Russia and Turkey voiced support on June 8 for a safe corridor in the Black Sea to allow Ukrainian grain exports, but Kyiv rejected the proposal, saying it was not credible. The European Union accused Moscow of “weaponizing” food supplies to gain an advantage in the war.
Meanwhile, Kyiv's forces may have to retreat from the eastern city of Severodonetsk, a senior Ukrainian official conceded on Wednesday, as diplomatic efforts intensified to unblock grain stuck in Ukraine's ports.
The strategic city has become the focus of Russia's offensive as it seeks to seize an eastern swathe of Ukraine, after being repelled from other parts of the country.
Read more news on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis here.
3 sentenced to death by pro-Moscow rebels for fighting on Ukraine's side
Two British citizens and a Moroccan have been sentenced to death by pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine for fighting on Ukraine's side. The three men fought alongside Ukrainian troops and surrendered to Russian forces weeks ago.
Polish President says calls with Putin like speaking to Hitler
Polish President Andrzej Duda slammed the leaders of France and Germany over their phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying it was like having talks with Adolf Hitler during World War Two, according to the German mass-selling daily Bild. - Reuters
Western arms would end Severodonetsk fight ‘in 2-3 days’: Ukraine
Long-range artillery supplied by the West would give Ukraine the firepower it needs to beat back Russian forces and capture Severodonetsk within days, a regional Ukrainian official said on Thursday.
“As soon as we have long-range artillery to be able to conduct duels with Russian artillery, our special forces can clean up the city in two to three days,” Lugansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said in an interview distributed on his official social media channels. - AFP
Ukraine’s President says millions could starve because Russia is blockading ports
Millions of people could starve because of Russia‘s blockade of Ukraine‘s Black Sea ports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 9.
Warning that the world was on the brink of a “terrible food crisis”, he said in a televised statement that Ukraine was unable to export wheat, corn, oil and other products and added: “Millions of people may starve if the Russian blockade of the Black Sea continues.” - Reuters
Brutal battle for Ukraine’s Sievierodonetsk will determine fate of Donbas, says Zelensky
The battle for the Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk is brutal and will determine the fate of the Donbas region, said the country’s President, as Russian troops lay waste to the city in an assault aimed at controlling eastern Ukraine.
After failing to take control of the capital Kyiv, the Kremlin says it is now seeking to completely “liberate” Ukraine‘s breakaway Donbas where Russian-backed separatists broke away from Ukrainian government control in 2014. - Reuters
Ukraine says Russia pounding Sievierodonetsk
An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office says Russian troops have changed their tactics in the battle for Sievierodonetsk.
Oleksiy Arestovych said on Wednesday that Russian soldiers have retreated from the city and are now pounding it with artillery and airstrikes.
As a result, he says, the city centre is deserted.-AP
Russia feels too strong to talk, says Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia is unwilling to negotiate an end to the war because it still feels strong.
Mr. Zelenskyy told U.S. corporate leaders on Wednesday that for Russia to join in negotiations “is simply not possible now because Russia can still feel its power.”
Speaking via a video link through a translator, he added: “We need to weaken Russia and the world is supposed to do it.”- AP
More bodies found in Mariupol as global food crisis looms
Workers pulled scores of bodies from smashed buildings in an ‘endless caravan of death’ inside the devastated city of Mariupol, authorities said on Wednesday, while fears of a global food crisis escalated over Ukraine’s inability to export millions of tonnes of grain through its blockaded ports. - AP
‘Fierce battle’ in key east Ukraine city largely under Moscow control: Zelensky
Russian forces are now largely in control of the key eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk amid fierce fighting, Kyiv said on Wednesday, as UN chief Antonio Guterres starkly warned the war’s impact on the world was worsening.
The strategic city has become the focus of Russia‘s offensive as it seeks to seize an eastern swathe of Ukraine, after being repelled from other parts of the country. - AFP
Millions hurt as Ukraine war hikes prices
A U.N. report says the war in Ukraine is increasing the suffering of millions of people by escalating food and energy prices, coming on top of ills from a growing financial crisis, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.
The report by the U.N. Global Crisis Response Group released on Wednesday says the war “has exacerbated a global cost-of-living crisis unseen in at least a generation” and is undermining the U.N. goal of ending extreme poverty around the world by 2030. - AP
Russia unexpectedly poor at cyberwar: European military heads
Several European heads of military cyber defence forces agreed on Wednesday that Russia has been far less effective than expected in employing digital combat capabilities in their offensive against Ukraine.
“Among cybersecurity experts we were pretty sure that there would be a cyber Pearl Harbor based on past experience of Russian behaviour and capabilities,” said General Karol Molenda, head of Poland’s National Cyber Security Centre.
But Ukraine was prepared and “withstood attacks from Russia“, Mr. Molenda told a meeting of the International Cybersecurity Forum (FIC) held in the northern France city of Lille. - AFP
