(CNN Spanish) — Russia continues its advance in eastern Ukraine, the region considered “key” by President Volodymyr Zelenski himself, in a battle that is growing day by day and that seems to be leaning in favor of the Russian troops.
In recent hours, a Ukrainian military chief admitted that Russia already controls “between 70% and 80%” of the city of Severodonetsk, key in that region of Donbas.
Watch the most important news of the war this Tuesday.
The three Severodonetsk bridges are now impassable, according to the leader of the Luhansk region
The three bridges connecting the besieged city of Severodonetsk with its twin city, Lisychansk, to the west, are now impassable to vehicles, severely limiting evacuation options for those trying to flee the city and supply routes inland. according to Serhiy Hayday, head of the military administration of the Luhansk region.
“The bridges allowed to transport at least some humanitarian cargo, something related to reserves. Currently it is impossible to use the bridges,” Hayday said.
The second of the three bridges was destroyed over the weekend. Hayday’s office explained that the third bridge, which has come under sustained bombardment, is now impassable for vehicles.
Destroying the bridges gives the Russian military another advantage, as supply lines are cut off, Hayday said. Getting weapons and supplies is now “difficult, but not impossible,” he said.
Hayday added that travel between Severodonetsk and Lysychansk was still possible, but did not go into detail for security reasons.
“Lysychansk is already being shelled very hard, with a heavy caliber [armas], they are destroying everything: both humanitarian headquarters and hospitals. But from Lisychansk you can still evacuate people and pick up humanitarian goods every day,” he said.
Hayday also said about Severodonetsk that Russian forces “really control most of the city”, estimating between 70% and 80% of the territory taken by Russia.
However, he denied claims by the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) that Severodonetsk has fallen, saying “that is not true”.
“Part of the city is still controlled by the Ukrainian defenders. If they had full control of the city, the Russian soldiers would not have died there,” Hayday said.
Hayday also said that even if the Ukrainian forces were to retake the city, it would be impossible “to fully restore the infrastructure before winter. The only thing possible is to put radiators that maintain the temperature in the shops. And yes, everything is broken. With the water, with electricity… there will be big problems with everything.”
Russia asks Ukrainian fighters to “lay down their arms” in Severodonetsk
The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday called on Ukrainian fighters in Severodonetsk to lay down their arms “as happened to their comrades who surrendered earlier in Mariupol.”
“We call on the official Kyiv authorities to show prudence and give timely instructions to the militants to end their senseless resistance and withdraw from the territory of the Azot plant,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. Press release.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it was prepared to carry out a “humanitarian operation” on Wednesday to evacuate civilians from the Ukrainian-held Azot chemical plant to Russian-held territory to the north.
“The Russian military announced its readiness to carry out a humanitarian operation to evacuate civilians from Azot in a northerly direction” to the city of Svatove, in Russian-occupied territory, the Defense Ministry said.
The Ukrainian head of the Severodonetsk military administration said on Tuesday that just over 500 civilians were still sheltering at the Azot chemical plant, which remains under Ukrainian control and which authorities say has been heavily shelled by Ukrainian forces. russians
“Tomorrow, from 08:00 to 20:00 (Moscow time), a humanitarian corridor will be opened and the safe evacuation of all civilians to temporary accommodation centers will be ensured,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
He further stated that Ukraine had requested a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians to Ukrainian-controlled territory in Lisichansk, but “it is not possible to evacuate safely in this direction” because the three main bridges are impassable.
CNN has contacted Ukrainian authorities for comment.
Serhiy Hayday, head of the military administration of the Luhansk region, said Monday that the crossing between Severodonetsk and Lysychansk was now “difficult, but not impossible”, and Ukrainian authorities said on Tuesday that evacuations were slow due to constant bombing, but that was still possible.
Calling on the Ukrainian fighters to surrender, the Russian Defense Ministry said it would guarantee “the preservation of lives and compliance with all the norms of the Geneva Convention for the treatment of prisoners of war, as has already happened with their comrades who previously surrendered in Mariupol”.
The pope says that the invasion of Ukraine is a “violation” of the principle of “self-determination” by a superpower
The invasion of Ukraine is a “violation of the principle of self-determination of peoples” by a superpower that seeks to impose “its own will,” Pope Francis said in remarks released Tuesday by the Vatican, as part of a message to the World Day of the Poor of the Roman Catholic Church, to be celebrated in November.
“The war in Ukraine is now added to the regional wars that for years have exacted a high price of death and destruction,” the pope said. “However, here the situation is even more complex due to the direct intervention of a ‘superpower’ that intends to impose its own will, violating the principle of self-determination of peoples.”
