Turning point in the south: Ukraine launches counter-offensive – city in Donbass threatens to fall
Created: 2022-06-02 05:22
By: Patrick Mayer, Bedrettin Bölükbasi
Russian troops are apparently penetrating the center of Sievjerodonetsk.
In the south, Ukraine is striking back with an offensive.
The news ticker about the war.
Sievjerodonetsk
before
capture:
According to a governor, Russian troops control 70 percent of the city.
Counter-offensive in the south of Cherson
: Ukraine is said to be repelling Russian troops.
After the Russian advance
: Strategic withdrawal of Kiev from the Donbass?
This
news ticker on the military situation in the Ukraine war
is continuously updated.
Update from June 1, 10:45 p.m .:
Sudden weapon turnaround in Berlin: After the Panzerhaubitze2000, Germany is planning to deliver several heavy rocket launchers to the armed forces of Ukraine.
After the Russian advance: Strategic withdrawal of Kiev from the Donbass?
Update from June 1, 10:15 p.m .:
What’s next in eastern Ukraine?
As ZDF's "heute journal" reported in the evening, Kyiv is considering the strategic withdrawal of all its troops from the Donbass so that they are not encircled by the Russian invading army.
Meanwhile, there was another air alert in the far west of the country in Lviv (Lemberg) in the evening.
Update from June 1, 9:30 p.m .:
According to Ukrainian information, Sievjerodonetsk in the Luhansk region is about to be completely conquered by Russian troops.
Accordingly, the Ukrainian armed forces are building a new line of defense on the opposite bank of the Severskyi Donets River in the city of Lysychansk.
The city, which had around 100,000 inhabitants like neighboring Sievjerodonetsk before the fighting broke out, is said to be more difficult to take.
“Lysychansk is in a better position, it's higher.
And it's much better strategically.
The city is completely under the control of Ukraine,” said the head of the Luhansk regional military administration, Serhiy Hajday, on Ukrainian television: “The shelling continues everywhere.
Every settlement is being bombarded by the Russians with large caliber artillery, multiple rocket launchers and even airplanes.”
Counter-offensive in the south of Cherson: Ukraine is said to be repelling Russian troops
Update from June 1, 8:30 p.m .:
According to military information, the Ukrainian army has recaptured 20 occupied towns from Russian troops in the south of the country.
About half of the population has fled from these villages in the Kherson administrative region, said the head of the Ukrainian regional military administration, Hennady Lahuta, on television.
The attack is being carried out from the north from the Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk, the Ukrainian troops are advancing further south.
The information could not be independently verified.
However, for days there have been reports of the Ukrainian army advancing in the south while at the same time having to evacuate positions in the east due to superior Russian firepower.
The city of Cherson is the only Ukrainian regional capital that has been occupied by the Russian army so far.
By introducing the ruble and issuing Russian passports, Moscow is taking the first steps towards annexing this region to Russia.
Embarking on a counteroffensive in the south: the armed forces of Ukraine at war with Russia.
(symbol photo) © Ghirda/AP/dpa
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Russia has “partial successes”: Kyiv reports on the difficult situation in Sievjerodonetsk
Update from June 1, 7:55 p.m .:
According to the General Staff in Kiev, the Russian troops “partially succeeded” in battles in the embattled city of Sievjerodonetsk in the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine.
The enemy is in control of the eastern part of the city, the Ukrainian military command said on Wednesday evening.
The storm on the big city continues, it was said.
The pro-Russian separatists claimed they had already taken control of more than 70 percent of the city.
Sieverodonetsk is the administrative center in the Ukrainian-controlled part of the Luhansk region.
There has been fighting there for days.
Should Russian troops capture the city, they would have complete control over the Luhansk region.
Taking the Luhansk and Donetsk regions is one of the goals set by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
US missile systems: Blink - No attacks by Ukraine with these weapons on Russian territory
Update from June 1, 7:35 p.m .:
According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Ukraine has promised not to use the modern missile systems promised by Washington for attacks on targets in Russia.
