War

The Ukrainians got an important victory on Thursday, after they managed to drive the Russians from the Serpent Island. The Russians allegedly fled “as a result of a successful military operation with our missile and artillery units,” reads a message from Ukrainian forces. On the other hand, the Russians acknowledged the withdrawal, but say it was “a gesture of goodwill” to facilitate the transit of grain through the Black Sea.The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed in the daily briefing that the Russians withdrew from the Black Sea Serpent Island, claiming that it is a “gesture of goodwill” to facilitate the transport of grain. “On June 30, 30, as a gesture of goodwill, the armed forces of the Russian Federation ended their assigned tasks on Serpent Island and withdrew the garrison stationed there. Thus, the world community was shown that the Russian Federation does not interfere with the UN’s efforts to organize a humanitarian corridor for the export of agricultural products from the territory of Ukraine”, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced.On the other camp, Ukraine’s armed forces announced on Thursday in a message published on the Telegram that they had ousted the Russians from Serpent Island. “During the night, as a result of a successful military operation with our missile and artillery units, the enemy hastily evacuated the last occupants of the garrison with two motor boats and probably left the island. Currently, Serpent Island is covered in fire and smoke and explosions are taking place. The final results of the operation are being investigated “, reads a message published on Telegram.Images circulating on social media seem to show the island shrouded in smoke.The Ukrainian army also said it had destroyed the Russian Panţîr-S1 missile system on Snake Island. Ukraine’s “Southern” Operational Command reports that Russian forces lost 40 soldiers, a Pantir-S1 missile system on Snake Island, two “Msta-B” howitzers and a “Msta-S” self-propelled howitzer, on June 28. as well as three armored vehicle units and other vehicles on the southern front, according to Kyiv Independent.10 The Russian army concentrates its fight on Thursday for the defeat of the remaining pockets of resistance in the city of Lysiceansk, whose occupation would allow it to control the entire Lugansk region in the east of the country, reports EFE and Ukrinform, citing a staff report General of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the current situation on the front. “Russian troops are carrying out an offensive near Verhnekamenka and assault operations in the area of ​​the Lysiceansk oil refinery, where fighting continues,” the report posted on the General Staff’s Facebook page.
However, the Moscow government claims that the Russian army already controls the oil facilities, which cannot be verified from an independent source. “In the direction of (neighboring) Donetsk, the enemy – backed by artillery – is trying to blockade the city of Lysiceansk and take control of a section of road linking Lysiceansk to Bahmut,” a nearby town said in the military report.Russian troops continue to focus their attacks on the Lugansk and Donetsk regions, components of the Donbas, located on the border with Ukraine, in an attempt to unite this territory with the areas of southern Ukraine that they already control.Another area affected by the bombing is the Kharkov region (northeast), whose capital is the second largest city in the country. There, “the enemy continues to defend his previously occupied positions. The invaders opened fire from tanks, mortars, artillery and launched rocket fire on the neighborhoods of Kharkov, as well as on Pitomnik, Ukrainka, Peremoha, Dementievka, Prudianka, Korobocikino and Rubijne, “the report said.One person was killed and six people were injured, including an 11-year-old girl, following Russian attacks in the Kharkiv region, according to the latest information provided by the region’s governor.The 11-year-old girl was hospitalized, her condition being relatively stable.“Fighting continues in the region. In the direction of Kharkiv, the occupiers are fighting defensively, trying to stop the Ukrainian army. The enemy fires from tanks, mortars, using artillery on the positions of our army, attacking peaceful towns and villages,” the governor wrote in the Telegram Oleh Synyehubov.Two other civilians were killed in the Donetsk region in Wednesday’s attacks. According to the governor of the Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, the two civilians were killed in Krasnohorivka and Sydorove. Two more people were injured in the Donetsk region.The Russians committed a war crime when they bombed the theater in Mariupol, concludes an extensive investigation by Amnesty International. Dozens of people were killed in the March 16 attack, deliberately targeted by Russian forces, the report said.Amnesty International experts spoke to several survivors who recounted what happened during the bombing. In its latest report, Amnesty International documents how the Russian military intentionally targeted the theater, even though it knew that hundreds of civilians were taking refuge there on March 16.The bottom line is that the attack was certainly carried out by Russian fighter jets, which dropped two 500-kilogram bombs that fell close to each other and exploded simultaneously.British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss described Russian President Vladimir Putin as “a terrible dictator” waging a war that was neither legal nor justified, adding that the Russian leader had ordered “the most horrific crimes in Ukraine.”“I have seen the systematic rape of women. We have seen attacks on civilians, including at the shopping center this week (the attack on the Kremenciuk mall – n.red). And we need to make sure not only that Ukrainians manage to drive Russia out of Ukraine, but also that people are held accountable for these heinous crimes that were committed,” Truss told Sky News. “I did not meet Vladimir Putin. I do not know the motives for this terrible war. All I know is that our absolute priority must be to stop this war, to push Vladimir Putin and the Russian troops out of Ukraine, otherwise we will live in a much less secure Europe “, the minister added.