One hundred days after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, approximately 30,950 Russian soldiers have been killed according to the Kiev army .
And Volodymyr Zelensky draws a new map of a country dismembered by the firepower poured from Moscow: 20% of the territory , the Ukrainian president says, is in Russian hands .
"The Russian army has already destroyed almost the entire Ukrainian Donbass and is ready to continue killing. The Donbass was one of the most powerful industrial centers in Europe. Now it is simply devastated ," he said of at least 2,603 settlements controlled by the enemy: "Let's look at Mariupol: there were half a million people and now we don't know exactly how many citizens were killed by the occupiers. At least tens of thousands."
The front line now extends for more than a thousand kilometers, from the Donbass to the coastal strip, with over 550 Iskander and Kalibr cruise missiles fired at Ukrainian territory since the beginning of the conflict. " We have to defend ourselves against almost the entire Russian army . All Russian combat-ready formations are involved in this aggression," explained the Kiev leader, accusing Moscow of having "deported" more than one and a half million people, including 200 thousand children .
The siege is increasingly fierce in the Lugansk region. The first objective of the offensive remains the capture of Severodonetsk , which according to the governor Serhiy Gaidai is now 80% controlled by the Russians. As happened for over 80 days with the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol, 800 people, including some children, remain hidden in the air-raid shelters of the Azot chemical factory , one of the largest in Europe. According to a Russian NGO, however, General Alexander Dvornikov would no longer be in command of the military operation ordered by the Kremlin: a change at the top resulting from a "routine rotation" or "disappointment" for the results achieved so far.
Meanwhile, the EU has launched the new sanctions package, hitting, among other things, 65 personalities close to Vladimir Putin, including his girlfriend.
The conflict, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg , will continue for a long time, becoming a "usury war" .
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The day by the hour:
Putin: "Ready to unblock Ukrainian wheat exports"
Russia is ready to offer the ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk to unblock grain exports to Ukraine. Vladimir Putin made it known, according to Interfax reports.
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"Moscow has removed Dvornikov from command of the war"
General Alexander Dvornikov would no longer be in command of the Russian military operation in Ukraine. This was stated by the Conflict Intelligence Team, a Russian investigative NGO. In his place, General Gennady Zhidko, former commander of the Eastern Military District and Moscow Deputy Defense Minister for Political Affairs, would be appointed. As indicated by analyst Ruslan Leviev, the removal could be linked to a "rotation process" of the operational top management of the armed forces, "like the one seen in Syria", given that it does not appear at the moment to be the consequence of a management deemed disappointing.
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Moscow: “Spying in the Covid mission? Italy has a short memory "
The attempt by the Italian media to paint the Russian anti-Covid mission in Italy in 2020 as an "espionage operation" damages relations between Moscow and Rome. The Russian Foreign Ministry wrote on its social page. "In less than two years, our help has been forgotten. It seems that our Italian counterparts have short memories. Such a slavish and short-sighted line of behavior not only damages our bilateral relations, but also demonstrates the morality of some representatives of the public authorities and the Italian media ", declared the Russian Foreign Ministry.
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Two Reuters reporters injured
Two Reuters reporters were injured and their driver was killed in a black raid near Severodonetsk in Ukraine's eastern Lugansk region. This was reported by Tass, stating that reporters were hit in the bombing of a Ukrainian drone against a convoy of cars with civilian plates, which also included Russian reporters from Russia Today.
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Republic Day, Putin wishes the Quirinale
Despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, this year too the Kremlin sent its greetings to the Quirinale on the occasion of the Republic Day on June 2. Putin's message would have reached Mattarella through the Moscow ambassador to Rome, Sergey Razov.
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Wheat "stolen" by the Russians also in Turkey
Wheat stolen from Ukraine is sold by Russia to several countries, including Turkey. This was reported by the ambassador of Kiev to Ankara, Vasyl Bodnar, quoted by the local media. According to the diplomat, the people involved in the illegal transfer of grain through Turkish territorial waters, which would amount to hundreds of thousands of tons, are being investigated by
of Interpol. In the past few hours, the Ukrainian embassy in Beirut had stated that the Russian ship Matros Puzynich had transported 100,000 tons of stolen grain in the Syrian port of Latakia at the end of May, passing through Turkish waters.
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Kuleba to Di Maio: "Thank you for your support for joining the EU"
I spoke to my friend Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio to inform him about the situation in Donbass, thank him for supporting Ukraine's candidacy to the EU and discuss efforts to unblock Ukraine's food exports. We appreciate Italy's constructive role. "Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba writes on Twitter.
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Mariupol: "The Russians imprison and shoot those who do not cooperate"
In the Mariupol district, the Russians are imprisoning and shooting Ukrainian volunteers and officials who have refused to cooperate with the occupation authorities. Mariupol City Council reports this, citing Mayor Vadym Boychenko, according to Interfax-Ukraine. "The 'false DPR court' sentenced - denounces the mayor - the head of one of the villages in the area to 10 years in prison. At least one public employee was shot and killed. Dozens of volunteers in March and April they helped evacuate Mariupol residents are detained in Olenivka prison. There are reports of torture. "
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BBC: "Russian TVs don't talk about 100 days of war"
Russian television has so far made no mention that 100 days have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine. The BBC argued, reporting that Russia's most popular TV channels all started their morning bulletins accusing Ukraine of indiscriminately bombing areas outside government control.
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UN: "The war in Ukraine will have no winners"
The war in Ukraine "will have no winners": the UN said on the hundredth day of the Russian invasion. "This war has and will not have winners. Rather, we have witnessed for 100 days what has been lost: lives, homes, jobs and prospects," Amin Awad, Deputy Secretary General and UN Crisis Coordinator for Ukraine.
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Moscow: "Ready for dialogue but respect is needed"
"Our country has never excluded itself from international contacts. We are ready to speak". Thus the vice president of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev in an interview with Al Jazeera, taken up by Interfax. Russia, says Medvedev, is ready "to conduct a dialogue on any issue, but it must be based on respect", it must "take Russian sovereignty and concerns into account" and "seek to provide indivisible security".
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Kiev: "31,000 Russian soldiers killed in 100 days of war"
About 30,950 Russian soldiers were killed in Ukraine in the first 100 days of the Russian invasion: the Kiev army reports on Twitter. In its update on the losses suffered by Moscow so far, the Ukrainian military indicates that 210 fighters, 175 helicopters and 535 drones have also been shot down. In addition, Kiev forces claim to have destroyed 1,367 Russian tanks, 675 artillery pieces, 3,366 armored troop transport vehicles, 121 cruise missiles and 13 ships.
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United Kingdom: "Moscow wins in Donbass but the original plan has failed"
Russia registers a "tactical success" in the Donbass, but if its performance in Ukraine is measured against the original invasion plan "none of the strategic objectives have been achieved": British intelligence writes in its daily update on the situation in the Village. The report, published by the Ministry of Defense on Twitter, also points out that achieving any kind of strategic success will likely take a long time and will require huge investments in men and equipment.
(Unioneonline)