Kyiv was hit by a missile attack
The week began with the sounds of explosions heard around the Ukrainian capital in the early hours of Sunday morning. Dan Sabbagh reported on Russian cruise missiles that hit a railway depot in the eastern suburb of Dniprovsky in Kiev. Ukraine said the strike affected a railway car repair project. Moscow said it had destroyed tanks sent by Eastern European countries to Ukraine. It was the first time it had hit anywhere in the capital in more than five weeks. One person was hospitalized and a smoke rose and was visible from high places in the city. Five cruise missiles were fired from Tu-95 bombers, one of which was intercepted, the Ukrainian air force said, in an attack that represented a change of approach by Russian forces. Smoke billowed from high places in Kyiv on June 5 after explosions hit the Ukrainian capital early that morning. Photo: Sergei Supinsky / AFP / Getty Images
Putin “reasonable, cold, hard, black bad”
Luke Harding and Dan Sampag spoke with former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who described Russian President Vladimir Putin as “absolutely rational, cold, cruel, black evil” and said he was determined to stay in Russian history. and Peter the Great. In an exclusive interview in Kyiv, Tymoshenko dismissed the view that Putin was “crazy.” “It works according to its own dark logic,” he said. “He is driven by this idea of historical mission and wants to create an empire. That is his ultimate goal. It comes from a deep inner desire and belief “. Tymoshenko, the leader of the 2004 Orange Revolution and twice prime minister, had several private meetings with the Russian president. They negotiated in 2009 after Putin, then prime minister, cut off gas supplies to Ukraine. Tymoshenko was president in 2010, 2014 and 2019, finishing second twice and then third. Up close, Putin was “always wary” of what he was saying and always suspicious that he might be being filmed, he said. “He’s from a KGB school,” he said. “Before the full-scale invasion of Russia in February, he made no secret of his belief that ‘there was no nation like Ukraine and no such people as the Ukrainians,’” he said. Former Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko. Photo: Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
Ukraine “almost exhausted ammunition”
The deputy head of Ukraine’s military intelligence service told Isobel Koshiw that Ukraine was losing to Russia on the front lines and was now relying almost entirely on weapons from the West to keep Russia away. “This is an artillery war now,” said Vadim Skibitsky, the deputy chief of staff of Ukraine’s military intelligence service. The front lines were now where the future would be decided, he told the Guardian, “and we are losing in terms of artillery.” “It all depends on what [the west] “It gives us,” Skimicki said. “Ukraine has an artillery of up to 10 to 15 Russian artillery pieces. “Our western partners have given us about 10% of what they have.” Ukraine uses 5,000 to 6,000 artillery shells a day, according to Skibitsky. “We have exhausted almost everything [artillery] ammunition and now use standard 155 caliber NATO missiles “, he said about the ammunition fired from artillery. Airstrikes of incendiary ammunition are observed during the bombing, as the Russian attack on Ukraine continues, in the city of Marinka in the Donetsk region. Photo: Reuters
Life in Donbass as the front line approaches
Luke Harding and Isobel Kosciou reported deteriorating conditions for those living in Donbass as Moscow continued to concentrate its firepower in eastern Ukraine. In the city of Slavyanask, a once used spa resort near Sievierodonetsk, a terrible battle is approaching. Sitting on a bench outside town hall, Deputy Mayor Yuriy Pidlisnyi said he told residents to leave. About 25,000 people out of a population of about 100,000 have stubbornly ignored his advice, he said, as conditions inside the city are steadily deteriorating. There is no gas or water, only intermittent electricity. With expensive gasoline, many residents ride bicycles. Some who left returned after running out of money. The local economy is collapsing. Soldiers line up outside a market cafe to buy 60 kebab grills ($ 1.80 / $ 2.25). Slava Vladimirovich, a member of Ukraine’s Donbas Battalion that evacuated civilians from the besieged city of Lysychansk, asked: “Why did God punish me by making me born here? I liberated Popasna and Lysyhansk eight years ago and took part in the biggest battles. “And then the Russians came back to us.” Isobel and Luke also spoke with troops in Bakhmut describing their dangerous struggle to hold eastern Ukraine. The soldiers said they were used to the relentless bombing by the Russian side. “The first time you see a tank you get scared,” said Sasha, a young doctor. “After a while you do not feel it. It ‘s like getting into ecstasy. Your goal is to kill the enemy. You can not do this if you have a normal psyche. You become another. “My parents tell me I’m cut off from reality.” Dan Sabbagh’s analysis of the Battle of Donbass noted that there were indications that the invaders were running out and questioned whether Ukraine could cope with the losses suffered. A Ukrainian soldier takes a break after digging trenches near the front line in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine on Wednesday. Photo: Bernat Armangué / AP
Battle for control of Sievierodonetsk
Fierce fighting has seen Russian forces concentrating their efforts on encircling and occupying the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk, advancing at a rate of 500 meters to 1 kilometer per day, Dan Sabbagh said. “Sievirodonetsk remains the focus of the conflict in Donbas,” Zelensky said in a midnight speech to the nation Wednesday night, arguing that Ukraine had inflicted “significant losses on the enemy.” The Ukrainian leader confirmed reports of heavy fighting, saying the battle for Siyevirodonetsk was “probably one of the most difficult during this war”. “In particular, the fate of Donbass is being judged there,” he added. The occupation of Sivierodonetsk would give Russian President Vladimir Putin control of all of Luhansk – the area that, with Donetsk, is Ukraine’s industrial heart – in Donbass – consolidating a shift on the battlefield after the ousting of his forces. and northern Ukraine. Russian forces focus their efforts on occupying the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk Russian forces focus their efforts on occupying the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk Stressing the importance of the struggle for Sievierodonetsk, Zelenskiy on Sunday visited the besieged city of Lysychansk, just a few kilometers south. In the front line near the toughest battles, he spoke to his soldiers. “What you deserve is victory – that’s the most important thing. “But not at any cost,” he said in a video broadcast later after his visit.
Death sentences in a demonstration trial
Andrew Roth and Emine Sinmaz reported on the “disgusting spectacular trial of the Soviet era” that led to the death sentences of two British men and a Moroccan national arrested while fighting in the Ukrainian army in Mariupol. A court in Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine on Thursday convicted 28-year-old Aiden Aslin of Newark, 48-year-old Shaun Pinner of Watford and Saaudun Brahim of “terrorism.” Observers said the process was intended to mimic the war crimes trials of Russian soldiers in Kyiv. Both Britons said they were serving in the Ukrainian Marines, making them active soldiers who should be protected by the Geneva Conventions for prisoners of war. However, Russian state media have portrayed them as mercenaries and the court has convicted them of being “mercenaries”. The decision was immediately condemned by top British officials. “I strongly condemn the conviction of Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, held by Russian plenipotentiaries in eastern Ukraine,” said British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. “They are prisoners of war. This is a sham crisis with absolutely no legitimacy; my thoughts are with families. We continue to do everything we can to support them. “
