Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, May 20 (Xinhua) Comprehensive Xinhua News Agency reporters abroad reported: Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on the 20th that 1,908 Ukrainian armed personnel have surrendered at the Azov steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine.
A spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said on the 20th that the Russian army was trying to surround the Ukrainian army in western Luhansk.
——Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at a meeting of the Ministry of Defense on the 20th that the siege of the Azov steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine is still continuing. So far, 1,908 Ukrainian armed personnel have surrendered; another 177 Civilians were rescued, including 85 women and 47 children, who received medical and psychological assistance.
Shoigu also said that in response to the growing military threat from the United States and NATO in the western border area of Russia, the Russian military is taking appropriate countermeasures.
By the end of 2022, 12 new military units and subunits will be established in the Western Russian Military District.
This year, more than 2,000 modern weapons and military equipment will be provided to the Russian army.
——According to the Ukrainian State News Agency on the 20th, Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Motuzyanik said at a press conference on the same day that the fighting situation in eastern Ukraine was fierce and showing signs of deterioration. The Russian army launched a violent attack on the entire military contact line, the main target. It is the Ukrainian army encircling Lisichansk and Severo Donetsk in the western part of the Luhansk region.
In Kharkiv Oblast, the Russian army was carrying out artillery strikes on Ukrainian positions in the south and southwest of Izyum, while in Slavyansk in the Donetsk region, the Ukrainian army temporarily repelled the Russian attack.
——According to the Ukrainian State News Agency on the 20th, Sergei Gede, the military administrator of the Luhansk region, posted on social media that Rubeznoye, an industrial city in western Luhansk, has been completely destroyed by the Russian army. Complete buildings no longer exist, and a large number of damaged houses are difficult to repair.
——Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Konashenkov issued a report on the 20th that since the launch of the special military operation, the Russian army has destroyed a total of 172 Ukrainian aircraft, 125 helicopters, 952 drones, and 314 sets of air defense missile systems. , 3168 tanks and other armored vehicles, 396 multiple rocket launchers, 1571 field artillery and mortars and 3039 special military vehicles.
——The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces posted on social media on the 20th that as of the 20th, the Russian army had lost about 28,700 personnel in the operation against Ukraine, lost 1,263 tanks, 3,090 armored vehicles, and 596 artillery systems. 200 sets of rocket launchers, 93 sets of air defense systems, 204 fixed-wing aircraft, 168 helicopters, 460 tactical drones, 103 cruise missiles, 13 ships/patrol boats, and 2,162 vehicles and fuel transport vehicles.
——Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on social media on the 19th that he had a phone call with British Prime Minister Johnson on the same day to discuss issues such as arms assistance, Ukrainian agricultural exports and fuel imports.
According to the British Prime Minister's Office, the two sides discussed opening up sea and land routes to export Ukrainian grain reserves.
——Ukrainian Prime Minister Shmegar released a statement on social media on the 20th, saying that the European Union provided Ukraine with the second batch of macro financial assistance that day.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Finance issued a statement on the 20th saying that it has received the second batch of 600 million euros of macro financial assistance from the European Union.
- Nikolai Korchunov, a senior official in charge of Arctic affairs at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said on the 20th that Sweden and Finland's accession to NATO may trigger a "correction" in the development of Arctic cooperation.
He said that Russia is willing to resume the Arctic cooperation dialogue, which will minimize the negative impact of the suspension of the work of the Arctic Council, and to resume the comprehensive work of the Council as soon as possible is not only in the interests of the countries in the Arctic region, but also in the interests of the entire international community.
——The Finnish state-owned energy company Gasum announced on the 20th that Gazprom will cut off the supply of liquefied natural gas to Finland on the morning of the 21st.
Gasoum will supply its customers with natural gas from other sources, and the company's refueling stations in areas of the gas network will continue to operate normally.
(Participating reporters: Liu Kai, Li Ming, Li Dongxu, Du Juan, Chen Jing, Xu Qian, Zhao Bing)