What to remember about the 104th day of the Russian invasion

The head of the French Senate will visit Ukraine “soon”

At the invitation of French Senate President Gerard Lச்சர்rcher (right-wing opposition) Rada (Ukrainian parliament) President Roussell Stefanchok announced at a news conference in Paris on Tuesday that he would leave for Que. Mr. Larcher told President Emmanuel Macron that he was “naturally” informed of the visit because “there are times when France needs to speak with one voice.”

Fighting continued in Severodonetsk

“The enemy is currently attacking Severodonetsk and fighting is ongoing,” said Sergei Kaita, governor of the Lukansk region, who last week reported pockets of protest in the industrial zones of the region. .

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday evening that Ukrainian militants were “capturing” their positions in Chevroletonets and engaging in intense street fighting.

Severdonetsk, along with its neighbor Lysitshansk, is the last Russian-controlled integration in Lukansk. Its capture would open the way for the Russians to Kramatorsk, a large city in the Donetsk region. The Donetsk and Lukansk regions have been partly under the control of pro-Russian separatists since 2014, forming the Donbass Basin, and Moscow is now seeking full control.

Discuss the Lavrov Sea Corridors in Turkey

The AFP photographer noted that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Turkey on Tuesday evening to discuss the construction of maritime corridors to facilitate grain exports to the Black Sea.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Russian writer Dmitry Klukovsky

On Tuesday the Russian judiciary added science fiction writer Dmitry Klukovsky to a wanted list, facing up to 10 years in prison for criticizing the Russian military in the wake of the attack launched in Ukraine. In the Telegram news, the 42-year-old writer explained in a message posted on Instagram that he had been accused of “insulting the Russian armed forces” and blaming Vladimir Putin for the conflict.

Russian General Donbass died

Witnessing the intensity of the fighting, pro-Russian separatist leader Denise Bushil confirmed the death of a Russian general in the region on Tuesday, a Russian war correspondent reported Sunday. In a statement in the Telegram, General Roman Kutuzov said he had “set an example of how to serve the fatherland.”

Several senior Russian officials have died since the start of the Ukrainian invasion on February 24. But their exact number cannot be verified, and Russian officials rarely communicate about their losses.

The Russians occupy a large nuclear power plant in the south

The war continues in southern Ukraine, where Kiev is trying to recapture part of the Russian-occupied territory of Kerson and Zaporizhia. The Ukrainian military said it had carried out attacks on Russian camps near Kersen and ammunition depots near the town of Mykoliv.

In the Zaporijjia region, the Russians occupied a remarkably large nuclear power plant, which provided 20% of Ukraine’s electricity before the war. Rafael Crozi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, tweeted on Monday that the IAEA was preparing an expert mission for the plant, adding that Ukrainian operator Enerkotom on Tuesday would oppose such a visit until kyiv regulates control. It. Energoatom estimates in a telegram that a visit under Russian control will “come to legalize the presence of the occupiers and recognize their actions.”

The struggle for wheat resources

The other major war, an economic war, was the wheat resources of Ukraine’s grain power. In a tweet on Monday, European Council President Charles Michael stressed that the EU “has no sanctions against the Russian agricultural sector” and accused Moscow of using the material as a “piracy missile against developing countries.”

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has accused Moscow of “blackmailing” the lifting of international sanctions by blocking wheat exports from Ukraine. The naval siege of Ukrainian ports has hampered grain exports and raised fears of a crisis. He considered reports that Russia was “stealing” tons of grain to “sell them for its own profit” in food, especially in Africa, as “credible.” .

Are Russian trucks carrying ‘stolen Ukrainian grain’?

According to New York Times, Washington warned 14 countries in mid-May that Russian cargo ships were carrying “stolen Ukrainian grain”, mainly in Africa. Antony Blinken quoted this article from the American newspaper, although he did not directly confirm the warning sent to African countries.

The Ukrainian ambassador to Ankara on Friday accused Russia of “stealing” Ukrainian grain and exporting it specifically to Turkey. “It is important that we are prepared to export our grain. Russia says there is a food shortage in Ukraine … This is wrong,” President Zhelensky said on Monday. He says the volume of grain for export banned by the Russians in Ukraine will triple in the “autumn” and reach 75 million tons.

Shipping lanes required

“We need maritime corridors and we are discussing this with Turkey and the United Kingdom,” the Ukrainian president continued with the UN. kyiv is discussing the matter with Poland and the Baltic countries to export small quantities by rail.

Lavrov was forced to cancel a trip to Serbia

On the other hand, the head of Russian diplomacy was forced to cancel a planned visit to Belgrade on Monday and Tuesday. Three European nations actually closed their airspace to his plane, which was condemned by the Kremlin as “slander”. Many analysts have found an “elegant” way out of a subtle situation for Belgrade in the difficult balance between Russia and the European Union, with which it is negotiating membership.

Moscow warns against arms distribution

Sergei Lavrov on Monday warned against supplying long-range rocket missiles to kyiv to Western countries. This did not prevent London from announcing the delivery of the M270 MLRS rocket launchers in the 80-kilometer range, in addition to the same range of Himalayas promised by Washington last week.

Military experts point out that this limit is slightly higher than similar Russian systems, which would allow Ukrainian forces to attack enemy artillery from inaccessible positions. But it is not clear when the Ukrainians will be able to use these new weapons.

Meanwhile, in Kiev, Ukrainians flocked to see the display of recovered helmets, food and missiles and the exhibition “Ukraine – Crucifixion” following the withdrawal of Russian troops from occupied territories. “Here you can see and touch the war at your fingertips,” Commissioner Yuri Chowdhury told AFP. “That too is the goal: they need to realize what is happening by shocking people.”