The Ukrainian city of Severodonetska key city in the eastern region of the Donbásis about to fall before the troops of Russiawhose government accused USA on Wednesday to “add fuel to the fire” by increasing military aid to Kiev.
“The Russians control 70% of Severodonetsk“, assured Serguéi Gaidai, governor of the region of Lugansk. According to him, the city is “90% destroyed”.
Fighting is currently taking place in this industrial city, located in the region of Luganskwhich together with Donestkforms the mining basin of the Donbás. After failing in the attempt to take Kievthe capital, Moscow focused his offense on this part of Ukraine.
“If in two or three days the Russians take control of Severodonetskthey will install artillery and mortars and will bombard Lysychansk” even more intensely, the neighboring city located on the other side of the river, still under the control of Kievhe added.
Before the advance of the Russian troops, the American president Joe Biden confirmed on Tuesday the increase in military aid to kyiv in order to “attack key targets more precisely.”
A senior official from the White House specified that these are the Himars systems, which, on light armored vehicles, can carry out multiple launches of very precise missiles, with a range of 80 km.
These pieces of equipment are part of a new $700 million US military assistance package to Ukraine.
“Firewood”
Following the announcement, the Kremlin accused USA to “add fuel to the fire”. “These deliveries do not encourage the Ukrainian leadership to relaunch the peace negotiations,” reacted the spokesman for the Russian presidency, Dmitri Peskov.
In an article in New York Times, Biden insisted that USA is not giving Ukraine “the means to attack outside its borders” and that it does not seek “a war between NATO and Russia”.
For some specialists, the Himars missiles can alter the balance of forces on the ground, just as the Ukrainian army falls back on the Donbás. But others qualify this statement, since the Ukrainian troops will need time to learn how to use them.
What they do agree on is that it can improve the morale of soldiers. “If you know you have heavy weapons, everyone cheers,” one fighter told AFP.
“Just crazy”
On Tuesday, a shelling by Russian troops hit a nitric acid tank at a chemical plant in Severodonetsk. The compound is dangerous, so the local governor asked the population to stay in shelters and prepare protective masks.
“The Russian army’s attacks on this city, blind aerial bombardment, are just crazy,” reacted the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
West of Severodonetskin the city of Sloviansk, AFP journalists saw buildings destroyed after an attack in which three people were killed and six others were injured.
On Wednesday, at least one person was killed and two others were injured in Soledar, between Sloviank and Severodonetsk, according to AFP.
And a little further south, pro-Russian separatists claim to have cut off one of the only two roads leading to Avdiivka, located near the city of Donetsk and that it is still controlled by kyiv.
And Russia and the separatists manage to take over this town, it would be a symbolic victory for Moscow’s troops and would facilitate the capture of Kramatorsk, a strategic city in Donbas still controlled by kyiv, which is located about 100 km further north.
Russian oil and gas
to support Kievthe European Union has also sent arms to Ukraine and has adopted unprecedented economic sanctions against Moscow.
This week, European leaders agreed to a partial embargo on Russian oil and the 27 also try to reduce their dependence on gas.
To try to evade sanctions, Russia now demands payment for gas in rubles and cuts off supply to countries that refuse to do so. On Wednesday, Moscow cut off supplies to Denmark. He has also done it with Netherlands, Finland, Poland and Bulgaria.
The Russian giant Gazprom announced that its gas exports to countries outside the former Soviet bloc decreased by 27.6% between January and May 2022.
Diplomatic maneuvering is also focused on unblocking Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea and allowing the export of hundreds of tons of stalled grain, fueling fears of a global food crisis.
And after nearly a hundred days of war, many Ukrainians are hoping to escape their reality for 90 minutes with the World Cup qualifier between their team and Scotland on Wednesday in Glasgow.
“I hope for a victory,” Andriy Veres told AFP on the streets of kyiv. “It is very important for the country, for the whole world, for those who are football fans, but even for those who are not.”
(AFP information)
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