The “wall” that stands between the territories captured by Putin’s troops and the rest of Ukraine is getting bigger and bigger. Pro-Russians in Kherson are talking about a “new era” with the distribution of Russian passports to residents of the region. While some are a few steps away from Russian citizenship, others are closer to the desired integration into the European Union. Ursula von der Leyen returned to Kyiv and promised to give an answer “next week” to Ukraine’s application for membership. Here are the key moments of the 108th day of the war.
– This Saturday, Russia handed over the first passports to the residents of Kherson, a city occupied by Moscow troops in southern Ukraine. In May, Putin signed a decree that streamlined the application process that took place today. “All residents of Kherson want to get a passport and citizenship (Russian) as soon as possible. A new era is opening up for us,” Vladimir Saldo, head of the pro-Russian administration of the region, assured.
– Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, returned to Kyiv to discuss the “reconstruction [da Ucrânia] and advancement of the country on the way to Europe. “We want to support Ukraine on its European path,” von der Leyen said in a brief press conference after meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, and also promised a response “next week” to the application for membership in the European Union.
– The pro-Russian separatists of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic assured this Saturday that they were negotiating the exit of civilians blocked at the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk with the Ukrainian military remaining there. It is estimated that there are 800 civilians and between 300 and 400 Ukrainian military personnel at the plant.
– According to Biden, Zelenskiy downplayed US warnings about Russia’s invasion of his country. The United States began to warn of invasion preparations long before the Russian president announced a “special operation” against the country. The preparation of the Ukrainian president for an invasion – or lack of it – remains a moot point.
– About 300,000 tons of grain were destroyed in a Russian attack on warehouses in Nikolaev on the Black Sea, according to the Ministry of Agriculture of Ukraine. The Ukrainian authorities believe that Russia is deliberately practicing “food terrorism”.
– According to British intelligence, fierce fighting continues in Severodonetsk. The Russian offensive in recent weeks has been focused on eastern Ukraine. In a daily report on the situation on the ground, the British Ministry of Defense also indicated that Russian forces had not advanced in the south of the city, but both sides were likely to suffer heavy losses.
– Russia will give a “proportional and adequate” response to the increase in NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) forces in Poland, “in order to neutralize potential threats to the country’s security,” said Oleg Tyapkin, director of the European Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
— The Russian army said it had destroyed a facility of “alleged foreign mercenaries” in the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine with precision-guided missiles, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
