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Volunteers repair the roof of a church in Irpin that was destroyed in a Russian missile attack
Photo: ROMAN PILIPEY/EPA
This article will be continuously updated.
After taking Lyssychansk, the Russians advance to the next target
6.58 a.m .:
After taking the former city of Lyssychansk in eastern Ukraine, Russian troops are advancing on the next target, the conurbation around Sloviansk.
"In the direction of Sloviansk, the Russians are trying to establish control over the towns of Bohorodychne, Dolyna and Masanivka," the Ukrainian general staff said in Kyiv.
The three towns are less than 20 kilometers north and northeast of Sloviansk, on the south bank of the Seversky Donets River.
According to this information, the Russian troops are also moving from the east towards the Siwerskyi Donets, which runs in an arc in the region.
There the enemy is trying to push back the Ukrainian forces to a new line of defense between Siwersk, Soledar and Bakhmut, the situation report said.
These three cities are about 30 to 40 kilometers east of the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk conurbation, which is considered the headquarters of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in Donbass.
On other front sections, both in the north around the city of Kharkiv and in the south in the Black Sea regions of Zaporizhia, Cherson and Mykolaiv, there were no significant troop movements, according to Ukrainian information, despite heavy artillery combat.
The information cannot be verified independently.
After weeks of fighting, Russia declared on Sunday that it had taken the city of Lysychansk.
Ukraine confirmed in the evening that its troops there are withdrawing.
Ukraine makes participation in the G20 summit dependent on the course of the war
5.54 a.m .:
Ukraine is making its participation in the G20 summit in November in Indonesia dependent on the situation in the country and on wartime opponents Russia.
"Our participation depends on whether the Russian Federation will be there," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in Kyiv.
"I told the Indonesian President (Joko Widodo) that we are grateful for the invitation, but we have a security situation." Russia had invaded Ukraine a good four months ago.
Zelenskyy said he had doubts that many states would take part in the summit if Russian representatives went there.
If there were even more violence by Russian soldiers against Ukrainian civilians, such as the murder of residents in the Kiev suburb of Bucha, Russia would have to reckon with “complete isolation”.
At the planned G20 summit in Bali, the topic of food safety is likely to play an important role in addition to the Ukraine war.
Russia is part of the G20 and has confirmed its intention to participate.
It is still unclear whether President Vladimir Putin will be there or connected online.
Widodo had also invited Selenskyj.
Ukraine
presents reconstruction plan – donor countries in Lugano
4.30 a.m .:
The Ukrainian government wants to present its priorities for the reconstruction of the war-torn country for the first time today.
Around 40 potential donor countries are represented at the meeting in Lugano, Switzerland, as are international organizations and financial institutions.
The Ukraine reconstruction conference is not yet about collecting money.
The need is estimated at hundreds of billions of euros.
First, the most urgent tasks are to be identified, and representatives of the Ukrainian government and donors want to agree on who can finance and organize which project.
The investments should flow as soon as possible to prevent the Ukrainian economy from collapsing or the government from falling because millions of refugees would then no longer have any prospects of returning.
The Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) and the Federal Development Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) will take part in the conference.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyj is to be connected live from Kyiv.
IOC President Bach assures Ukraine of further aid
0.34 a.m .:
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has assured the athletes from Ukraine further help.
This was confirmed by IOC President Thomas Bach during a visit to Kyiv, where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
“We support them in such a way that we can see them at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Cortina-Milano.
The Ukrainian flag will fly high," Bach said. "The IOC will triple the fund we established at the very beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine from $2.5 million to $7.5 million."
Selenskyi expressed his gratitude for the additional support.
"The Russian invasion is a serious shock for Ukrainian sport," said the 44-year-old.
Athletes "joined the Ukrainian armed forces to defend our country."
Bach would like to stick to the IOC recommendation made at the beginning of the war of aggression to the international sports federations to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes.
The IOC "assured" this to President Selenskyi.
"It's not yet time to lift this recommendation," Bach said.
London pledges permanent support to Kyiv, including for reconstruction
12:11 a.m .:
Before the start of a donor conference for Ukraine in Lugano, Great Britain has pledged continued support to the country.
Secretary of State Liz Truss will announce today that London will "do everything possible to ensure Ukraine wins the war and recovers".
As the British Foreign Office further announced, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj asked the United Kingdom to work to rebuild the capital Kyiv and the region of the same name.
"Ukraine's recovery from the Russian war of aggression will be a symbol of the power of democracy over autocracy," the State Department further quoted Truss as saying.
It will prove that Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin's attempts to destroy Ukraine have only created a stronger, more prosperous and more united nation.
"Britain remains committed to supporting Ukraine's territorial integrity and will stand by Ukraine as it emerges as a strong, thriving and cutting-edge democracy."
Zelenskyy: Ukrainian forces will return to Lysychansk
11:45 p.m.:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has acknowledged that his country’s armed forces have withdrawn from the city of Lysychansk in the Donbass.
In his nightly video message, however, he promised to restore control of the area.
Army tactics and new, improved weapons would contribute to this.
The military leadership had previously announced that the Ukrainian armed forces had to withdraw from Lysychansk.
A further defense of the city would have had fatal consequences.
col/AFP/dpa/Reuters
