Enlarge image
Destroyed houses in Lysychansk (the photo was taken on June 17)
Photo: STRINGER / REUTERS
What has happened in the past few hours
The Russian
attacks on the city of Lysychansk
are "enormous," said the governor of the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk, Serhiy Hajday, on Ukrainian television.
The city is "constantly bombed with large calibers."
Fighting continued in the city's suburbs.
"The Russian army is constantly trying to attack." According to the governor, there are still around 15,000 civilians in the city.
Lysychansk is the next key target for Russian troops after they completely took the neighboring city of Sievarodonetsk over the weekend after weeks of fighting.
The Luhansk region, one of the two sub-regions of the Donbass, is almost entirely under Russian control.
More than 450
Ukrainian soldiers
have meanwhile completed their three-week military
training in Great Britain
.
Among other things, they were trained in the use of multiple rocket launchers that Great Britain is supplying to Ukraine.
The program in Salisbury was led by the British, and New Zealand was also involved.
That says Kyiv
According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
, the situation of the Ukrainian troops in the heavily contested areas in the east of the country remains
very difficult.
"We are doing everything we can to equip our military with modern artillery systems and to respond appropriately to the occupiers," he said in his daily video speech on Thursday night.
The previous pressure on Russia is not enough, said Zelenskyj.
He pointed out that ten Russian rockets were fired at the Ukrainian city of Mikolajiv on Wednesday alone.
"And all aimed at civilian targets."
Zelenskyi also announced that he would sever diplomatic relations with Syria.
Damascus had previously recognized the pro-Russian self-proclaimed "People's Republics" of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.
This made Syria the first country after Russia to recognize the two separatist areas.
Syria and Russia have been allies for decades.
Syria's decision is an "insignificant story," said Zelenskyj now.
He warned, however, that the "sanction pressure" on Russia's ally Damascus would increase.
Moscow says so
Kremlin chief
Vladimir Putin
has again claimed that hostilities
in Ukraine
are going according to plan.
"The work is quiet, rhythmic, the troops are moving and reaching the lines that have been given to them as milestones," he told Russian journalists in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat on Wednesday.
"Everything is going according to plan," the Russian news agency Tass quoted him as saying.
Putin also repeated the previous description of the
goals of the "special operation"
- that's what the Russian leadership calls the war of aggression.
It is about "liberating" the Donbass, "protecting" the local residents and "creating conditions that would guarantee Russia's security."
NATO wanted to turn Ukraine into an "anti-Russian bridgehead," Putin reiterated earlier justifications for the attack.
The Russian President also spoke about the
planned NATO accession of Finland and Sweden
.
“There is nothing that would worry us about Finland and Sweden joining NATO.
If you want – please,” said Putin.
But the countries would have to brace themselves for a Russian reaction.
Should "military contingents and military infrastructure be stationed" in the states, Russia would be forced to react in the same way.
"Everything was good between us, but now there will be some tension - that's obvious, without a doubt, it doesn't work without it."
Putin also denied responsibility for the
attack on a shopping mall in the Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk
that killed 18.
“Our army does not attack civilian infrastructure.
We're perfectly capable of knowing what's where,' he said.
Putin declined to comment on
how long hostilities might continue
.
"It would be wrong to set any deadlines," he said.
More intense fighting would mean more casualties, and "the main thing we have to think about is how to save our boys' lives."
Putin described the Russian soldiers as "heroes".
The Russian President also addressed
recent comments at the G7 summit over photos of him shirtless
.
Had the G7 leaders exposed themselves, it would have been a "disgusting sight," Putin said.
He was referring to a conversation that took place on Sunday afternoon at the G7 summit at Schloss Elmau in Bavaria: In view of the high temperatures, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked whether jackets should be taken off or not, and added: »We everyone has to show that we're tougher than Putin.« Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau replied, among other things: Riding shirtless, you have to do that.
He alluded to a well-known photo of Putin in such a pose.
“I don't know how they wanted to undress, above or below the waistline.
In any case, I think it would have been a disgusting sight,” Putin was quoted as saying by Tass.
International Reactions
Britain
is massively
expanding its
military aid to Ukraine .
The British government announced on Wednesday evening that it would increase aid by one billion pounds (almost 1.2 billion euros) – almost doubling it.
In total, Britain has pledged £2.3 billion in military aid to Ukraine, the government said.
Accordingly, air defense systems, drones and equipment for electronic warfare are to be delivered.
Prime Minister Johnson said Russia's attacks on Ukraine were "increasingly barbaric" after the military failures hoped for by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"British arms, equipment and training are transforming Ukraine's defenses against this onslaught."
Amnesty International
has classified the
air strike on the Mariupol theater
in March as a
war crime
by Russian forces.
According to the human rights organization, it collected evidence for a good three months and has now submitted a report on it.
Also included are testimonies from 52 survivors and witnesses, 28 of whom were in or near the theater at the time of the March 16 attack.
"The attack on the theater in Mariupol is a war crime by Russian troops," said Julia Duchrow of Amnesty International Germany.
Most likely, two 500-kilo bombs were dropped.
Residents of the embattled Ukrainian port city had sought shelter in the theater.
"To all appearances," the Russian military "deliberately targeted Ukrainian civilians," Duchrow said.
The International Criminal Court must treat and investigate the attack as a war crime.
What is happening today
In Madrid, the
NATO summit
is entering its second and final day.
The agenda includes the food crisis triggered by Russia's war against Ukraine and the increasing influence of Russia and China on countries in Africa, for example.
In the midst of discussions about his announced participation in the G20 summit in Indonesia in the fall
, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin is receiving his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo in Moscow
.
Earlier in the week, the Kremlin confirmed Putin's attendance at the meeting in mid-November, leaving it open as to whether he would travel to Bali in person or join via video.
Widodo visited the Ukrainian President in Kyiv on Wednesday.
aar/dpa/Reuters