Meanwhile, uncertainty has risen over Thursday’s scheduled restart of Russia’s huge gas pipeline to Europe, as Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that its capacity could be further reduced by slow progress in equipment maintenance.
Ukrainian military and politicians have reported massive and sometimes fatal Russian artillery attacks amid what they say are largely unsuccessful offensive attempts by Russian ground forces.
Territorial acquisitions
More than two weeks have passed since the last major territorial conquest of Russia, the city of Lisichansk.
Search and rescue workers and local residents remove a body from under the rubble of a building following a Russian air raid in Lysichansk, Luhansk region, Ukraine, on Thursday, June 16, 2022. Source: A MONKEY / AP
The Kremlin has said that the so-called “special military operation” to ensure its own security in the face of NATO expansion has no time limit and that it will do everything possible to achieve its goals.
Five civilians were killed and 16 were injured as a result of Russian shelling in the Donetsk region, two civilians were killed as a result of shelling in the city of Nikopol in the south, the respective governors of the regions of Ukraine reported on Telegram.
Foundation laying
Reuters was unable to immediately verify Ukrainian or Russian accounts.
The embassy presented what Ukraine and the West see as a blatant land grab, a “return of peace to the liberated territories” in order to protect the rights of people regardless of their ethnicity or language – referring to Russian-speakers or ethnic Russians in Ukraine, whom Russia calls being saved from persecution by the side of those whom he considers dangerous Ukrainian nationalists.
Ukrainian soldiers fire an 82mm mortar during an exercise in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, on Tuesday, July 19, 2022. Source: A MONKEY / AP
Pipeline to Germany
Sources told Reuters that Nord Stream, Europe’s largest supply chain for Russian gas, is expected to resume operations as scheduled but with reduced capacity.
Last month, Gazprom cut exports along the route by up to 40%, citing a delay in the return of a turbine that Siemens Energy was servicing in Canada, which initially banned the return of equipment, citing sanctions.
Russia will punish Wikimedia for fakes about the conflict in Ukraine
Roskomnadzor said in a statement that Wikipedia continues to host “prohibited material, including fake news about a special operation in Ukraine,” and that search engines will be used to inform users that Wikimedia violates Russian law.
The Wikimedia Foundation appealed the Moscow court decision on June 13, fined it $91,000 ($132,000) for refusing to remove what it called disinformation from Russian-language Wikipedia articles on the Ukraine conflict, including “Russian Invasion of Ukraine”, “Military crimes during the Russian invasion of Ukraine”, and “Massacre in Bucha”.
Ukraine and the West say the Russian setup is a fig leaf to justify an imperial-style war of aggression.