In other statements, also published this Tuesday by the Italian newspaper La Stampaof a conversation Pope Francis had in May, said we are seeing “the brutality and ferocity” with which the war in Ukraine has been waged and reiterated that “we don’t see all the drama that is unfolding behind this war , which was perhaps somehow provoked or not prevented.”
During a conversation with the directors of the cultural publications of the Society of Jesus on May 19, Pope Francis spoke about the fighting in Ukraine, saying that “what we are seeing is the brutality and the ferocity with which this war is being waged. by troops, usually mercenaries, used by the Russians,” adding that the Russians “prefer to send Chechens, Syrians, mercenaries forward.”
“But the danger is that we only see this, which is monstrous, and not see all the drama that is unfolding behind this war, which was perhaps somehow provoked or not prevented. And I register an interest in testing and selling weapons. It’s very sad, but basically this is what is at stake,” he said.
The pope said he is not “for” Putin, but “simply against reducing complexity to the distinction between good guys and bad guys, without thinking about roots and interests, which are very complex.”
“While we see the ferocity, the cruelty of the Russian troops, we must not forget the problems to try to solve them,” he added.
Pope Francis said that, before the war in Ukraine began, he met “a head of state” who “was very concerned about how NATO was moving.”
“I asked him why, and he said, ‘They are barking at the gates of Russia. And they don’t understand that the Russians are imperial and they don’t allow any foreign powers to come near them.'”
Francis also said he hopes to speak with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, later this year, after a meeting scheduled for Tuesday between the two was ultimately postponed due to the war in Ukraine.
“I was scheduled to meet him on June 14 in Jerusalem, to discuss our affairs. But with the war, by mutual agreement, we decided to postpone the meeting to a later date, so that our dialogue is not misunderstood,” he said. dad.
Francis added that he hoped to meet the Russian patriarch at a general assembly in Kazakhstan in September. The Pope recently canceled his trip to Africa due to a knee injury.
The battle for Donbas is “one of the most brutal in and for Europe”, says Zelensky
The battle for the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine “will surely go down in military history as one of the most brutal battles in Europe and for Europe,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his late-night speech on Monday.
This comes after Ukrainian military officials said earlier in the day that their troops had been pushed back from the city center of Severodonetsk, which, along with its twin city Lisichansk, is at the heart of the ongoing battle for what which is still under Ukrainian control in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine, Donbas.
Authorities also said that three key bridges connecting Severodonetsk to Lisichansk are now impassable for vehicles, meaning supply routes and evacuations via those routes are impossible.
Zelensky said that the Ukrainians face the “significant advantage of the Russians in the number of equipment, and especially in artillery systems.”
“The price of this battle for us is very high. It is simply terrifying. And we draw the attention of our partners on a daily basis to the fact that only a sufficient number of modern artillery for Ukraine will ensure our advantage and finally the end of Russian torture.” of the Ukrainian Donbas,” he added.
Zelensky said a child was killed Monday by Russian shelling in the battle for Lysychansk.
“This is it: a 6-year-old boy on Moskovska Street is also, as it turned out, a dangerous enemy for the Russian Federation,” he said.
Ukrainian prosecutor investigates a mass grave near Bucha
A forensic technician inspects a suspected mass grave near the village of Vorzel in Bucha district, Kyiv region, Ukraine, on June 13. (Photo: Valentyn Ogirenko/Archyde.com)
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office says it is investigating the deaths of seven civilians found with their hands tied behind their backs near the Kyiv suburb of Bucha.
During an investigation of former Russian-held positions in the forest near the village of Myrotske, authorities said “the bodies of seven civilians with gunshot wounds and their hands tied behind their backs were found in the trenches.”
“The preliminary investigation is being carried out by the Bucha District Department of the National Police in the Kyiv region,” said a press release on Monday.
The Ukrainian national police reported Monday that attempts to identify the bodies of 1,200 civilians continue to be made throughout the country.
“This is a long process, quite laborious, because many bodies are in a state of putrefaction,” the head of the National Police, Ihor Klymenko, told Interfax Ukraine. “We select the DNA of the relatives who have contacted us through the telephone line, and then we compare the profiles of these relatives with the profiles of the dead, buried, shot, who could not be identified.”
He said police are currently investigating the deaths of more than 12,000 civilians across the country.
In Bucha, he said, a single mass grave with 116 people has been found. He said some mass graves were the result of residents picking up bodies from the streets and burying them in nearby parks.