War in Ukraine. The fate of Donbass at stake in Sievierodonetsk … The point on the night – Ouest-France

“The fate of our Donbass is decided there”. In his traditional nocturnal address, on the night of Wednesday June 8 to Thursday June 9, 2022, Volodymyr Zelensky denounced the violence of the fighting in Sievierodonetsk. As the 106th day of conflict dawns, fighting rages in this key city in eastern Ukraine.

Since the fall of Mariupol on May 20, the Russian army has concentrated its forces on this city, which before the war had some 100,000 inhabitants. Their objective: to take total control of the Donbass mining basin. Forced to retreat after Russian airstrikes, Ukrainian forces now only control the outskirts of the city.

Update on the day of Wednesday, June 8, 2022.

Sievierodonetsk “largely” controlled by the Russians

“We are defending our positions, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy. It is a very hard, very difficult battle, probably one of the most difficult of this war,” assured Volodymyr Zelensky. Moscow forces “control a large part of Sievierodonetsk. The industrial zone is still ours, there are no Russians there. The fighting is taking place only in the streets inside the city,” Sergey Gaidai, governor of the Lugansk region, said on Telegram. “The Russians shoot at everything, they destroy all the houses in Sievierodonetsk, with tanks, artillery. They are shooting at the industrial zone too, but the fighting is ongoing, our guys are resisting in the streets,” he continued. According to the spokesman of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Oleksandr Motouzianyk, the Russian army has committed to Sievierodonetsk up to ten times more equipment than that which the Ukrainian army has to defend the city.

Four civilians killed, schools and hospitals targeted in Donetsk and Luhansk

The neighboring town of Lyssytchansk is entirely controlled by the Ukrainian army but is subjected to “powerful and chaotic” bombardments, also indicated Serguiï Gaïdaï. The governor accuses Russian forces of “deliberately” targeting hospitals and humanitarian aid distribution centres. “They fire with heavy caliber, the destruction is enormous,” he said. Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the Donetsk region, said the situation in these two oblasts was still “difficult” as the frontline was constantly under Russian fire. Two schools were hit by Russian missiles, one of the establishments is located in Bakhmut. Four civilians were killed on June 8 and six others were injured, reports The Kyiv Independent. Russian tanks deployed near Zaporizhzhia? Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzianyk reported that about 30 Russian T-62 tanks had been deployed in Vasylivka, a village about 35 kilometers south of Zaporizhzhia, according to reports from the ArmyInform news agency.

Hundreds of bodies discovered in Mariupol New corpses have been discovered in the martyr city of Mariupol. Speaking on Telegram, Petro Andryushchenko, a deputy mayor of the now Russian-occupied city, reported on the endless human toll. According to him, between 50 and 100 bodies are found under the rubble of two out of five buildings. The body of Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, journalist killed in Ukraine, repatriated to Paris The body of Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, journalist from BFMTV killed in Ukraine on May 30, was repatriated to Paris on the night of June 8 to 9, 2022. A moment of contemplation took place on the tarmac at Le Bourget airport. “An unprecedented wave of hunger” The consequences of the war continue to worsen in the world, both financially and in terms of food and energy, affecting 1.6 billion people, the Secretary General of the UN Antonio Guterres: “The impact of war on food security, energy and finance is systemic, severe and accelerating”.

“For people around the world, war threatens to unleash an unprecedented wave of hunger and misery, leaving social and economic chaos in its wake,” Guterres warned. “There is only one way to stop this brewing storm: the Russian invasion of Ukraine must stop.” The blocking of Ukrainian ports by the Russian Black Sea Fleet – starting with that of Odessa, the country’s main port – is paralyzing its grain exports, particularly wheat, of which it was before the war on the way to becoming the third largest exporter. global. African and Middle Eastern countries are the first to be affected and fear serious food crises. Some 20 to 25 million tonnes are currently blocked, quantities which could triple by “by the fall” to reach 75 million tonnes, according to the Ukrainian president.

War in Ukraine. The fate of the Donbass at stake in Sievierodonetsk… The point on the nightEXPAND