The Ukrainian army has announced that it has withdrawn from Lysychansk , the last stronghold of Kiev in the Lugansk oblast, in the east of the country, after weeks of hard fighting with Russian forces.
For its part, the Moscow army has confirmed that it has "total control" of the Lugansk region, one of the primary objectives of the Russian offensive .
But the spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry Yuriy Sak assured: "The battle for Donbass is not over yet: even if Russia conquers all of Lugansk we are not at the game over ". This is because, added Sak, there are "other large cities in the Donbass area, particularly in the Donetsk region ".
The fighting, therefore, continues and a new offensive by the Moscow troops should focus precisely on the Donetsk region.
(Unioneonline)
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The day by the hour:
Ukrainian troops retreating from Lysychansk
Ukrainian troops withdraw from Lysychansk. The news comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a briefing with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, explained that "there is still fighting on the outskirts of Lysychansk, in the Lugansk region, but the city is not completely under Russian control" .
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Turkey stops Russian cargo ship "with stolen grain"
Turkish customs authorities stopped a Russian cargo ship, carrying grain, en route from the Ukrainian port of Berdyansk to Karasu. This was stated by the Ukrainian ambassador to Turkey, as reported by the Guardian. "We have full cooperation. The ship is currently stopped at the port entrance and has been detained by the Turkish customs authorities," Ambassador Vasyl Bodnar told Ukrainian national television. Ukraine had asked for the seizure of the ship, which was located off the Turkish coast, accusing Russia of stealing Ukrainian wheat, a charge denied by Russia.
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Moscow: "West prevents talking about peace"
"This is the moment in which Western countries are betting on the continuation of the war. This means that the West, under the leadership of Washington, does not allow the Ukrainians to think, to talk about peace". Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said in an interview with Rossiya-1. "Sooner or later common sense in the West will prevail and negotiations on Ukraine will resume", he added, underlining however that before the negotiation process resumes, Ukraine will have to "once again understand the conditions in Moscow".
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Kiev: "It's not game over yet in the Donbass"
"The battle for Donbass is not over yet: even if Russia conquers all of Lugansk we are not at the game over." The spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry Yuriy Sak told the BBC, adding that there are "other big cities in the country. 'Donbass area, particularly in the Donetsk region "which are under the control of forces
Ukrainian armies. "These are cities that have been the target of severe rocket attacks, artillery bombardments in the last two days," he said. Sak claimed that
Ukraine is confident and receiving support from its Western allies.
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Kiev, Lysychansk is not under Russian "full control"
Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Yuriy Sak told the BBC that the city of Lysychansk is not under "full control" by Russian forces, despite Moscow saying the city has fallen. But he added that fighting in the city has been "very intense for quite some time", with Russian ground forces "attacking relentlessly". "For Ukrainians, the value of human life is a top priority, so we sometimes withdraw from certain areas to be able to resume them in the future," he added.
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Moscow, mercenary base in Nikolaev hit, 120 dead
Russian air forces killed about 120 "mercenaries" in Nikolaev, in the eastern part of Kharkiv. This was stated by the official representative of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, as reported by Ria Novosti, for which "up to 120 'soldiers of fortune' were destroyed by an attack by the Russian aerospace forces on a base of foreign mercenaries on the northern outskirts of the city of Nikolaev ".
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Moscow, "we have conquered the entire Lugansk region"
Russia claims to have captured the city of Lysychansk and the entire Lugansk region in eastern Ukraine. This was reported by the Russian Defense Ministry, quoted by Interfax. Yesterday Kiev denied the taking of the last city of Lugansk but this morning Zelensky's adviser Oleksiy Arestovych had admitted the possible fall of the twin city of Severodonetsk.
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Russian assault ship Akula hits mine and sinks in Mariupol
A Russian amphibious assault ship from Project 1176 Akula hit a mine near Mariupol and sank. This was stated by Petro Andriushchenko, adviser to the mayor in exile, reports Ukrinform. "We have finally received confirmation that a Russian landing craft from Project 1176 Akula of the Black Sea Fleet D-106 struck a mine near Mariupol on June 30," Andriushchenko said.
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Civilians killed and children injured in Russian attack in Donetsk
Two civilians were killed and three others were injured in a Russian attack in Dobropyll in the Donetsk region. This was announced on Facebook by the regional military leader Pavlo Kyrylenko, reports Ukrinform. "At least 2 dead and 3 injured are the consequences of the Russian attack on Dobropyll. Among the injured are two children, aged 4 and 7," Kyrylenko wrote. According to Kyrylenko, "Russian soldiers know for a fact that they are targeting civilians, they are doing it knowingly and intentionally. These immoral monsters have never followed the laws and rules of warfare, and never will," he wrote.
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Moscow admits for the first time the sinking of the ship Saratov
Russia claims to have recovered a large landing ship that was reportedly sunk by its crew "to prevent the detonation of on-board ammunition due to the fire that broke out" after a Ukrainian missile struck it in Berdyansk port on March 24. : it is the first time that Moscow admits the sinking of the Saratov. The BBC reports it. A Telegram post by a Russian-appointed official in southern Ukraine, Vladimir Rogov, claims that Tochka-U ballistic missiles had targeted the Russian-controlled port. The ship will be towed to Kerch, Crimea.
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Kiev, the Russians suffer losses but advance to Lysychansk
The Russian army is suffering significant losses but continues to advance in Lysychansk, the last Ukrainian stronghold in the Lugansk oblast in the south-east of the country. This was announced by the head of the regional military administration of Sergiy Gaidai, quoted by Ukrinform. In the city - he explained - "the administrative buildings were completely destroyed in a very short time. Lysychansk is besieged by a large number of Russian soldiers who use all the weapons they have at their disposal. They are gaining ground in Verkhniokamianka".
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Bombed the occupied Melitopol airport, headquarters of Russian troops
Powerful explosions around three in the morning in the perimeter of the airport of Melitopol, a city in south-eastern Ukraine occupied by the Russian army where the Federation troops are based. Ria Melitopol reports it by publishing photos and videos. A huge column of smoke has risen over the airport area. The consequences of the attack are also visible tens of kilometers from Melitopol. Civilians have not been able to access the air raid shelters because Russian forces have closed them all - Ukrainian media report - and many residents are trying to leave the city.