Russia-Ukraine live news: Kyiv says ‘dealing with absolute evil’ | Russia-Ukraine war News
- The price for the battle for the Donbas is “very high” for Ukraine and “just scary”, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says.
- Zelenskyy states it will be remembered in military history as one of the most violent battles in Europe.
- Russia’s main goal in Ukraine is to protect the breakaway self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claims.
- Ukraine’s national police chief discloses authorities are investigating the killings of more than 12,000 Ukrainians in the war.
- All of the bridges in Severodonetsk have been destroyed, making it impossible to bring in humanitarian supplies or evacuate citizens, the local governor has said.
Here are the latest updates:
Russian troops pushed Kyiv’s forces out of Severodonetsk city centre: ISW
Russian troops pushed Ukrainian forces away from the Severodonetsk city centre on Monday but did not fully capture the city, the Institute for the Study of War has said.
The institute also said that claims by Moscow-backed separatists that Ukrainian forces had destroyed the last bridge linking Severodonetsk to Lysychansk were likely false.
“Deputy Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) Militia Eduard Basurin blamed Ukrainian forces for destroying the bridge (though it is highly unlikely Ukrainian forces would willingly destroy the bridge while any of their forces remained in Severodonetsk and this claim is likely false)…,” the ISW said.
#Russian forces pushed Ukrainian defenders from the center of #Severodonetsk and reportedly destroyed the remaining bridge to #Lysychansk on 6/13, but Ukrainian officials said that Ukrainian forces are not encircled in the city. New w/ @criticalthreats: https://t.co/vvecBlKADX pic.twitter.com/NWWkjwMOjU
— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) June 14, 2022
Death toll from Monday’s attacks on Donetsk rises to 33: Russia-backed separatists
The death toll from Monday’s attacks on the Russian-backed self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic has grown to five, while the number injured has risen to 33, separatist officials have said, according to Moscow’s Tass news agency.
Separatist officials and Russian news agencies on Monday reported several Ukrainian artillery strikes, including on a market. Russian news agencies later reported a shell had fallen on a maternity hospital in the city of Donetsk, triggering a fire and prompting staff to send patients into the basement.
Earlier reports said four people died and 22 were injured.
Al Jazeera could not independently verify the reports and there has been no immediate reaction from Kyiv. Ukraine routinely denies carrying out any attacks on the two self-proclaimed regions, the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, where separatists seized large swathes of land in 2014.
Ukraine war and soaring costs shake Australian farmers’ confidence: Survey
About half of Australian farmers believe the war in Ukraine would hurt farm businesses, a survey has found.
Only 28 percent of farmers expected business conditions to improve in the next 12 months, compared with 31 percent in the previous quarter. Overall, farmers expected their incomes to be stable for the coming 12 months.
Although the war in Ukraine is driving up farms’ selling prices, especially for grains, those rises are needed to offset higher input costs, according to Rabobank, which conducted the survey.
The bank pointed to spiralling costs of fertilisers, fuel, freight and machinery – some also driven by the war – plus broader inflationary pressures in the Australian economy as weighing on sentiment.
Zelenskyy promises to ‘liberate’ taken Ukrainian territory
Ukraine will “liberate” all cities, towns and regions now occupied by Russia’s forces, the president has said in an encouraging address to the nation.
“We will come to Kherson. And ordinary Kherson residents will meet our army on the streets of the city … We will come to Melitopol. And we will return to all Melitopol residents the opportunity to live without fear,” Zelenskyy said.
“We will come to Mariupol. And we will liberate the city for the third time,” he said, explaining that the city was first liberated from the Nazis in 1943 and then again, on June 13, 2014, from Russian-backed separatists.
“We will come to Enerhodar. And I want to repeat to everyone in the city who took to the streets against the Russian military, who refuses to cooperate with the occupiers and who is waiting for us today. I want to repeat that we have not forgotten about our Enerhodar for a day,” he added.
Satellite images show destroyed bridges around Severodonetsk
Newly released satellite images, collected on Saturday, June 11, show a number of destroyed and damaged bridges which link Severodonetsk to the nearby towns of Rubizhne and Lysychansk.
The last bridge to the city was destroyed, trapping any remaining civilians and making it impossible to deliver humanitarian supplies, Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai said on Monday.
He added that some 70 percent of the city was under Russian control.
The images were released by Maxar Technologies.
More than 1,700 residents left occupied Kharkiv areas: Local official
More than 1,700 people managed to leave Russian-occupied territories of the Kharkiv region on Monday, the head of one of the region’s villages has said, according to the Interfax news agency.
“With the help of regional and district military administrations, local government bodies and volunteers managed to help people who independently reached the village of Pechenihy and crossed the hydroelectric dam on foot,” Alexander Gusarov said.
“For people who escaped from occupation hell to the territory controlled by Ukraine, the first necessary support has been provided,” he added.
Three killed, five injured in Donetsk: Governor
Russian shelling killed three civilians and injured another five in the Donetsk region on Monday, the governor has said.
It is impossible to determine the number of victims in the occupied city of Maripuol and town of Volnovakha, Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote on Telegram.
One killed, two injured in Sumy region: Governor
A Russian drone dropped grenades on a small community on Monday in Ukraine’s Sumy region, which borders Russia, killing one person and injuring two, the local governor has said.
“Almost at 2 pm, an enemy drone dropped ammunition (grenade launcher) on the territory of Velykopysarivska community. As a result of the explosion two people were injured, one died,” Dmitry Zhivitsky wrote on Telegram.
“At about 5 pm, the community was also shelled with mortars,” he added but did not mention any casualties from the attack.
