Black Sea, next front in war of Putin vs.
Ukraine?
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(CNN Spanish) --
Russia maintains its attacks on the city of Severodonetsk, considered key by Ukraine to sustain the Donbas region, in the continuity of the war that has already exceeded 100 days.
In addition, Vladimir Putin justified the war in the last hours by comparing himself to Peter the Great, a Russian monarch who invaded Sweden at the end of the 17th century.
We will succeed in solving the tasks ahead of us," he stated.
See the main news this Friday from the war that keeps the world on edge.
ANALYSIS |
After 100 days of war, Putin has the world's indifference
Heavy fighting continues in critical city of Severodonetsk, according to Ukrainian authorities
Ukrainian forces said late Thursday that the battle for the city of Severodonetsk is continuing.
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"The situation is constantly difficult. Our defenders are holding the defense line, leveling the defense line," Serhiy Hayday, head of the military administration of Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region, said on national television.
"The fiercest fighting continues in Severodonetsk," Hayday said.
The city has witnessed heavy fighting in recent days.
Hayday accused the Russians of using "lies and propaganda" in claiming victory at Severodonetsk.
Although "the Russians had already reported that they had taken the city," the official said, Russian forces have withdrawn some of their units.
Oleksandr Striuk, head of the Severodonetsk military administration, said Thursday on television that there is "constant street fighting."
"The humanitarian situation in the city is critical. The bridge is under fire, so it is impossible to deliver goods. There is no water supply," Striuk said.
Millions of tons of grain are still unable to leave Ukraine 2:10
"The Ukrainian Armed Forces now control about a third of the city," he added, saying it will be "very difficult to liberate Severodonetsk [if it falls]."
Hayday said there is no direct fighting in the neighboring city of Lisychansk, but accused Russian forces of heavily shelling the area.
If Russian troops took control of Lisychansk and Severodonetsk, the entire Luhansk region would come under Moscow's control.
In this framework, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, said that the situation in the key cities of the front in the Donbas region is the same "without significant changes"
"Severodonetsk, Lisichansk and other Donbas cities, which the occupiers now consider to be key targets, are resisting," he said in a late-night speech on Thursday.
"We have a certain positive in the Zaporizhia region, where we managed to thwart the occupiers' plans. We are gradually advancing in the Kharkiv region, liberating our land. We are maintaining defense in the direction of Mykolaiv."
Putin compares himself to Peter the Great and suggests Russia is justified in invading Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the multimedia exhibition Peter the Great: The Birth of the Empire at the Russia - My Story historical park at the VDNKh on June 9.
(Photo: Russian Presidency)
Russian President Vladimir Putin compared himself to Peter the Great, a late 17th-century Russian monarch, using this comparison to justify the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
During a visit Thursday to an exhibition dedicated to Russia's first emperor, Putin attempted to compare Peter the Great's conquest of Sweden in the 18th century with his own military invasion of Ukraine today.
In his comments, Putin argued that Peter the Great did not conquer, but rather fought for territory that rightfully belonged to Russia.
And he drew a parallel to the current war in Ukraine, suggesting that Russia's recent military actions - in which its troops have destroyed Ukrainian cities and killed thousands of innocent men, women and children - are justified, because Ukraine is not a legitimate sovereign nation, but, in fact, Russian territory.
"Why did [Peter the Great] go there?"
Putin asked, "recovered and fortified. And it seems that our destiny is to retake and fortify too, if we are to assume that these basic values form the basis of our existence, then we will succeed in solving the tasks ahead of us," Putin said.
Putin went on to add that European countries did not recognize St. Petersburg as Russian at first, equating it to the current situation of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, including Crimea, which the United States and European allies do not recognize as Russian.
Putin's remarks demonstrate 'bloody takeover under artificial pretexts', Ukrainian official says
A Ukrainian official on Friday responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin's claim that, like Peter the Great, his destiny was to "recover and fortify" what was rightfully Russia's.
"Putin's confession about the land seizure and the comparison with Peter the Great show that there was no 'conflict', but the bloody seizure of the country under artificial pretexts of genocide of the population," said Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the Chief of the Office of the President of Ukraine, via Twitter.
"We should not talk about 'saving [Russia's] face,' but about its immediate deimperialization," he said.
Italians face a pasta crisis due to Russia's war in Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron said last week that the world "must not humiliate Russia" to allow diplomatic talks.
In an interview broadcast by the BBC on Thursday, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, insisted: "The objectives of the operation were publicly announced. It was the neutrality of Ukraine, the demilitarization and denazification of the country. And the liberation of Donbas was the main objective, which is being carried out at the moment".
Ukrainian Officials Report Dozens of Civilians Killed in Russian Airstrikes
Valentyn Reznichenko, head of the military administration of Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, says the city of Kryvyi Rih, located in the center of the country, is now under constant fire from Russian forces.
"The communities of Zelenodolsk and Shyrokiv suffer the most. Unfortunately, six people died there: 179 houses, two schools, a kindergarten and a hospital were destroyed or damaged," Reznichenko said.
The official said that the towns and cities of Kryvyi Rih are "filled with cluster munitions due to shelling" and that there are problems with the supply of gas, electricity and water.
In Kharkiv, five people were killed and 14 wounded in the Russian strikes, according to Oleh Syniehubov, head of the regional military administration.
Trench warfare stalls in Ukraine 4:38
"Today the enemy attacked the Kharkiv region, in particular the settlements in the north and northeast directions," Syniehubov said, adding that the attacks hit residential buildings in Zolochiv.
"Five houses were destroyed. The enemy has also attacked the Chuhuiv district today," Syniehubov said Thursday in a round of questions and answers broadcast live on Ukrainian national television.
Syniehubov said that the Ukrainian armed forces "hold their positions in the north and northeast directions."
Terror on the civilian population
: When asked why the Russian military is bombing civilian infrastructure, despite the fact that at the moment there are no visible clashes between the Russian and Ukrainian armies in the Kharkiv region, Syniehubov replied that the Russian forces " concentrate their attention on the terror of the civilian population."
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