Russian troops do not allow themselves any breaks in bombing Ukraine, from Donbass to
Kharkiv to the Black Sea, but from Moscow Vladimir Putin has also launched a political challenge to Kiev: all Ukrainians, not just those who live in the occupied areas, will have easier access to Russian citizenship .
Volodymyr Zelensky instead aims to reverse the tide of the conflict on the ground. His plan includes a counter-offensive in a grand style , with a million soldiers equipped with modern Western weapons, to free the south of the country occupied by the invaders.
Putin also wants to win the war with missiles and cannons, but his goal is to destroy Ukraine as a state entity, in the belief that there is only a people of Russian ethnicity and socio-cultural matrix .
For this reason, the Tsar has decided that " all Ukrainian citizens will have the right to apply for citizenship of the Russian Federation according to the simplified procedure ". It will no longer be necessary to have lived in Russia for five years, have a source of income or take a language exam. So far, the measure had been adopted in the separatist areas of Donbass and, since last May, in the occupied regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
Meanwhile, the death toll from yesterday's attack against the Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar , in Donetsk (east), rises to at least 30, where a Uragan missile hit a residential building, while three people died and 16 were injured for a new missile attack launched by Russian forces (around 10.20 local time, 9.20 in Italy) in Kharkiv .
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The day by the hour:
New Russian attack on Odessa
A new Russian missile attack was launched in the evening in the Odessa region of Ukraine. This was announced by the head of the Odessa regional military administration, Maksym Marchenko, reports Ukrinform. "Fortunately there were no victims," said the same source.
The official recalled that throughout the day Russian warplanes in the Black Sea area fired missiles against Odessa, one of which hit a private home, while others damaged infrastructure, including that of the port.
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Evacuated 80% of civilians in Donetsk
About eighty percent of Donetsk's inhabitants have already been evacuated to safe places from the eastern Ukrainian region where nearly 340,000 civilians currently remain.
"On February 24, 1,670,000 people lived in the government-controlled territory of the Donetsk region. About 340,000 people remained there," said Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the regional military administration, quoted by Ukrinform.
"However - he added - this is a rather high number and these people must be hosted throughout the Ukrainian territory in relatively safe areas".
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The death toll in Chasiv Yar rises to thirty
Thirty civilians were killed in the collapse of a part of a residential building hit yesterday by a Uragan missile launched by the Russian army on the town of Chasiv Yar, in the Donetsk region, in eastern Ukraine. This was reported by the deputy head of the office of President Kyrylo Tymoshenko reported by Ukrinform.
"Rescuers pulled 9 injured and 30 dead from the rubble. State Emergency Service employees dismantled 65 percent of the rubble. They removed 170 tons of debris and work is underway," he said.
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Kiev: "7,200 missing soldiers, perhaps prisoners of the Russians"
The Ukrainian Missing Persons Search Call Center registered 7,200 missing Ukrainian soldiers. Ukrinform reports this, quoting Commissioner Oleh Kotenko according to which most of the soldiers whose traces have been lost would have been captured by the Russians: "They are alive but held prisoner".
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Rutte visits Kiev: "The war will be long, support Ukraine"
"The war could last longer than we all hoped or expected. But that does not mean to passively watch. We must remain focused and continue to support Ukraine in every possible way", said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte today. visiting the country during a press conference with Volodymyr Zelensky. Rutte, before Kiev, visited Irpin, Borodianka and Bucha.
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Erdogan to Putin: "Opening the grain corridors in the Black Sea"
"The time has come to act to implement the plan for the creation of corridors for the export of Ukrainian grain". This was stated by Turkish President Recep Tayyp Erdogan to Vladimir Putin during today's telephone conversation. The two leaders, the Turkish presidency reported, "discussed the situation in Syria, the situation in Ukraine in the light of Russian military operations, the creation of safe corridors for the export of grain from the Black Sea". Tass reports it.
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Putin-Erdogan conversation on grain corridors
Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyp Erdogan had a telephone conversation. This was announced by the Turkish presidency, as reported by Tass, adding that the two leaders discussed the Ukrainian crisis and the corridors for grain.
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At least 29 were killed by the missiles on Chasiv Yar
The death toll from the Russian raid that hit a building in Chasiv Yar has risen to 29. Ukrainian emergency services on Telegram reported that 24 bodies have been recovered from the rubble, another 5 have been identified but not yet recovered. On the other hand, 9 survivors have been rescued, while the search for other missing persons continues.
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Putin's decree: "Easy Russian citizenship for all Ukrainians"
Russian President Vladimir Putin has expanded the simplified procedure for acquiring Russian citizenship to all Ukrainian residents with a decree. Tass reports it.
"Citizens of Ukraine, the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) or the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) and non-citizens living permanently in the DPR, LPR or Ukraine, have the right to apply for admission to the citizenship of the Russian Federation through a simplified procedure ", reads the decree signed by Putin and published today. The previous version of the decree, explains Tass, applied only to residents of breakaway regions.
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EU: "On gas, a serious situation, be prepared for any scenario"
"The EU is preparing for every scenario. The situation is clearly serious and we must be prepared. In mid-July, as is well known, a prevention plan will be launched in view of the winter". This is what Tim McPhie, spokesman for the EU Commission, explained about the further gas cuts implemented by Moscow. "It is necessary to reach an energy autonomy from Russia as soon as possible", added the European spokesman, stressing how it is necessary to communicate to the population "the importance of energy saving" and recalling that the Commission, among the instruments, has already launched the RePowerEu .
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Missiles on Donetsk, the victims of Chasiv Yar rise to 19
The death toll from yesterday's attack by Russian forces against the Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar, in Donetsk (east), where a Uragan missile hit a residential building, has risen to at least 19. Ukrinform reports it.
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Air raid on the Odessa region
Russian forces launched a missile attack in the Odessa region (southwest) this morning, according to the deputy director of the Ukrainian presidency office, Kirill Timoshenko, according to the Kyiv Independent. According to Timoshenko, four missiles were fired from aircraft flying over the occupied Crimean peninsula and one hit a building, the official added without giving details. There is still no news of any victims or injuries.
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EU: "Twelve member countries already hit by Russian gas cuts"
"Putin continues to use energy as a weapon. Twelve EU countries are already directly affected. Filling up our gas storage capacities before this winter can help us prepare for any further disruptions and cuts in gas supplies." . This is what the EU Commission writes in a tweet.
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New Russian attack on Kharkiv, three dead and 16 wounded
At least three people died and 16 others were injured this morning in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv (east) following a new missile attack launched by Russian forces (around 10.20 local time, 9.20 in Italy): it was reported on Telegram the governor of the region, Oleg Sinegubov, according to reports from UNIAN. "The enemy has launched missile attacks on the city again. There are about 16 wounded and three dead. Information is being updated, the rescue and emergency services are working on the spot," Sinegubov wrote.
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Di Maio: "1000 compatriots assisted since the beginning of the year"
"Since the beginning of the year, 5 missions have been carried out abroad (2 in Ukraine, 1 in Chad, 1 in Burkina Faso, 1 in Cyprus) and about a thousand compatriots have been assisted in conditions of serious emergency following the war in Ukraine". This was declared by Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio opening the event "Let's start again in safety" for the launch of the new site "Viaggiare Sicuri" at the Farnesina.
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Missiles on Donetsk, the victims of Chasiv Yar rise to 17
The death toll from yesterday's attack by Russian forces against the town of Chasiv Yar, in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, where a Uragan missile hit a residential building, has risen to at least 17. Unian reports it. At least 22 people, including a nine-year-old boy, may still be trapped in the rubble. Six people have been rescued so far.
(Unioneonline)