Japan philanthropic group begins fund raising for Ukrainians
A Japanese foundation has announced it is launching a fundraising drive to provide more than 1,200 Ukrainian refugees in Japan with additional financial support for language studies and other needs.
Jumpei Sasakawa, executive director of the Nippon Foundation, said it aims to raise 1 billion yen ($7.4m) through cooperation with the United States and Ukrainian ambassadors.
The foundation has already pledged 5 billion yen ($37.2m) for the transportation and living costs of Ukrainian refugees. Japan has so far accepted more than 1,200 war-displaced Ukrainians since Russia invaded in late February.
Germany’s Scholz coy on possible Ukraine visit
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz declined to comment Monday on reports that he is planning to visit Ukraine together with his counterparts from France and Italy soon.
Scholz fobbed off questions about the reported travel plans, saying that he would not go beyond what his spokesperson had told reporters earlier in the day. The spokesperson had declined to discuss the reports.
While Germany has contributed considerable financial and military aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion three months ago, Scholz’s government has been criticised both at home and abroad for being slower to do so than the US and some smaller European countries.
Scholz pushed back against such criticism, saying “it would be good if those who express their views on this or that issue spent a moment thinking about it first.”
Colombia stepping up coal, petroleum production amid Ukraine war
Colombia is set to increase coal and petroleum production as it steps up to fill the void created by sanctions against Russia, Energy Minister Diego Mesa has said.
The Andean country has restarted coal exports to Ireland, Mesa said on the sidelines of Canada’s prospectors and developers conference in Toronto. Ireland stopped buying Colombian coal in 2016 on human rights concerns.
“Six years ago Ireland had replaced Colombian coal with Russian coal … but at the beginning of the war they came knocking at our doors again,” Mesa said.
Blinken discusses Ukraine in talks with Korean counterpart in Washington
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met with his South Korean counterpart Park Jin in Washington, DC, and discussed a wide range of issues, including Ukraine.
“We are standing together on global security challenges, including [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin’s unprovoked war on Ukraine,” Blinken said after the meeting. “Since the war began in February the Republic of Korea has coordinated sanctions and export controls alongside the United States and other allies and partners.”
He said South Korea also has offered Ukraine “significant” economic and humanitarian support.
.@SecBlinken on the United States and Republic of Korea: We are standing together on global security challenges, including President Putin’s unprovoked war on Ukraine. We’re working together to promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. pic.twitter.com/6zGMoVNfWJ
— Department of State (@StateDept) June 13, 2022
Blinken holds call with British counterpart
Blinken has held a call with UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and discussed the continued coordination of support for Ukraine.
“Secretary Blinken expressed his concern regarding recent reports of a sham ‘trial’ and its judgments against lawful combatants serving in Ukraine’s Armed Forces,” the State Department said in a readout of the talks.
Good call with UK Foreign Secretary @TrussLiz today to continue coordinating our urgent support to Ukraine. We also spoke about the Northern Ireland Protocol and the need to continue negotiations with the EU to find solutions.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) June 13, 2022
The battle of Donbas could prove decisive in Ukraine war
If Russia prevails in the battle of Donbas, it will mean that Ukraine loses not only land but perhaps the bulk of its most capable military forces, opening the way for Moscow to grab more territory and dictate its terms to Kyiv.
A Russian failure in the battle could lay the grounds for a Ukrainian counteroffensive – and possibly lead to political upheaval for the Kremlin.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov described the combat situation as “extremely difficult”, using a reference to an ancient deity of sacrifice by saying: “The Russian Moloch has plenty of means to devour human lives to satisfy its imperial ego.”
Read more here.
Battle for Severodonetsk taking ‘terrifying’ human toll: Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine was paying a very high price in the battle for the Donbas, as Russian forces threaten to take the strategic eastern city of Severodonetsk.
“The price of this battle for us is very high. It’s just scary,” Zelenskyy said in his daily address to the Ukrainian people.
“The battle for the Donbas will without doubt be remembered in military history as one of the most violent battles in Europe,” he added. “We are dealing with absolute evil. And we have no choice but to move forward and free our territory.”
Ukraine exhumes seven bodies of people it says were killed by Russian forces
Ukrainian investigators have exhumed seven bodies from makeshift graves in a forest near Kyiv.
The bodies were found outside the village of Vorzel, less than 10km (6 miles) from the town of Bucha, where Kyiv alleges that Russian forces who occupied the area carried out systematic executions in an abortive attempt to capture the capital. Russia denies that.
“This is another sadistic crime of the Russian army in the Kyiv region,” regional police chief Andriy Nyebytov said on Facebook.
Moroccan sentenced to death in Donetsk is not a mercenary, father says
The father of a Moroccan man sentenced to death by a court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) on mercenary charges has said his son should be treated as a prisoner of war as he is a Ukrainian national who handed himself in voluntarily.
Morocco-born fighter Brahim Saadoun received Ukrainian nationality in 2020 after undergoing a year of military training as a requirement to access aerospace technology studies at a university in Kyiv, his father Tahar Saadoun said in an email to the Reuters news agency.
He handed himself in “voluntarily” and should be treated as a “prisoner of war”, the father said.
“We as a family suffer from the absence of contact with the lawyer to exchange legal information and this adds to our ordeal,” he said.
Russia’s key goal in Ukraine is to protect Moscow-backed republics: Peskov
Russia’s main goal in Ukraine is to protect the Moscow-backed so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, Russia’s RIA state news agency has cited Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying.
“In general, the protection of the republics is the main goal of the special military operation,” Peskov said.
Donetsk and Luhansk are two breakaway Russian-backed entities in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, which Russia says it is fighting to remove entirely from Kyiv’s control.
Welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Read all the updates from Monday, June 13, here.
