This was confirmed by the governor of the Luhansk region and the general staff of Ukraine.
Fierce Battles
Heavy fighting has been going on in the region for weeks by the Ukrainian and Russian military. Especially the heavily besieged Severodonetsk is the target of the Russians. The city is almost completely owned by Russia.
The fighting mainly takes place around the Azot chemical plant. That is the only part of the city that is still in the hands of Ukraine. Hundreds of civilians are hiding in the factory.
–
–
There is also fighting in the vicinity of Severodonetsk. Governor Serhi Haidai reported that the Russians have brought Toshkivka under control. “Unfortunately, the enemy threw huge amounts of weapons and soldiers at it and captured Toshkivka.” The pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas already claimed that on Monday.
The Ukrainian army also reported the capture of Pidlisne and Mirna Dolina, south of Lysychansk.
‘Catastrophic Destruction’
Lysychansk has been under constant artillery fire, but the defenders have been holding out so far, Haidai said. He calls the attacks a “catastrophic destruction” of the city.
According to the Luhansk governor, Russian troops have been ordered to capture the entire region by June 26. According to him, that is not feasible.
–
–
Also further north, in the Kharkov region, Russian missiles came down. Governor Oleg Sinehoebov reports that 15 civilians have been killed in the attacks.
No grain export
The war has prevented Ukraine from exporting grain for months. Before the invasion of Russia, the country was one of the largest exporters of grain in the world. That is why a Turkish military delegation is going to Russia this week to discuss opening corridors on the Black Sea. Russian food products could also be exported via that route, the Turkish newspaper Habertürk reports citing presidential sources.
Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov confirmed the talks to the Russian news agency TASS. It is expected that if the parties agree on free passage, 30 to 35 million tons of grain can be shipped in six to eight months.
–
–