The United States expects Russia's war in Ukraine to drag on for months, Blinken said at a press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Washington.
With the new weapons, Washington wants to ensure that the country "has everything it needs for its defense".
Blinken rejected Moscow's accusation that Washington would further fuel the conflict with the arms deliveries.
“It is Russia attacking Ukraine, not the other way around,” said the US Secretary of State: “To be clear, the best way to prevent an escalation is for Russia to stop the attacks and the war it started , ended.” If Russia were to stop its attacks, the war “could be over tomorrow”.
However, there are currently no signs of this.
After the attack by Russia: 139 children are currently missing in Ukraine
Update from June 1, 6:55 p.m .:
139 Ukrainian children are currently missing in the war with Russia.
This was announced by the head of the National Police, Ihor Klymenko, on Wednesday.
Accordingly, after February 24 - the beginning of the Russian war of aggression - 1900 children were missing.
The police found 1,794 of them and took them back to their relatives, Klymenko explained.
Sumy Oblast again attacked with rockets: New attack north of Kharkiv
Update from June 1, 6:15 p.m .:
Russia has apparently again attacked the Sumy Oblast not far from the border with rockets.
This is reported by the Ukrainian media project
The Kyiv Independent
.
According to Dmytro Zhyvytsky, the region's governor, six rockets were fired at the oblast this Wednesday.
Victims and the amount of damage are not yet known, the tweet continues.
Sumy is located north of the city of Kharkiv, less than 50 kilometers from the Russian border.
Sievjerodonetsk heavily contested: Russians are advancing - around 12,000 people are still in the city
Update from June 1, 5:55 p.m .:
The city of Sievjerodonetsk, which once had around 100,000 inhabitants, is currently the focus of the heavy fighting in the Donbass.
According to Mayor Olexandr Strjuk, there is hope that Russian troops will not be able to take it completely.
And that despite the fact that, according to him, the pro-Russian speratists and the invasion troops of Moscow now control 60 percent of the city area.
After the heavy bombardment, 20 percent of the city had become a "no man's land," he told the Reuters news agency in a telephone interview.
According to his knowledge, 12,000 to 13,000 people would still be in the badly damaged city in the Luhansk region.
Sievjerodonetsk before capture: Russian troops probably control 70 percent of the city
Update from June 1, 4:10 p.m .:
Russian troops are apparently about to capture the strategically important city of Sievjerodonetsk.
"The Russians control 70 percent of Sieverodonetsk," regional governor Serhiy Gaiday said on Wednesday.
During fighting, an incident previously occurred in a chemical factory.
Sievjerodonetsk before capture: "Russians control 70 percent"
According to Gajdaj, while the Russian troops were consolidating their positions in the center of the city, the Ukrainian soldiers continued to retreat.
"If the Russians get Sieverodonetsk under their control in two to three days, they will deploy artillery and mortars there and bombard Lysychansk more intensively," the Luhansk governor wrote in the Telegram online service.
Separated by a river, Sieverodonetsk and Lysychansk are the last cities in the Luhansk region to be at least partially controlled by Ukraine.
According to Gajday, Lysychansk is more difficult to take because the city is on a hill.
Russian air raid on chemical plant - apparently nitric acid over Sievjerodonetsk
Update from June 1, 10:30 a.m .:
During battles in the embattled city of Sievjerodonetsk in the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, an incident occurred in a chemical plant for nitric acid.
The Ukrainian authorities, who continue to have control there, spoke of a Russian air raid on the plant.
The pro-Russian separatists, on the other hand, announced that there had been an explosion there.
The city of Sievjerodonetsk is currently heavily contested and is likely to be taken by Russian troops.
© IMAGO/Alexander Reka
A large plume of smoke could be seen in photos published by the governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Gaiday, on his Telegram news channel.
On the other hand, the separatist representative Rodion Miroshnik announced that chemicals had been blown up at the Azot plant.
It appears to be nitric acid.
