Heavy combating continues within the Donbas, with Ukrainian forces holding out towards huge bombardment in the important thing metropolis of Syevyerodonetsk and the close by area as Russian forces search to finish the encirclement of the world and lower off defenders and civilians left contained in the pocket.
The British Ministry of Protection mentioned in its each day intelligence bulletin on June 17 that within the final 24 hours, the Russian army had seemingly continued to aim to regain momentum on the Popasna axis, some 55 kilometers south of Syevyerodonetsk, from which they search to encompass the town.
Ukraine’s Common Employees mentioned late on June 16 that combating had been significantly heavy in and round Syevyerodonetsk and Lysychansk, the dual cities held by Ukraine on the alternative financial institution of the Siverskiy Donets River.
Stay Briefing: Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine
RFE/RL’s Stay Briefing offers you the entire main developments on Russia’s invasion, how Kyiv is combating again, the plight of civilians, and Western response. For all of RFE/RL’s protection of the struggle, click on right here.
The combating in Syevyerodonetsk has gone on for weeks in a battle that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says may decide the destiny of the Donbas.
Moscow would management the entire of the Luhansk area if its troops managed to grab Syevyerodonetsk and Lysychansk.
The army governor of the japanese Luhansk area, Serhiy Hayday, mentioned round 10,000 civilians, out of a prewar inhabitants of 100,000, stay trapped in Syevyerodonetsk, with important provides operating out.
Many civilians are sheltering in bunkers beneath the town’s Azot chemical plant.
The mayor of Syevyerodonetsk, Oleksandr Stryuk, instructed Ukrainian tv on June 16 that there have been about 500 civilians trapped in shelters on the plant.
The United Nations has put the variety of civilians nonetheless trapped within the metropolis at 12,000.
“Preventing and fixed shelling have been happening there for nearly per week now,” he mentioned, warning that the shelling may harm ammonia storage and set off a chemical catastrophe. “It’s a miracle that the entire metropolis has not been affected.”
Throughout the river in Lysychansk, an air strike hit a constructing sheltering civilians on June 16, killing at the least three and wounding at the least seven, in keeping with Hayday.
Ukraine’s troopers managed to push again Russian advances in different areas alongside the entrance, whereas in Kharkiv, Russian troops halted Ukrainian troops by deploying artillery.
Close to Donetsk and Zaporizhzhya, Russia additionally carried out assaults to pin down Ukrainian troops.
Earlier on June 16 on Ukrainian tv, Safety Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov raised the potential of a risk from Belarus. Officers assembly on June 15 mentioned the state of affairs within the neighboring nation, the situation of the Belarusian Military, and what number of Russian troops are there.
Danilov mentioned there will probably be an inspection in 4 areas to evaluate readiness, including that the difficulty “is underneath the management of the president.”
Within the northeastern Sumy area, Russia launched a missile strike, killing 4 individuals and injuring six others, Dmytro Zhyvytskiy, head of Sumy’s regional administration, mentioned on Telegram.
Ukrainian Protection Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, quoted by CNN, mentioned the variety of Ukrainians who’ve died since Russia invaded Ukraine in February seemingly stood within the tens of hundreds. Reznikov mentioned he “hopes” the determine is under 100,000.
Reznikov and different officers met with the representatives of round 50 international locations within the Ukraine Protection Contact Group at NATO headquarters in Brussels on June 16. Ukraine’s request for extra heavy weapons has been the principle matter of the assembly.
Britain introduced it could present Ukraine with 20 multiple-launch rocket programs. Protection Minister Ben Wallace confirmed that Britain would ship the items to Ukraine.
The programs have been bought from a Belgian arms firm and are to be handed over on to Kyiv along with “a small variety of rocket-propelled grenade launchers from the British Military’s stockpile,” the BBC reported.
In accordance with Wallace, in some areas Russia has a 20-fold benefit in artillery over the Ukrainian Military.
The British intelligence bulletin on June 17 additionally pointed to dissent among the many Russian public concerning assist for the struggle.
“Regardless of the vast majority of Russians telling pollsters they assist the ‘particular army operation,’ parts of the inhabitants each actively and passively reveal their opposition,” the report assessed.
British intelligence additionally talked about the existence of a gaggle of Russian recruits known as the Freedom for Russia Legion that has “nearly actually deployed in fight alongside the Ukrainian army.”
Mykhaylo Podolyak, a senior aide to Zelenskiy, dismissed Russia’s newest feedback about being able to resume negotiations as “an try to deceive the world.”
Russia desires to present the impression that it is able to speak whereas planning to stab Ukraine within the again, he mentioned. Kyiv would undoubtedly return to the negotiations however solely on the proper time, he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in the meantime, held a name with Chinese language President Xi Jinping, their second since Russia attacked Ukraine.
China has refused to sentence Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and is holding talks about elevated gross sales of Russian fuel.
With reporting by Reuters, BBC, AFP, and dpa
