Russia claimed control of two villages in eastern Ukraine on Monday, where it continues its slow push, but is itself affected by power cuts in border areas after Ukrainian shelling, the Reuters reported.AFP. Russian forces, which are taking advantage of the Ukrainian army’s difficulties in replenishing its ranks and obtaining more weapons and ammunition from the West, have been gaining ground for months.
Russia claims capture of two villages in Ukraine
According to the Ministry of Defense, Russian forces seized control of the city on Monday, 1is July, from the village of Novopokrovské in the Donetsk region (east) and from the village of Stepova Novosselivka in the Kharkiv region (northeast).
The first is located near Ocheretyne, where Russian troops have made rapid gains in recent weeks, and the second is in the direction of Kupiansk, one of the objectives of the Russian offensive in the northeast. On Saturday and Sunday, the Russian army had already claimed the capture of three other villages, including that of Shumy, near the mining town of Toretsk, another current axis of attack of Russian forces in the east.
In this context, Ukrainian authorities announced on Monday that they had evacuated more than 700 residents of Toretsk, but nearly 5,000 people remain in the city and “Many of them are trying to evacuate”the national police reported on Telegram, AFP reports. Toretsk residents reported dozens of daily Russian bombings on the city last week, which is a major barrier to access to Kramatorsk, the Kremlin’s ultimate objective in Donbass.
According to the Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office, two elderly women were killed and eight other people were injured in a Russian shelling on the city of Ukrainsk in the Donetsk region, which damaged an administrative building and houses.
Girl killed in Ukrainian drone attacks, authorities say
On the Russian side, Ukrainian drone strikes caused power and water cuts for several hours in the border region of Belgorod on Monday, and could lead to more, according to local authorities.
Authorities in the neighboring Russian regions of Kursk and Voronezh said power outages were also possible after the strikes.
The Russian Energy Ministry announced that it was carrying out repairs in Chebekino, a border town regularly targeted, and specified that 240,000 people were affected by the power cuts.
A four-year-old girl was killed and seven people were injured in multiple Ukrainian drone strikes that hit electrical installations and homes, Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. He also reported that a civilian was killed when a shell hit a farm in the village of Novaya Tavoljanka.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported shooting down 36 Ukrainian drones overnight. Three more were destroyed in the afternoon over the Belgorod region.
Peace plans
Russia, for its part, has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian power plants in recent months, causing power outages across the country. According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine has lost half of its energy capacity because of these strikes.
Ukraine has been on the defensive on the front since the failure of its major counteroffensive last summer and the fall of the Avdiivka fortress in February. It has called on the West to urgently provide it with new anti-aircraft systems to defend against Russian strikes.
At the end of June, Volodymyr Zelensky assured that he was working on a new plan to end the conflict, with the aim of making it “supported by the majority” of the international community.
Vladimir Putin has put forward his own solution: that Ukraine cede five regions partially occupied by Moscow and renounce joining NATO. In fact a demand for capitulation, rejected in kyiv as well as by the West.
Ukrainian journalist sentenced in absentia in Russia
Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Gordon was sentenced in absentia by a Russian military court on Monday to 14 years in prison. He is accused of advocating terrorism and calling for the assassination of Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, according to Russian news agencies Tass and Ria Novosti.
Dmytro Gordon, 56, is the owner of an online media outlet called Gordon and two YouTube channels with 7 million subscribers. He is known in particular for his interviews.
In addition to accusations of advocating terrorism and calling for the murder of Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Dmytro Gordon is accused of having broadcast ” fake news “according to Ria Novosti, claiming in March 2022 that Russian soldiers had killed Ukrainian civilians and bombed residential buildings. He is also accused of calling on the United States to use nuclear weapons against Russia. “That’s it. They’ve condemned me. How am I going to live from now on?”Dmytro Gordon joked on his Instagram account on Monday. He was placed on the list of people wanted by the Russian authorities in July 2022.
Finland adopts defense agreement with the United States
The Finnish parliament on Monday passed a defense agreement with the United States that will increase the U.S. military presence and allow U.S. military equipment to be stored in Finland.
The text allows the United States access to fifteen military bases in Finland and authorizes the presence and training of American soldiers, as well as the storage of military equipment on Finnish territory.
The vote on the text comes after Finland’s entry into NATO in April 2023, more than a year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Finland’s relations with Russia, with which it shares a 1,340 km border, have become very strained since Finland joined NATO.
