KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — About 60 percent of the infrastructure and residential buildings in Lysychansk, one of only two cities in the east that are still under at least part of Ukraine, have been destroyed by the attacks, a local official said Thursday.
Oleksandr Zaika, head of the military-civil administration of the city of Lysychansk, said in a “news telethon” quoted by news firm Unian that incessant shelling had cut off electricity, herbal gas, telephone and services.
One of the most critical routes for materials and evacuations, the Bakhmut-Lysychansk road, is still open but subject to constant bombardment.
Humanitarians are still arriving in the city, where shrapnel and mines dot the landscape, he said.
Zaika said another 20,000 people remained in the city, for a pre-war population of 97,000.
Lysychansk is separated by a river from the other city in the region that is still at least partially under Ukrainian control, Sievierodonetsk. It is also besieged across Russia.
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KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:
— In Ukraine, lives shattered in a damaged house
— Photo gallery: one hundred days of ordinary photographs of Ukraine
U. S. , Germany Agree on Complex Weapons for Ukraine
– Ukraine’s quest to qualify for World Cup gains momentum in war
— Ukrainian stabs Ukrainian in New York bar, thinking he’s Russian
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Follow AP of the war in Ukraine in https://apnews. com/hub/russia-ukraine
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
NO DATE – A funeral was held Thursday for a retired Russian Air Force chief general whose plane was shot down while fighting his country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia’s state-run Tass news firm said Kanamat Botashev, a 63-year-old primary general who volunteered to return to service, was shot dead last month while flying over the eastern Donbass region.
Since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Russia has lost several generals and senior officers.
In a report on a memorial service held Thursday in Cherkessk, the capital of Russia’s Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Tass said Botashev flew in reaction to a request for assistance from an attack organization blocked by enemy forces.
He “decided to carry out an attack at a very low altitude and hit the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which then helped the organization out of the encirclement,” Tass reported.
He said that as he was coming out of the attack, the plane shot down via an anti-aircraft missile and Botashev was killed. He gave him the posthumous name of “Hero of the Russian Federation”.
On May 22, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that a Russian Su-25 attack plane shot down over the Luhansk region and that the pilot did not have time to eject.
Media at the time connected the incident to Botashev’s death, which the Russian government showed on Thursday.
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The U. N. humanitarian leader will meet with Russian officials on Thursday as part of U. N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ efforts to allow agricultural exports from Ukraine and Russia across the Black Sea amid a global food crisis.
U. N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that Under-Secretary-General Martin Griffiths met on Wednesday and would continue his meetings on Thursday.
Guterres said there is no solution on Wednesday, but the U. N. is engaged in a serious discussion with all parties involved “to locate a comprehensive agreement. “
Dujarric noted that Griffiths to Moscow followed one to the Russian capital on Monday through Rebecca Grynspan, secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development known as UNCTAD. Grynspan focuses on shipping Russian cereals to global markets. Then he went to Washington.
“We’ve noticed a lot of statements from other capitals,” Dujarric said. We also very much appreciate the role turkey plays in all this. If we have something concrete to announce, we will do it.
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ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s official news firm said Thursday that officials from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations will soon meet in Istanbul to discuss plans to create a “corridor” that would allow ukrainian agricultural products to be exported.
Anadolu Agency said the parties were in a position to talk about an imaginable direction for the broker, insurance issues and the safety of the broker. They also deserve to take note of the need to clear the way, as well as the status quo of a command center. to monitor the mechanism.
The Russian blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports prevents the departure of millions of tons of cereals around the world.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the need for a space for the export of agricultural products in phone calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this week.
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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — About 800 people have been locked up in bomb shelters at a chemical plant attacked in Sieferodonetsk, the latest epicenter of Russia’s war against Ukraine, a regional governor said Thursday, a regional governor said Thursday.
Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai told CNN that the young men were among those seeking safe shelter at the Azot plant, sievierodonetsk’s largest chemical plant.
Russian forces attacked the plant on Thursday, damaging an administrative building and a methanol depot. Only a small amount of chemicals in the plant, according to Haidai.
While Russian forces took much of the city, the commercial zone remains in Ukrainian hands, he added.
He rejected the prospective comparison between the scenario in Azov and a metallurgical plant in the port city of Mariupol, where Ukrainian civilians and fighters have been locked up for weeks by a Russian attack.
Russian forces entered Sievinodonetsk, Ukraine’s largest city in the eastern Luhansk region, after weeks of shelling as they tried to completely take over the Commercial Region of Donbass.
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WASHINGTON — NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday sought to underscore the alliance’s appreciation for Turkey as an “important ally. “
He presented words of conciliation to Ankara ahead of a planned meeting of senior officials from Sweden, Finland and Turkey in Brussels next week to discuss Turkey’s opposition to the Nordic defense alliance club.
Stoltenberg made the comments after meeting with President Joe Biden and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan at the White House for what has been touted as preparatory talks for this month’s NATO summit in Madrid.
Stoltenberg said he had discussed Sweden and Finland’s offer to join NATO with Biden and Sullivan and expressed confidence that the alliance would find a way to address Ankara’s concerns. Alliance.
“I think we also want to recognize that Turkey is an ally. Turkey contributes to our security in other ways,” said Stoltenberg, who highlighted Turkey’s efforts to counter Islamic State militants.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has insisted that Finland and Sweden will have to show more respect for Turkish sensitivities on terrorism since the countries submitted their NATO bids. He refuses to budge on what he says is his assumption for Kurdish militants.
