Ukraine, Pope-von der Leyen: common commitment to end the war. Kiev: 'Now send us your weapons or we will lose'

The

received in audience, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the President of the European Commission, Ursula

, who subsequently met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, accompanied by Msgr.

Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States.

"During the cordial talks in the Secretariat of State, we focused on good bilateral relations and the common commitment to work

in Ukraine, paying particular attention to the humanitarian aspects and the food consequences of the protracted conflict", he reports the Holy See.

Russia

, but "it takes two to tango".

Thus the Russian Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov, as reported by Tass, regarding the diplomatic path as a solution to the conflict in Ukraine.

In comments released to Russian TVs on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of the birth of

, Russian President Vladimir Putin compared himself to the Tsar by drawing a parallel between what he described as their two historical twin ventures to recapture Russian lands.

The supreme court of the self-styled Donetsk People's Republic sentenced to death the British 'mercenaries' Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner and the Moroccan Saaudun Brahim, who fought for the Ukrainian army, but 'can ask for pardon'.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was "shocked" by the death sentences imposed on the two Britons and ordered ministers to do "everything in their power" to secure their release.

The Guardian writes it.

And the EU accelerates the green light for the

to Ukraine.

After examining the two parts of the questionnaire delivered by Kiev to Brussels on commitments and requirements for obtaining the status, next week Brussels could launch the awaited recommendation.

Meanwhile the clashes continue.

a symbol of the city, destroyed by the Russian bombings

: "Ice, figure skating, hockey, volleyball, sports school, concerts, almost 50 years of history of sport and cultural development have gone up in smoke".

This was announced by the head of the Lugansk regional military administration, Sergiy Gaidai, reported by Ukrainska Pravda.

Ukraine, bombing in Severodonetsk: columns of smoke rise over the city

KIEV

- Ukrainian Deputy Chief of Military Intelligence Vadym Skibitsky said that Ukraine is losing to Russia on the front line and that it now depends almost exclusively on weapons from the West to keep Russia at bay: "This is now a artillery warfare. The fronts are now the place where the future will be decided and we are losing in terms of artillery. Everything now depends on what the West gives us, "he told the Guardian.

- The decision on the British and Moroccan soldiers, sentenced to death yesterday in Donetsk, is made "on the basis of the laws of the DPR (the self-styled Donetsk People's Republic, ed)" and "the judicial system of the Republic" must not be interfered with.

This was stated, as Ria Novosti, by Russian foreign minister Serghei Lavrov, who urged him "not to speculate on the subject of the condemnation of foreign mercenaries convicted in the DPR".

Russian troops are trying to establish full control over the Lugansk region by June 12, the date of the celebration of the Day of Russia, says the head of the Regional Military Administration Sergiy Gaidai on Facebook.

Gaidai also reported that fighting is continuing in the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk and in the settlements of Hirske and Popasna: "Severodonetsk holds up, but the Russians are destroying everything. The Russian world is a desert. The enemy is trying to achieve this. goal, "wrote Gaidai.

In comments released to Russian TV on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of the birth of Peter the Great, Russian President Vladimir Putin compared himself to the Tsar by drawing a parallel between what he described as their two historical twin enterprises to recapture Russian lands: " Apparently, it is also up to us to give back (what belongs to Russia) and strengthen (the country). If we start from the fact that these fundamental values ​​form the basis of our existence, we will certainly be able to solve the tasks we face ", he said, quoted by the Guardian.

"The special operation is developing according to the military plans initially foreseen": said the permanent representative of Moscow to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, referring to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Interviewed by the BBC, TASS reports, the Russian diplomat stressed that "no one had promised to conclude (the operation) in three or seven days. Some experts say: 'the Russian special operation is now stalled and is not proceeding with the pace that was originally planned '. But progress is underway. That is clear. "

Nebenzya then explained that "one of the reasons for the so-called slow pace is that we are not targeting civilian infrastructure": the troops "

- The decision on the British and Moroccan soldiers, sentenced to death yesterday in Donetsk, is made "on the basis of the laws of the DPR (the self-styled Donetsk People's Republic, ed)" and "the judicial system of the Republic" must not be interfered with.

This was stated, as Ria Novosti, by Russian foreign minister Serghei Lavrov, who urged him "not to speculate on the subject of the condemnation of foreign mercenaries convicted in the DPR".

The shaved hair, the gaze fixed behind the bars of the cage.

Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, British, and Saaudun Brahim, Moroccan, listened in silence to the sentence that sentenced them to death at the end of a "farce" trial staged in a Donetsk court occupied by Moscow that calls itself the People's Republic .

The accusation is that he fought as mercenaries alongside Ukrainian troops under article 430 of the criminal code of the pro-Russian separatist territory.

The two Britons and the Moroccan will probably not be executed - the court has made it known that they have a month to appeal and ask for pardon - but the message to the world is clear: Russians and pro-Russians are not looking at anyone.

"Deeply concerned"

the government of Boris Johnson which entrusted the first very harsh reaction to the sentence to a spokesman for Downing Street.

"We have repeatedly said that they are prisoners of war, that they must not be exploited for political purposes and that they have the right to immunity under the Geneva Convention".

The Foreign Office owner, Liz Truss, expressed "total condemnation" for the sentence, reiterating that they are "prisoners of war, accused in a sham trial that has absolutely no legitimacy".

Because such they are, even if Putinian propaganda pretends to ignore it.

Aslin, 28, originally from Newark in Nottinghamshire, moved to Mykolaiv in Ukraine in 2018 and enlisted as a marine in the Ukrainian army.

Pinner, 48, a native of Bedfordshire and a former soldier in

British army, has lived in Ukraine for four years, is married to a Ukrainian citizen and is, indeed he was, the instructor of the armed forces of Kiev.

And it is on him that the media counter-offensive has focused.

"Shaun Pinner was on the UK wanted list for taking part in combat actions in Iraq and Syria and was recognized as a terrorist in the UK," the judges wrote in the ruling that he has little legal and much political. .

- The assault on Azot has begun.

As happened for almost three months in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, the chemical factory of Severodonetsk also represents the last bastion of a city now de facto in Russian hands.

And to take control of it, by forcing the barricaded people out of it, Moscow's strategy again focuses on carpet bombing.

About 800 civilians remain refugees in the structure - 600 residents in the bunkers and 200 employees left over to defuse potential environmental disasters, in a plant that has suspended production but remains full of dangerous substances -, alongside which, according to pro-Russians, they also hid some units of Ukrainian soldiers in retreat.

The area was bombed several times and the raids hit at least two workshops, including one for the production of ammonia.