Russia warns Lithuania of "serious" consequences over its restriction of rail traffic to Kaliningrad exclave while Kremlin forces make gains in Ukraine's strategic Donbass region in the ongoing offensive, now in its 119th day.
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Ukraine calls fight with Russia in Sievierodonetsk 'hell'
Ukraine has said that the eastern industrial city of Sievierodonetsk is "hell" as Russian forces have moved to encircle two key cities in the Donbass where Moscow has concentrated its military efforts.
"For four months all our positions have been under fire from everything - and I just want to emphasis this - from all the weapons that the Russian army has," the Luhansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said in a statement on social media.
"It's just hell out there," he added, referring to Sievierodonetsk, which has been heavily shelled for weeks by Russian forces who have made territorial gains south of the city, moving closer to its sister city of Lysychansk separated by the river Donets.
Casualty rate nears 55 percent among pro-Russian separatist forces in east Ukraine: UK
Casualties have amounted to about 55 percent of the original strength of the forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), one of Russia's proxies in eastern Ukraine, Britain has said.
Figures published by the DPR showed that by June 16, 2,128 military personnel had been killed in action, with 8,897 wounded since the beginning of 2022, the British defence ministry said in a daily Twitter update.
Russian authorities have not released the tally of military casualties in Ukraine since 25 March, it added.
Fire at Russia's Novoshakhtinsk oil plant erupts after Ukrainian drone flight
A fire at Russia's Novoshakhtinsk refinery in the Rostov region has begun after two Ukrainian drones have been spotted over the plant, TASS has cited an unidentified source in the local authorities.
"One of them made an impact, crashing into a heat transfer unit, after which the blaze started. The second one flew away," the source told TASS.
The local emergency service said the blaze has been put out, Interfax news agency reported.
Members of Russian delegation to OSCE denied British visas
Members of the Russian delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) have been denied British visas to attend the next session, Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of Russian upper house's international affairs committee, has said.
Russia FM heads to Iran for talks
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is due in Iran for talks on boosting trade and energy co-operation as the two countries grapple with Western economic sanctions.
"Lavrov will meet our foreign minister (Hossein Amirabdollahian) tomorrow (Thursday)," Iran's official IRNA news agency said.
G20 chair to push for peace with Ukraine, Russia visits
Indonesian President and G20 chairman Joko Widodo will visit counterparts in Ukraine and Russia next week and press for a peaceful resolution to their conflict, his foreign minister has said, the first such trip by an Asian leader.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said: "The president is showing compassion on the humanitarian crisis, will try to contribute to the food crisis caused by the war, and the impact felt on all countries, especially the developing and low-income ones," she told a news conference.
At least 15 civilians killed in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region by Russian shelling - regional governor pic.twitter.com/rzHx8DkBpf
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) June 21, 2022
Russian gas flows to Europe via Nord Stream, Ukraine unchanged
Flows of Russian gas to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and deliveries through Ukraine have remained steady, while reverse flows on the Yamal pipeline eased, operator data showed.
Physical flows to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline across the Baltic Sea stood at 29,279,682 kilowatt hours per hour (kWh/h) on Wednesday morning, in line with levels over 29,000,000 kWh/h seen through most of the previous day, operator company information showed.
Russian gas producer Gazprom last week said capacity through the pipe line would be cut to just 40 percent due to the delayed return of equipment being serviced by Germany's Siemens Energy in Canada.
Ukraine, Russia forces dug in; Putin to mark WWII anniversary
Ukrainian and Russian forces remained entrenched in eastern Ukrainian battlegrounds, a day of commemoration in both countries to mark the anniversary of Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.
Fighting in the months-long conflict has favoured Russia in recent weeks because of its huge edge in artillery firepower, a fact Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged in his address.
"Thanks to tactical maneuvers the Ukrainian army is strengthening its defences in the Luhansk region," he said. "That is really the toughest spot. The occupiers are also pressing strongly in the direction of Donetsk."
"And just as actively as we are fighting for a positive decision by the European Union on Ukraine's candidate status, we are also fighting every day for modern weaponry for our country. We don't let up for a single day," Zelenskyy said, urging those nations supporting his country to speed up arms deliveries.
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
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