“Units on both sides are committed to a fierce battle in Donbass and are likely to face volatile morale,” the Pentagon said in its daily assessment of the war. “Ukrainian forces have probably suffered casualties in recent weeks,” the assessment said, adding that “Russian morale is very likely to remain very problematic.” He said “there are still cases of entire Russian units denying orders and armed confrontations between officers and their troops.” Separately, Ukraine’s Central Intelligence Agency said it had intercepted phone calls in which Russian soldiers complained about front-line conditions, poor equipment and a general shortage of personnel, according to a report by the Institute for War Studies. CLOCKS What happened in week 17 of the Russian attack on Ukraine:
What happened in week 17 of the Russian attack on Ukraine
Russian forces have seized control of the eastern Ukrainian city of Sheverodonetsk and occupied almost the entire Luhansk region, while Ukraine has set up grain export routes through Poland and Romania to try to avoid a global food crisis. This is followed by a summary of the war in Ukraine from June 11 to June 17. Meanwhile, the NATO leader warned that the fighting could last for “years”. In an interview published Sunday in the German weekly Bild am Sonntag, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said “no one knows” how long the war could last. “We have to be prepared for it to last for years,” he said. He also urged allies “not to weaken support for Ukraine, even if the cost is high, not only in terms of military aid but also because of rising energy and food prices.” In recent days, Gazprom, the Russian gas company, has cut supplies to two major European customers – Germany and Italy. In the case of Italy, energy officials are expected to discuss the situation this week. The head of the Italian energy giant ENI said on Saturday that with extra gas bought from other sources, Italy would have to spend next winter, but warned the Italians that “restrictions” that affect the use of natural gas may be necessary. Germany will reduce its use of gas to generate electricity amid concerns about possible shortages caused by cuts in supplies from Russia, the country’s economy minister said on Sunday. Germany is trying to fully fill its gas storage facilities in view of the cold winter months. CLOCKS Ukraine closes main gas pipeline from Russia to Europe:
Ukraine closes the main gas pipeline from Russia to Europe
Ukraine’s gas pipeline operator has halted Russian shipments through a key hub in an area in the east of the country controlled by Moscow-backed separatists. Economy Minister Robert Habeck said Germany would try to offset the move by increasing the burning of coal, a more polluting fossil fuel. “This is bitter, but it is simply necessary in this situation to reduce the use of gas,” he said. Stoltenberg stressed, however, that “the cost of food and fuel is not comparable to what Ukrainians pay on the front lines every day.” Stoltenberg added: “Moreover, if Russian President Vladimir Putin achieves his goals in Ukraine, such as when he annexed Crimea in 2014,” we would have to pay an even higher price. “
Battle of Donbas
The eastern Donbass region of Ukraine – the seat of the Moscow-backed separatists – has been the main focus of Russian attacks for more than two months after the initial attempt to occupy Kiev failed. The British Defense Ministry said that both Russia and Ukraine continued to carry out heavy artillery bombardment on axes north, east and south of the Severodonetsk enclave in Donbas, but with few changes to the front line. The governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Haidai, told the Telegram on Sunday: “It is a very difficult situation in Severodonetsk, where the enemy in the city center is conducting 24-hour aerial reconnaissance with drones, adjusting the fire, adapting quickly to our changes. . “ Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed on Sunday that Russian and separatist forces had taken control of Metolkin, a settlement just east of Sheverodonetsk. Bakhmut, a city in Donbass, is located 55 km southwest of the twin cities of Lysyhansk and Serverodonetsk, where fierce military clashes are raging. Every day, Russian artillery hits Bakhmut.
“We will not give away the south”
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a trip south of Kyiv to visit soldiers and hospital staff in the Mykolaiv and Odessa regions along the Black Sea. He handed out prizes to dozens of people at each stop, shaking their hands and thanking them again and again for their service. Zelensky, in a recorded speech on a train returning to Kyiv, promised to defend the south of the country. “We will not give the south to anyone, we will return what is ours and the sea will be Ukrainian and safe.” He added: “Russia does not have as many missiles as our people want to live.” Zelensky also condemned the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports amid weeks of incomplete negotiations on safe corridors so that millions of tonnes of wheat could be shipped before the next new harvest season. Firefighters battling the blaze after the Russian bombing of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine on Sunday. (George Ivanchenko / The Associated Press) In other attacks in the south, Ukraine’s southern military administration said Sunday that two people had been killed in bombings in the Galitsyn district of Mykolaiv and that bombings in the Bashtansky district were continuing. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the missiles destroyed a factory in the city of Mykolaiv where ammunition and armored vehicles supplied by the West were stored. Heavy weapons supplied by the West are reaching the forefront, but Ukrainian leaders have been insisting for weeks that they need more weapons and need them sooner.
