Home ›› 13 Jun 2022 ›› Front
Russian forces said Sunday they had struck a site in western Ukraine storing large amounts of weapons supplied by the United States and European countries, as the battle intensified for the key eastern city of Severodonetsk.
The strike on the town of Chortkiv, a rare attack by Russia in the relatively calm west of Ukraine, left 22 people injured, the regional governor said.
Meanwhile the situation in Severodonetsk was “extremely difficult”, after the Russian army destroyed a second bridge into the city and was heavily bombarding the last one, regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said.
Away from the battlefield, the head of the European Commission on Saturday promised it would provide a clear signal by the end of next week on Ukraine’s bid to become a candidate to join the European Union.
“Ukraine has achieved a lot in the past ten years and much still needs to be done. Our opinion will reflect this carefully,” Ursula von der Leyen said after a surprise trip to the capital Kyiv.
Despite reservations among some member states, EU leaders are expected to approve the bid at a summit later this month, although with strict conditions attached.
“The challenge will be to come out of the (EU) council with a united position, which reflects the enormity of these historic decisions,” von der Leyen said as she travelled back to Poland.
Ukraine’s geopolitical vulnerability has been laid bare by Russia’s February 24 invasion, which has killed thousands, sent millions fleeing and reduced swathes of the country to rubble.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that it was a “decisive time”.
“Russia wants to ruin European unity, wants to leave Europe divided and wants to leave it weak. The entirety of Europe is a target for Russia. Ukraine is only the first stage in this aggression,” he said.
Extremely difficult
The United States and EU have sent weapons and cash to help Ukraine fend off the Russian advance, alongside punishing Moscow with unprecedented economic sanctions.
Russia’s defence ministry said the strike on Chortkiv destroyed a “large depot of anti-tank missile systems, portable air defence systems and shells provided to the Kyiv regime by the US and European countries”.
Regional governor Volodymyr Trush said that four missiles fired from the Black Sea had partially destroyed a military installation in the town, about 140 kilometres (85 miles) from the border with Romania, on Saturday evening.
Residential buildings were also damaged and 22 people were hurt, all of them -- including seven women and a 12-year-old -- taken to hospital, he said in a Facebook post.
It was a rare attack in western Ukraine, with the east and south of the country having borne the brunt of Russian firepower.
The cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, which are separated by a river, have been targeted for weeks as the last areas still under Ukrainian control in the region of Lugansk.
“The situation in Severodonetsk is extremely difficult,” said Lugansk governor Gaiday on Sunday, adding that by attacking the bridges, Russian forces wanted to cut off the city completely.
“Most likely, today or tomorrow, they will throw all reserves to capture the city and also possibly in other directions to cut and fully control the road” southwest to Bakhmut.
He said the Azot chemical plant was being shelled, with fighting around the area.
About 800 civilians have taken refuge in the plant’s bunkers, according to the tycoon whose company owns the facility.
