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Kyiv —Russian troops occupy front-line riverside territory in eastern Ukraine on Monday, and President Wolodimirzerensky said Moscow prior to a summit of European leaders expected to welcome Kyiv’s accession to the EU. Predicted to escalate the attack.
A separatist representative in Moscow claimed to have occupied Toshikifka, a town on the west bank of the Ukrainian-controlled Siverskyi Donets, south of Siverskyi Donetsk, which has become a major battlefield city in recent weeks.
Ukraine acknowledged Moscow’s success in Toshikifka and said Russians are trying to build a foothold there to make a breakthrough into the wider, Ukrainian-owned pockets of the East Donbus region. It also confirmed Russia’s allegations of capturing metiorkine in the eastern suburbs of Sieviero Donetsk.
“Obviously, we should expect Russia to intensify its hostile activity this week,” Zelensky said in a video speech on Sunday night. “Preparing. We are ready.”
Moscow, as part of it, condemns the decision by EU member state Lithuania to ban the transportation of some basic goods to Kaliningrad, a Russian outpost in the Baltic Sea surrounded by EU territory. did.
The Lithuanian ban, which came into effect on Saturday, will prevent the shipment of coal, metals, construction materials, and advanced technology to outposts. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the move illegal and unprecedented, and said Moscow would soon announce a response.
EU leaders at the summit later this week are expected to congratulate Ukraine as a formal candidate for participation. This decision is marked as a victory in Kyiv.
It will take years for Ukraine to enter the EU, but the deep reach of the center of the former Soviet Union will bring about one of Europe’s largest economic and social changes since the Cold War. Ukraine applied for participation only four days after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops across the border in February.
In the strongest step ever proposed by Kieu to force a cultural break with Moscow, the Ukrainian Parliament passed a bill on Sunday banning the publication of books and public broadcasting of music by post-Soviet Russian citizens. ..
Toshkivka Foothold
The war has entered a frictional stage in recent weeks, with Russian troops concentrating overwhelming cannon firepower in Ukraine’s pockets of Donbus.
Most of the battles take place along the Siverskyi Donets. Russia’s TASS news agency said Vitaly Kiselev, an aide to the Russian-backed self-proclaimed separatist government of the People’s Republic of Luhansk, said Monday that the town of Toshkivka was “liberated.”
The town is located on the west bank of the river, south of Lysychans’k, the twin city of Sieviero Donetsk, a fortress in Ukraine.
Luhansk Governor Serhiy Gaidai admitted that Russia’s attack on Toshkivka was “somewhat successful.” He said Russian troops were trying to break through and gain a foothold near the small village Ustinovka, further north along the river. The Russians brought a large amount of heavy equipment there, including tanks.
He also confirmed Russia’s allegations of capturing metiorkine in the eastern suburbs of Severodonetsk. “Unfortunately, I don’t control methiolucine today,” he said.
Oleksander Stryuk, Mayor of Sievierodonetsk, said Russian troops controlled about two-thirds of the city, including most residential areas, and Moscow continued to send troops to Ukrainians in an attempt to completely take over.
International interest has focused on trying to restore Ukraine’s food exports. Ukraine is one of the world’s leading sources of grain and cooking oil, leading to global shortages and concerns about hunger.
“We call on Russia to lift the blockade of the port,” EU foreign policy director Josep Borrell told reporters. “Unimaginable. Millions of tonnes of wheat remain blocked in Ukraine, and people in other parts of the world are suffering from hunger.”
Russia has blamed the food crisis for western sanctions that are curbing its exports.
The war has also disrupted the world’s energy markets, including Russia’s oil and gas shipments to Europe. Europe remains the continent’s main source of energy and Moscow’s main source of income. Moscow blamed EU sanctions for a reduction in gas export pipelines, saying the sanctions prevented the restoration of pumping equipment sent for repairs.
Natalia Ginets and Max Hander
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