Europe” the decision of the Twenty-Seven to grant Ukraine and Moldova EU candidate status, while accusing the West of wanting to wage war on Russia.

1:37 p.m. : Ukraine’s accession to the EU, at best, can only be envisaged from 2029, estimates Natalya Forsiouk, director of the governmental office for European integration. “Before [cette date]this is unlikely, due to the large amount of laws that need to be passed and implemented”she said on Ukrainian television.

12:41 p.m. : Sergey Lavrov also compared the EU to the Nazi regime. “Hitler under his banner had brought together a large part of Europe to wage war against the Soviet Union”he said.

12:38 : “Today, the EU and NATO are bringing together such a contemporary coalition to fight and, to a large extent, wage war against Russia,” said Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, during a trip to Azerbaijan.

12:24 p.m. : The Russian army continues its progression towards Lyssytchansk, twin town of Sievierodonetsk, and now claims the capture of the locality of Zolote, a few kilometers further south. Lt. Col. Andrei Marochko of the Luhansk separatist militia posted a video of the local administration’s pediment, where the Ukrainian flag was replaced with a red banner “of victory”.

(ANDREI MAROTCHKO / TELEGRAM)

12:00 p.m. : Here is the update on the news:

• Ukrainian forces have been ordered to withdraw from Sievierodonetsk, in the east of the country, the scene of bitter fighting with the Russian army. Bombarded by Russian forces for weeks, the city is a crucial step in their plan to conquer all of Donbass.

• A last chance to convince the court: at the trial of the attacks of November 13, the lawyers of Salah Abdeslam will plead for the only member still alive of the commandos who struck Paris and Saint-Denis, with the hope of avoiding him life imprisonment.

They want higher wages to better deal with inflation. SNCF unions today called on railway workers to go on strike on Wednesday 6 July.

• Météo France has updated its forecasts tonight. Only five departments remain on orange alert to storms: Ardèche, Drôme, Isère, Haute-Savoie and Savoie.

11:21 a.m. : The Ukrainian army has announced its withdrawal from the city of Severodonetsk. In the aftermath, the separatist militia of Luhansk announced the appointment of a new interim mayor, Mark Vorzhal. “I myself am from this city, I had not returned for eight years”, he said, according to the Russian agency RIA Novosti. He adds that 10,000 people still live in this city, largely destroyed by the fighting.

10:44 am : An official of the pro-Russian administration was killed in the explosion of his vehicle this morning in Kherson, in the south of Ukraine. The victim, Dmitri Savlutchenko, was in charge of sports and youth in the region. This type of attack is increasing in certain areas occupied by Russian forces.

10:19 : Prisoners of war or mercenaries? Two former American soldiers, captured in the Donbass, were sentenced to death by the pro-Russian justice of this territory. The authorities refuse them the status of “prisoners of war”depriving them of the protection of the Geneva Conventions, as explained by Fabien Magnenou in his article.

(KONSTANTIN MIHALCHEVSKIY / SPOUTNIK / AFP)

09:12 : Here is the update on the news:

• A last chance to convince the court: at the trial of the attacks of November 13, the lawyers of Salah Abdeslam will plead for the only member still alive of the commandos who struck Paris and Saint-Denis, with the hope of avoiding him life imprisonment.

• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party suffered two crushing defeats in parliamentary by-elections. What cause the resignation this morning of the president of the party on the grounds that “someone has to take responsibility”.

• Ukrainian forces have been ordered to withdraw from the town of Sievierodonetsk, in the east of the country, the scene of bitter fighting with the Russian army.

• Météo France updated its forecast tonight. Only seven departments remain on orange alert to storms: Tarn, Aveyron, Ardèche, Drôme, Isère, Haute-Savoie and Savoie.

08:18 : Located in the Luhansk oblast, in eastern Ukraine, Sievierodonestk has been undergoing a large-scale offensive led by Russian forces for several weeks.

08:06 : Ukrainian forces have been ordered to withdraw from the city of Sievierodonetsk, announces the regional governor.