The Ukrainian President promised on Wednesday September 14 “victory”speaking from the strategic town of Izioum taken over by Russian forces. Volodymyr Zelensky’s birthplace, Kryvyi Rig, is threatened with flooding after a strike on the hydraulic infrastructures. Here’s what to remember from the day
In the reconquered city of Izium, Volodymyr Zelensky promises “victory”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised on Wednesday “victory” from the strategic town of Izium, recaptured from Russian forces during a Ukrainian counter-offensive. This is the first trip by the Ukrainian head of state to the Kharkiv region since the liberation of the area, almost entirely reconquered by his forces in a fortnight.
Izioum, a city of nearly 50,000 inhabitants before the war, had been the subject of deadly fighting in the spring before being taken by the Russian army, which made it a strategic node for the supply of their troops.
For its part, the Russian army, whose strikes have caused major power cuts in several Ukrainian regions in recent days, said on Wednesday that it was pounding Ukrainian forces across the country, particularly in the Kharkiv region.
The city of Kryvyï Rig threatened by floods
The city of Kryvyi Rig, in central Ukraine, is threatened with flooding after a Russian strike damaged hydraulic infrastructure and caused the flooding of a river, the Ukrainian presidency said on Wednesday. According the deputy head of the presidential administration, Kyrylo Tymoshenkothe, the center and another district of this city of 600,000 inhabitants are “under the risk of flooding”.
Volodymyr Zelensky, a native of Kryvyi Rig, had previously announced a Russian strike that targeted “hydraulic infrastructure”, with no casualties. The governor of the region, Valentin Reznitchenko, for his part mentioned seven Russian Kh-22 missiles fired from an aircraft, which “severely damaged” these infrastructures.
Chances of peace ‘minimal’, says UN
“I have no illusions, at this stage the chances of a peace agreement are minimal”admitted on Wednesday the UN Secretary General. Antonio Guterres spoke after a telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin. “I have the feeling that we are very far from peace. I would be lying if I said that it could happen soon”he added during a press conference.
The Secretary General is also continuing discussions on exports of Russian food products and fertilizers. He thus discussed with the Russian President a possible “extension and expansion” July 22 agreement on grain exports from Ukraine which is scheduled to last 120 days. The Kremlin is increasingly contesting this agreement, believing that most Ukrainian food products go to European countries, which kyiv denies.