kyiv says it is in a defensive position on the eastern front and Vladimir Putin believes that the Ukrainian counter-offensive has “not been successful”.
While the counter-offensive by Ukrainian troops continues, kyiv admitted, on Sunday July 16, to being in “defensive stance” in the east of the country. For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin considered that the kyiv operation had no “not successful”. Franceinfo looks back on the highlights of the day.
kyiv says it is in a defensive position on the Eastern Front
From kyiv, Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Malyar acknowledged that the Ukrainian army was “on a defensive position” in the east of the country. “For two days in a row, the enemy actively attacked in the Kupyansk sector of the Kharkiv region”she said on Sunday. “Fierce fighting is taking place, and positions… are changing several times a day.” kyiv admitted to fighting difficult battles and called on its allies to provide more weapons and long-range artillery.
However, the Deputy Minister argued that the Ukrainian forces “gradually advancing” near Bakhmout, a city that fell under Russian control in May after extremely deadly clashes. “In Bakhmout itself, we bomb the enemy, and the enemy bombs us”she said. “The situation has intensified somewhat in the East”she pointed out.
For Vladimir Putin, the Ukrainian counter-offensive has “not been successful”
“All the attempts of the enemy to break through our defense (…), in particular by using strategic reserves, did not succeed during the entire period of the offensive. The enemy did not achieve success”said the Russian president.
Speaking in an interview with the Rossia-1 television channel, he judged that the situation was “positive” for the Russian forces on the front. “Our troops behave heroically. Unexpectedly for the adversary, they even go on the offensive in certain sectors and capture more advantageous positions”he assured.
The Ukrainian counter-offensive, carried out since June with the support of heavy weapons delivered by the West, is progressing slowly in the face of Russian troops who have time to establish solid defences, in particular formidable minefields, and still have substantial firepower to pound the Ukrainian forces. The Ukrainian General Staff said on Sunday that offensive operations in the direction of Melitopol and Berdyansk, two towns occupied by Russia in southern Ukraine, were continuing.
The Russian state takes control of assets of Danone and Carlsberg
According to a decree signed by Vladimir Putin, and published on the official Russian legal portal, 98.56% of the shares of the Russian brewery Baltika, belonging to Carlsberg, and tens of thousands of shares belonging to a Russian subsidiary of Danone are placed “temporarily” under the control of the Russian state. This decree specifies that 83,292,493,000 shares of “Danone Russia”, owned by the group “Produits Laitiers Frais Est Europe”, still according to the decree, are placed under the control of the Russian State, as well as 85,000 other shares belonging to the Danone Trade group.
The Danish brewer Carlsberg announced at the end of June that it had found a buyer, without naming him, for its activities in Russia, more than a year after announcing its withdrawal from the country following the Russian offensive in Ukraine. The group announced at the end of March 2022 the sale of its important activities in Russia, where it has 8,400 employees and has owned the Russian brand Baltika since 2000.
For its part, the French agrifood giant Danone had announced its intention to withdraw from most of its activities in Russia. The group, which had initially assumed its presence in Russia to meet “the essential food needs of the civilian population”said he planned to cede control of his branch “dairy and vegetable products”, retaining only infant nutrition. The French giant had specified that this withdrawal operation could “lead to a depreciation of up to 1 billion euros” in his accounts.