Once a day, NU.nl gives you an overview of the situation in Ukraine. This time: Pro-Russian separatists are ramping up the fight around the city of Lysychansk, a Turkish freighter carrying grain has left the port city of Mariupol and Dutch armored howitzers have arrived in Ukraine.
Pro-Russian separatists in the self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Luhansk (LPR), where heavy fighting has been going on for weeks, have claimed the encirclement of a group of Ukrainian soldiers, a spokesman told Russia’s news agency TASS.
The Ukrainian army reported through its own news channels that a Russian attack on Novobachmoetivka, north of the city of Donetsk, was repulsed on Wednesday. The invasion troops are advancing towards Bachmoet, also in the Donetsk region.
The battle over Severodonetsk continues to be fierce. In addition to the city itself, the Russian air force also bombed the villages of Verkhnokamyanka, near Lysychansk, and Sirotine.
Numerous places elsewhere in the Donets basin, from Kramatorsk to Zaporizhzhia, were again under attack. According to Kyiv, the enemy is trying to improve its position near Slavyansk with targeted attacks and to prevent Ukrainian soldiers from reaching the Russian border from Kharkiv.
Ukrainian soldiers dig a trench in the outskirts of Lysychansk.
Ukrainian soldiers dig a trench in the outskirts of Lysychansk. Photo: AFP
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Turkish freighter leaves Mariupol
A Turkish freighter has been loaded with grain from the Ukrainian port of Mariupol after negotiations between Turkey and Russia. It fell into the hands of Russian troops and pro-Russian East Ukrainian militias in May after fierce fighting. The ship, the Azov Concord, is the first foreign cargo ship to leave port since then, according to the Turkish Defense Ministry.
A Turkish delegation had gone to Moscow to discuss grain exports from Ukrainian ports. The war in Ukraine has made shipping to and from that country virtually impossible.
Turkey has good relations with Ukraine and Russia and is trying through negotiations to get the warring parties to allow exports of, for example, wheat from Ukraine across the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. Turkey is also trying to mediate in the struggle.
More than eight million people have fled Ukraine
More than eight million people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded the neighboring country on February 24. The other way around, more than 2.8 million people crossed the border, according to data from the UN refugee agency UNHCR.
Poland is the main destination, but many have traveled on to other European countries, including the Netherlands. More than 5.2 million refugees from Ukraine have applied for protected status in Europe, according to the UNHCR. More Ukrainians are returning to their country, which is relatively safe in western parts as the Russian army concentrates on the Donets Basin in the east.
Ukraine had more than 41 million inhabitants at the beginning of the war, not counting the inhabitants of the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia.
Dutch armored howitzers arrived in Ukraine
The armored howitzers promised by the Netherlands to Ukraine have now arrived in the country, Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced on Wednesday during a debate in the House of Representatives. In recent weeks, Ukrainian soldiers have been trained in Germany to operate the heavy artillery.
The Netherlands and Germany are giving Ukraine five and seven armored howitzers respectively. On Tuesday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov announced that German armored howitzers had arrived in his country. They are desperately needed in the battle in the east of the country.
The armored howitzer is the heaviest artillery in the Dutch army. The armored howitzer can hit targets up to 50 kilometers away.
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