[LIVE] On the 99th day of war, Russia tightens its grip on Sievierodonetsk
Explosion in the city of Sievierodonetsk during heavy fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops in the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine on May 30, 2022. AFP - ARIS MESSINIS
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
On the 99th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this Thursday, June 2, follow the latest information on the conflict live.
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The main points:
► The Russian army is tightening its
grip on the strategic city of Sievierodonetsk
, in the Donbass, on the 99th day of a war that could last "
many months
", warns Washington.
► The United States has announced that it will provide Ukraine, which is urgently requesting them,
with advanced systems of multiple and mobile rocket launchers
, but against the assurance that they will not be used to strike Russian territory.
“
Such deliveries do not encourage the Ukrainian leaders to want to relaunch the peace negotiations
”, reacted the spokesman for the Russian presidency, Dmitry Peskov.
► Between
60 and 100 Ukrainian soldiers die every day
in combat and some 500 others are injured, President Volodymyr Zelensky assured Thursday, June 1.
Times are given in Universal Time (UT),
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6:30 a.m .: The Russian army tightens its grip on Sievierodonetsk
After the failure of their lightning offensive to bring down the kyiv regime, the Russian forces are concentrating on the conquest of the Donbass region, where a war of attrition is now being played out after nearly three months of conflict.
And the steamroller tactic applied by Moscow to slowly nibble away at the Donbass seems to be paying off.
In Sievierodonetsk, the administrative capital of the Luhansk region, now "
80% of the city is occupied
" by Russian forces and street fighting is raging, said the governor of the Luhansk region, Serguiï Gaïdaï, in the night from Wednesday to Thursday.
"
The most difficult situation is in the Luhansk region, where the enemy is trying to dislodge our troops from their positions
", according to the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Valery Zaluzhny, quoted in an army statement published in Wednesday night through Thursday.
"
The enemy has an operational advantage in terms of artillery
," he conceded in a telephone conversation Wednesday with the French chief of staff of the armies, General Thierry Burkhard, according to Kiev.
“
This raises the question of the fastest possible transition of our units to NATO-type weapons.
It would save lives
“, pleaded the Ukrainian general, who is awaiting deliveries of more powerful missile launcher systems promised by US President Joe Biden, capable of changing the military balance of power on the ground.
The Donetsk region is not spared by Moscow, in particular Sloviansk, some 80 km west of Sievierodonetsk.
06:30: Hello and welcome to this live
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Ukraine
Russia
Vladimir Poutine
Volodymyr Zelensky
Day to day war in Ukraine
On the same subject
War in Ukraine - Day 98
The day the United States promised another arms delivery to Ukraine