- Blinken of the United States expresses concern about China’s alignment with Moscow
- The governors of Luhansk and Donetsk denounce fights, strikes
- Kharkiv hit by missiles, three wounded – governor
- The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine echoes the calls for Western arms
Kyiv, July 9 (Reuters) – Ukrainian defenders on Saturday fought to contain Russian forces on several fronts, officials said, while the United States urged China to align with the West to oppose the invasion after a grumpy G20 meeting.
A missile attack on the northeastern city of Kharkiv injured three civilians, its governor said, although Russia’s main attacks appeared to be centered southeast from there in Luhansk and Donetsk.
These two provinces, parts of which were controlled by pro-Russian separatists before the conflict began in February, comprise the eastern industrial region of Donbàs.
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Ukrainian officials on Saturday reported strikes on both, while the British Defense Ministry said Moscow was gathering all-Russian reserve forces near Ukraine. Read more.
Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told the Telegram courier service that a Russian missile had struck Druzhkivka, a city behind the front line, and reported bombings on other settlements.
Luhansk Governor Serhiy Gaidai told Telegram that Russian forces were “firing along the entire front line,” although a subsequent Ukrainian counterattack that hit weapons and ammunition stores had forced Moscow to stop. his offensive.
Russia, which claimed control of the entire Luhansk province last weekend, denies targeting civilians.
On Friday, Ukraine had called for more high-end weapons from the West that, according to Kyiv, had allowed it to slow Russia’s advance.
Hours later, U.S. President Joe Biden signed a weapons package for Ukraine worth up to $ 400 million, including four additional systems of high-mobility artillery rockets (HIMARS). (nL1N2YP1NH)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said armaments were a priority need. “It’s what helps us pressure the enemy,” he said on Twitter.
In reaction, the Russian embassy in Washington said the United States wanted to “prolong the conflict at any cost.”
CHINA-USA FRICTIONS
On Saturday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged the international community to join forces to condemn Russian aggression, told reporters he had expressed concern with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi over the alignment. from Beijing to Moscow. Read more
The couple held more than five hours of talks on the sidelines of the G20 meeting of foreign ministers on the Indonesian island of Bali. On Friday, Russian Sergei Lavrov had come out of a meeting there, denouncing the West for “frantic criticism.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said, without giving details, that Wang and Blinken had discussed “the issue of Ukraine.”
The Ukrainian military mounts a self-propelled shell in the middle of Russia’s attack on Ukraine in the Donetsk region of Ukraine on July 8, 2022. REUTERS / Gleb Garanich
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He also quoted Wang as saying that Sino-US relations were in danger of being further “diverted”, and many people believed that “the United States is suffering an increasingly serious attack of ‘chinaphobia'”.
Shortly before the Russian invasion, Beijing and Moscow announced a “limitless” partnership, although U.S. officials have said they have not seen China evade U.S.-led sanctions on Russia or provide it with military equipment. .
Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synehubov told Telegram that in addition to the missile attack, the fighters had repulsed two Russian attacks near Dementiivka, a city located between the city and the border with Russia.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces hit two “foreign mercenary bases deployed near Kharkiv.”
Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov also said troops had destroyed ammunition depots in the Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions.
Russia-backed forces in the territory of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) said three people were killed and 17 wounded there in the past 24 hours as Ukrainian forces bombed 10 sites.
Reuters was unable to independently verify battlefield accounts.
SANCTIONS SOLUTION
Following Friday’s G20 talks, President Vladimir Putin also noted that the Kremlin was not in the mood for a compromise, saying sanctions against Russia were at risk of causing “catastrophic” increases in energy prices. Read more
Putin had indicated on Thursday that prospects for finding a solution to the conflict were slim at the moment, saying Russia’s campaign in Ukraine had barely begun.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Saturday that the sanctions worked and echoed calls for more high-precision Western arms deliveries.
“The Russians are desperately trying to lift these sanctions that prove to hurt them. Therefore, the sanctions must be intensified until Putin abandons his aggressive plans,” Kuleba said at a forum in Dubrovnik via videolink.
Russia’s ambassador to Britain, Andrei Kelin, on Friday offered little chance of a withdrawal of parts of Ukraine under Russian control and said Russian troops would capture the rest of the Donbas. Read more
Since Russia, which has also seized much of the territory in southern Ukraine, launched what it calls a “special operation” to demilitarize Ukraine, cities have been bombed to rubble, thousands of people have been bombed. death and millions displaced.
Ukraine and its Western allies say Russia is involved in an unprovoked land grab.
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Reuters Office Report Written by John Stonestreet Edited by Frances Kerry
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