Vladimir Putin’s forces have claimed a key region in eastern Ukraine, but it has come at a “huge cost,” while Ukrainian leaders are demanding that confiscated property from Russian oligarchs to fund the recovery of their nation.
Here is the latest on the war.
Snake Island, the flag of Ukraine and a fight for the grain
The infamous island (known for an informed exchange between Russian forces and Ukrainian guards at the start of the war that ended with “Russian warship, go to shit”) is about to have a symbolic moment.
A helicopter has dropped a Ukrainian flag at the strategic location, but will not rise until troops arrive.
Why is the island crucial? Its location:
With Russia blocking the key port of Odessa, controlled by Ukraine, critical grain exports to the rest of the world have not come out.
And some analysts have said Russia’s withdrawal from the island could loosen control over shipping movements.
But a foreign diplomat based in Kyiv told Reuters that it was still not enough to allow the safe transit of Ukrainian grain.
Russia said it had withdrawn from the island last week as a “gesture of goodwill” to show it was not obstructing UN attempts to open a humanitarian corridor to allow the departure of grain shipments.
Here’s what else is going on
- Vladimir Putin officially declared victory in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine, a day after Ukrainian forces withdrew from Lysychansk, their last remaining bastion of resistance in the province.
The Russians have claimed victory after taking control of Lysychansk. (Reuters: Alexander Ermochenko)
- Some military experts felt that the fought victory had brought few strategic gains to the Russians
- An intelligence briefing by the British Ministry of Defense noted that Russian forces “now almost certainly” will go on to capture neighboring Donetsk.
- And Ukraine needs $ 750 billion for a recovery plan, said Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal at a Recovery Conference of Ukraine organized by Switzerland.
The latest images
And these images show the cost of fighting in Lysychansk:
Damage to Lysychansk. (Reuters: Alexander Ermochenko) Locals are taking what they can as they try to leave the city. (Reuters: Alexander Ermochenko) The victory came at a cost to pro-Russian forces. (Reuters: Alexander Ermochenko)
Neil Melvin, of the RUSI think tank in London, said the key battle was yet to come.
“It has taken 60 days to move very slowly,” he said.
“I think it’s a tactical victory for Russia, but at a huge cost.”
And the cost to the Ukrainians is shown in the faces of those left behind, while saying goodbye to troops in the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk:
Three members of the Ukrainian service, recently killed in fighting Russian troops, are in mourning. (Reuters: Yuriy Rylchuk)
The war on maps
Since claiming Luhansk, Russia has been stepping up its attacks on Donetsk, the other part of the wider Donbas region for which they have been fighting Ukraine since 2014.
So where are the last points of conflict?
The Ukrainian General Staff said Russian forces were now focusing their efforts on advancing towards the Siversk and Bakhmut line in the Donetsk region, about half of which is already controlled by Russia.
And Russian forces have intensified artillery attacks in Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, further inland in Donetsk.
Six people, including a nine-year-old girl, were killed in a Russian bombing of Sloviansk in the depths of the Donetsk region, and another 19 were injured, according to local authorities.
Vadym Lyakh, the mayor of Sloviansk, said the bombing there means, “Now it is important to evacuate as many people as possible.”
Who said what?
Vladimir Putin’s brief television appearance showed him congratulating Russian forces on their “victories in the direction of Luhansk.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used his nightly speech to call for the “colossal funds” needed for the recovery and said the country’s forces would not surrender.
“We have to break them. It’s a difficult task. It requires superhuman time and effort. But we have no alternative,” he said.
Zelenskyy said his country’s armed forces continued to resist Russian attacks.
The last word
Here is the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmygal on the use of confiscated property of Russian oligarchs to finance the recovery of his nation:
“The Russian authorities unleashed this bloody war. They caused this mass destruction and should be held responsible for it.”
ABC / children