On the 118th day of the war in Ukraine, fighting is still raging in the east of the country, where the Russian army is inflicting "
catastrophic destruction
" and preparing to further intensify its bombardment, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Le Figaro
takes stock this Tuesday, June 21 on the latest information from journalists, official Ukrainian and Russian statements, Western sources, analysts and international organizations.
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“Catastrophic destruction” in the east
The Russian army inflicts "
catastrophic destruction
" in Lyssytchansk, a neighboring town of Severodonetsk in the Donbass, according to the governor of the Lugansk region, Serguiï Gaïdaï.
According to him, the strikes continue on the three bridges already destroyed between the twin cities, cutting each day a little more the 100,000 inhabitants of Lyssytchansk from the rest of the territories controlled by kyiv.
Fighting is raging around this key agglomeration to control the whole of Donbass, an industrial basin partially controlled since 2014 by pro-Russian separatists supported by Moscow.
In Lysytchansk, this Tuesday.
Anatolii Stepanov / AFP
A few kilometers away, the Russians "
fully control
" the village of Tochkivka, on the front line, according to the Ukrainian authorities.
According to the American Institute for War Studies (ISW), Russian forces want to cut enemy lines of communication along the highway linking Bakhmout and Lyssychansk.
Several other towns in the east are preparing for the advance of Russian troops.
“
The front has come closer in recent weeks, up to 15-20 kilometers
,” Vadym Lyakh, mayor of Sloviansk, in the Donetsk region, told AFP, hoping that “
the new weapons that our army has need will come soon
”.
»SEE ALSO – In eastern Ukraine, two cities are preparing for the worst
Russian installations targeted in the Black Sea
Ukraine said on Tuesday that it had targeted drilling platforms in the Black Sea the day before, which it said were used as
military "
installations " by the Russians to strengthen their control in the region.
“
At this site, Russia organized small garrisons, stored air defense equipment there, including radars.
That is to say, these platforms have turned into facilities that have helped and are helping the Russians to strengthen their full control of the northwestern part of the Black Sea
,” said the spokesman for the region. Odessa, Sergey Bratchouk, during an online press conference.
A hydrocarbon drilling rig and its well were on fire on Tuesday.
“
The fire on the platform does not weaken, we tried in vain to approach it by boat.
The fire has spread to the well, attempts to extinguish it continue
,” said a senator from the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea annexed by Russia, Olga Kovitidi, quoted by the Ria Novosti news agency.
Russia has accused Ukrainian forces of leaving at least three wounded and seven missing.
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Kherson region connected to Russian television
The Russification policy intensified in the occupied regions.
Moscow has announced that it has connected the entire Kherson region to Russian television channels, which will now be accessible there “
free of charge
”.
Bordering the annexed peninsula of Crimea, the region was conquered by the Russian army from the first days of its offensive launched at the end of February.
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kyiv receives German guns
Kiev announced on Tuesday the arrival of German Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled guns in its arsenal, after weeks of negotiations with its Western allies to receive "
powerful weapons
".
Berlin did not immediately confirm the delivery of these guns, nor their number.
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US
pledges to help prosecute war criminals
US Attorney General Merrick Garland was in Kyiv on Tuesday to speak with Ukraine's Attorney General and help the country "
identify, apprehend and prosecute those involved in war crimes
".
Ukrainian investigators say they have documented more than 18,000 "
war crimes
and assaults
" and identified more than 600 suspects since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24.
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Washington confirms death of second American in Ukraine
The United States confirmed on Tuesday that a second American national had been killed in action in Ukraine, reiterating its call not to take part in the conflict as two other Americans were captured by Russia.
The State Department has confirmed the death of Stephen Zabielski, 52, saying he was providing consular assistance to his family.
Read alsoFor the Kremlin, the two Americans captured in Ukraine committed “crimes”
Transit to Kaliningrad: Moscow promises “ serious
” consequences
for Lithuania
Russia has promised "
serious
" measures against Lithuania, which has introduced restrictions for certain goods transiting to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, under European sanctions against Moscow.
The Russian region of Kaliningrad, on the shores of the Baltic, borders to the west with Poland and to the east with Lithuania, two EU countries which have no other border with Russia.
Moscow has accused the EU of encouraging an "
escalation
" of tensions.
“
We demanded an immediate restoration of transit to Kaliningrad.
Otherwise, reprisals will follow
,” said Russian diplomacy, after summoning the head of the EU delegation to Russia.
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"
Total consensus
" of the 27 for Ukraine's EU candidacy
The granting of EU candidate status to Ukraine is the subject of "
total consensus
" among the Union's European Affairs ministers, French Minister Clément Beaune said on Tuesday, two days before a decisive summit of the 27 devoted in particular to this question.
” SEE ALSO – Ukraine's candidacy: “Total consensus” of the EU before a crucial summit, says Clément Beaune
600 million euros against the food crisis
The EU announced on Tuesday that it wanted to mobilize an additional 600 million euros to help countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean overcome the food crisis caused by the war.
For Moscow, the West is responsible for the rise in grain prices.
"
The famine will begin and they will lift the sanctions
," the editor-in-chief of the pro-Kremlin RT channel, Margarita Simonyan, told the St. Petersburg Economic Forum on Sunday.
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A third of displaced or refugee Ukrainians
More than seven million Ukrainians are displaced in the country, according to the UN.
Added to this are 7.7 million who have fled abroad.
Before the Russian invasion, Ukraine had 37 million inhabitants in the territory controlled by kyiv, amputated in particular from the Crimea annexed by Moscow in 2014.