The company is one of the largest chemical companies in Ukraine.
It was said that 7,000 people were once employed there.
According to the Ukrainian newspaper
Ukrainska Pravda
, regional governor Gajdaj called on the population to “have face masks soaked in soda solution” to protect against toxic fumes.
He also called on citizens to keep an eye on the wind direction.
The Ukrainian newspaper also shared tips for the population on how to deal with nitric acid.
If the poisonous gas gets into your eyes, you should rinse your eyes thoroughly for 10 to 30 minutes.
The sheet warned of a possible loss of vision.
In case of skin contact with nitric acid, citizens were advised to wash the affected area with soap and baking soda.
Zelenskyy responds to Russian shelling - "Hit with indiscriminate airstrikes just crazy"
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also reacted to the incident.
"Given the fact that there is a large-scale chemical production facility in Seyerodonetsk, the Russian army's indiscriminate airstrikes in this city are just crazy," the Ukrainian leader said in a video message, according to French channel France 24. But on the 97th day of the war, it is "no longer surprising that any craziness is perfectly acceptable for the Russian military, for Russian commanders and for Russian soldiers," Zelensky said.
Putin's troops attack eastern Ukraine - apparently Russian successes in Sievjerodonetsk
First report from June 1:
Munich - In the Ukraine conflict, the Russian ruler Vladimir Putin dreamed of taking the Ukrainian capital Kiev as part of his invasion - a quick and great success.
However, the strong Ukrainian defense shattered that dream.
Instead, Russian troops are now focusing on eastern Ukraine, where victory is considered more likely.
This map shows where the Ukraine war is raging.
After initial difficulties for Russia, the offensive in the Donbass is now running much faster.
The next city there could very soon fall completely into Russian hands.
Most recently, Putin's troops have concentrated their military efforts on the city of Sievjerodonetsk in the Luhansk Oblast -- apparently with initial successes.
Russia in the center of Sievjerodonetsk - London speaks of intense fighting in the Ukraine war
According to Ukrainian information, the Russian military has established itself in the city center when it stormed the administrative center of Sievjerodonetsk.
"The aggressor has carried out attacks in the northern, southern and eastern urban areas of Sieverodonetsk, has had success with individual units and is now nesting in the city centre," the Ukrainian General Staff said in its morning situation report.
The British Ministry of Defense confirmed the reports from Sieverodonetsk.
Russian troops would advance towards the city center, according to the ministry's latest assessment in London on Twitter.
The street fights have since 30-31.
May intensified.
"More than half of the city is now probably occupied by Russian forces, including Chechen fighters," the British Ministry of Defense reported.
In Luhansk Oblast, Russian troops would concentrate their firepower on a small area.
The Ukraine War in Pictures - Destruction, Resistance and Hope
View photo gallery
Russian attempts to advance - Putin's troops attack several cities in the Ukraine war
However, Russian attacks on the Donbass in the Ukraine war are not limited to Sievjerodonetsk.
Putin's troops are also continuing their attacks on the Ukrainian military around the city.
West of Sievjerodonetsk, in the Bakhmut area:
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the Russians are trying to push the Ukrainian defenders out of their positions at Bilohorivka and Vrubivka.
There were also attacks at Komyshuvahka, Berestove and Nyrkove.
The Russian attacks are probably aimed at preventing the Ukrainians from an orderly retreat from the former city.
Sloviansk:
From the small town of Lyman, Russian forces with the support of modern Ka-52 attack helicopters advanced towards Sloviansk, the fighting continued, the Ukrainian general staff announced.
Izyum:
Attacks in the city northwest of Sloviansk were repelled near the village of Dowgenke, it said.
There, the Russian units were forced to partially retreat after heavy losses.
According to Ukrainian sources, nine Russian attacks in Donbass were repelled during the day and more than 20 military vehicles were disabled.
This information cannot be verified independently.
Due to the high losses, a British expert expects the Russian military to collapse soon.
(bb with dpa)