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KYIV — The new U. S. ambassador to Ukraine said Thursday that her number one project “is for Ukraine to defeat Russian aggression” and that the delivery of military aid is accelerating.
Bridget Brink spoke Thursday after the assembly and to present her credentials to the Ukrainian president.
“There is no position on the planet where it would be,” he said. “President Biden said we will be here, helping Ukraine, for as long as it takes. And that’s what we’re going to do.
She said army aid deliveries were reaching Ukraine faster than at the start of the war.
“I perceive that now it is very fast, in a few days, or even less, of a decision, which is in the hands of the Ukrainians,” he said.
More weapons will arrive, he promised.
Listing other priorities, Brink also vowed that U. S. officials “will strive to hold the world accountable to Russia for atrocities and war crimes. “
He arrived in Kyiv on 29 May.
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VILNIUS, Lithuania – Inspired by an act of generosity through Lithuanians, a Turkish manufacturer is donating a drone that will pass into war-torn Ukraine, Lithuania’s defense minister said Thursday.
Last week, Lithuanians raised 5. 9 million euros in a few days to buy a drone for Ukraine. The Lithuanian had traveled to Turkey to sign a contract with the manufacturer to get hold of it.
But Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas wrote on Facebook that the Turkish manufacturer “impressed” other Lithuanians so much that it “donated a Bayraktar TB2 drone to Lithuania. “
The Lithuanian plans to send the drone to Ukraine later this month.
Approximately 1. 5 million euros of the cash raised through Lithuanians will be spent on drones, while the remaining 4. 4 million euros will go toward humanitarian and other aid to Ukraine, Anusauskas said.
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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says if Russia wins its war in Ukraine “then dark times will come for everyone” in Europe.
Addressing Luxembourg’s parliament via video link on Thursday, Zelenskyy said: “If we win this war, all Europeans will be able to continue to enjoy their freedom. “
“But if this user who destroys all freedom in Ukraine and Europe wins, then dark times will come for everyone on the continent,” he added, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He said Russia lately controls only about 20 percent of Ukraine’s territory, a domain larger than Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg combined, and that “tens of thousands” of people died in the first 99 days of the war.
“That’s what it means, in fact, to characterize this war as large-scale,” Zelenskyy said. “And that’s why we call on them globally. “
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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was in the European Union’s strategic interest, but also “our ethical duty,” to allow Ukraine to join the 30-nation bloc.
Von der Leyen made her comments Thursday at a security convention in the Slovak capital. He spoke after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a video speech at the annual rally.
Zelenskyy called for more weapons so that the Ukrainian armed forces can triumph over the Russian army’s invasion, called for more EU sanctions against Russia and reiterated his country’s call to be “a full member of a united Europe. “
Von der Leyen says Ukraine will have to meet all mandatory criteria and situations in order to join, but called on the EU to help Ukraine achieve its goal.
She said: “Supporting Ukraine on the road to the European Union is a burden, it is our historical responsibility.
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MOSCOW — The Kremlin has again denounced Western plans to send more weapons to Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in his daily convening of the convention that the “pumping” of weapons “will bring more suffering to Ukraine, which is only a tool in the hands of countries that obtain it with weapons. “
Britain said Thursday it will send complicated medium-range rocket systems to Ukraine. The compromise came a day after the United States and Germany said they would equip the besieged country with complex weapons to shoot down planes and destroy artillery.
Peskov warned of “absolutely undesirable and unpleasant scenarios” in case they “hypothetically try to use such weapons against targets on our territory. “
“This will particularly replace those in an unfavorable direction,” Peskov said.
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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian military analyst says the intensification of Russian missile movements comes in reaction to Western promises to supply more weapons to Ukraine.
“The source of Western weapons is a great fear for the Kremlin, because even with enough weapons, the Ukrainian military boldly resists the offensive,” military analyst Oleh Zhdanov told The Associated Press.
“Any advance in the southeast is already costing Russia dearly, in addition to the loss of aircraft and soldiers, and extra-Western arms deliveries to Ukraine may buck the trend,” he said.
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STOCKHOLM —The Swedish government said Thursday it needs Ukraine with economic aid and military apparatus as part of a “new phase of the Russian invasion. “
The Swedish government has said it needs to donate anti-ship missiles, semi-automatic rifles and ammunition, anti-tank weapons and money supply to Ukraine, Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist said.
The missiles “can hit land and sea targets. The automatic rifle that we are going to give to Array. . . it can be used with various other munitions that can be used for other purposes,” Hultqvist said.
Sweden also plans to pay 578 million kroner ($59 million) to “strengthen Ukraine’s ability to combat Russian aggression at a critical time,” according to a government statement.
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BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s vice chancellor said Russia’s continued gains from high fuel costs “hurt,” but the Russian economy is collapsing and “the clock is ticking against Russia. “
Robert Habeck, who is also Germany’s economy minister and energy culprit, told parliament on Thursday that “the revenues that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has earned in recent months due to high costs are suffering, and we can only be ashamed that this dependency has not yet been controlled more significantly.
But he argued that Russia’s fuel and oil revenues don’t tell the full story. Habeck said “Putin still gets money, but he can hardly spend it anymore” because of Western sanctions. He pointed to sharp falls in exports to Russia and added from Germany.
Habeck said that “time works for Russia. He opposes Russia, he opposes the Russian economy. “He added that “no one wants to invest in Russia anymore. “