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Ukrainian official: Sievierodonetsk ‘on the verge of humanitarian disaster’
The situation in occupied Sievierodonetsk “is on the verge of a humanitarian disaster” and the city is being widely looted by Russian troops, according to Ukraine’s governor of Luhansk, Serhai Haidai.
He posted to Telegram this morning, claiming:
In Sievierodonetsk, 80% of housing was destroyed or damaged. Some people try to return for things, but more and more often … they find an empty apartment, even if it survived. Having entered the city, the Russians first deported part of the local population, took away the keys, and then began to rob everything. They drive up to high-rise buildings in trucks. If the furniture is good, they take it away. It is no longer just about household appliances.
The city is on the verge of a humanitarian disaster – there is no centralised water supply, gas supply, or electricity supply.
Since the end of February, the occupiers have been shelling critical infrastructure facilities, destroying them almost completely. They will not be able to repair anything. Because even in peacetime, such a volume of restoration can be done in six months to a year. If materials and skilled workers are available. Russians have neither that nor the other.
Big problem with sewage. Treatment plants are not working, as well as pumping stations. Sewage accumulates. Add to that the air temperature. And the stench from the dead – those who were buried in yards, and many remain in apartments and entrances. Sievierodonetsk is witnessing a humanitarian disaster.
It is thought that around as many as 15,000 civilians may still be in the city, which has been a key strategic point for the Russian occupation of the Luhansk region. The claims have not been independently verified.
Key events:
Russia says it destroyed two British-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missile systems in Odesa
Russia’s defence ministry said in a briefing that its forces had destroyed two British-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missile systems in Ukraine’s Odesa region overnight.
The claim has not been independently verified by Reuters who reported it.
Ukraine’s interior ministry has issued a statement to say that forensic work continues at the site of the shopping mall attacked in Kremenchuk on 27 June.
They quote Ihor Malysh, head of the forensic support department of the main investigation department of the national police saying:
At the moment, search and rescue operations are ongoing at the site of the shopping centre destroyed by Russian troops, one person is still considered missing.
Moscow’s chief rabbi steps down from role over Ukraine war
Moscow’s chief rabbi has confirmed that he has left Russia and has stepped down from the role, saying that to continue in it would endanger Moscow’s Jewish community.
Pinchas Goldschmidt, who also heads the Conference of European Rabbis, has issued a statement:
As the terrible war against Ukraine unfolded over the last few months, I could not remain silent, viewing so much human suffering, I went to assist the refugees in Eastern Europe and spoke out against the war. As time progressed, despite re-electing me to the position of Chief Rabbi last month, it became clear that the Jewish community of Moscow would be endangered by me remaining in my position.
Goldschmidt took up the role 33 years ago, and in his statement he and his wife say they are grateful to have played a part in “the historic renaissance of Russian Jewry” after the collapse of the Soviet Union. He said: “We did our best to navigate and build the community through the tumultuous 1990s and in the increasingly authoritarian Russia under the current president.”
He confirmed that he would continue his role as president of the Conference of European Rabbis, saying “I shall continue to serve the rabbis and communities of Europe, including the community of Moscow, to the very best of my abilities.”
Here are some of the latest images we have been sent showing the impact of Russia’s invasion in Ukraine and beyond.
The self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic has claimed that one person was killed and 13 civilians were injured in the last 24 hours in shelling by Ukrainian armed forces on territory the pro-Russian proxies occupy. The claims have not been independently verified. Russia and Syria are the only UN member states to recognise the Donetsk People’s Republic as a legitimate authority.
Reuters reports a US official has told them that US secretary of state Antony Blinken told Russia directly at the G20 meeting that it must let Ukraine’s grain be exported.
Blinken spoke at a plenary session of the meeting, which was focused on food and energy insecurity, said the official.
“He addressed Russia directly, saying: ‘To our Russian colleagues: Ukraine is not your country. Its grain is not your grain. Why are you blocking the ports? You should let the grain out,’ the official said.
Photographer Fabian Ritter spent three weeks with young people in Kyiv getting to know their outlook and documenting their new everyday lives. This photo essay we have today is the result.
Find it here: Young Ukrainians in Kyiv – a photo essay
Ukrainian official: Sievierodonetsk ‘on the verge of humanitarian disaster’
The situation in occupied Sievierodonetsk “is on the verge of a humanitarian disaster” and the city is being widely looted by Russian troops, according to Ukraine’s governor of Luhansk, Serhai Haidai.
He posted to Telegram this morning, claiming:
In Sievierodonetsk, 80% of housing was destroyed or damaged. Some people try to return for things, but more and more often … they find an empty apartment, even if it survived. Having entered the city, the Russians first deported part of the local population, took away the keys, and then began to rob everything. They drive up to high-rise buildings in trucks. If the furniture is good, they take it away. It is no longer just about household appliances.
The city is on the verge of a humanitarian disaster – there is no centralised water supply, gas supply, or electricity supply.
Since the end of February, the occupiers have been shelling critical infrastructure facilities, destroying them almost completely. They will not be able to repair anything. Because even in peacetime, such a volume of restoration can be done in six months to a year. If materials and skilled workers are available. Russians have neither that nor the other.
Big problem with sewage. Treatment plants are not working, as well as pumping stations. Sewage accumulates. Add to that the air temperature. And the stench from the dead – those who were buried in yards, and many remain in apartments and entrances. Sievierodonetsk is witnessing a humanitarian disaster.
It is thought that around as many as 15,000 civilians may still be in the city, which has been a key strategic point for the Russian occupation of the Luhansk region. The claims have not been independently verified.
Four people died and nine were injured by attacks on the Kharkiv region yesterday, but the night passed without any further shelling, according to Ukraine’s governor of the region, Oleh Synyehubov.
He posted to Telegram:
Last night, for the first time in several weeks, there was no night shelling of Kharkiv. But we have no right to lose our vigilance. After all, just yesterday evening, the enemy massively shelled the Nemyshlyan district of the city. Damaged houses, garages, containers, outbuildings. In total, four people died and nine were injured in Kharkiv oblast during the day.
Active hostilities continue on the contact line. In the Kharkiv direction, the enemy is shelling the positions of our defenders and the civilian population with artillery and rocket systems.
The occupiers tried to advance in the direction of Dementiivka, but our defenders stopped this attempt and forced the enemy to retreat.
The claims have not been independently verified. Kharkiv borders both Luhansk and Donetsk in the east of the country.
Russia’s foreign minister has been sharply critical of the approach of western countries to the G20 meeting in Indonesia, accusing them of derailing talks on the global economy and instead concentrating on calling Russia “aggressors”, “invaders” and “occupiers”.
Reuters reports that Sergei Lavrov said: “During the discussion, western partners avoided following the mandate of the G20, from dealing with issues of the world economy.”
He went on to say talk at the meeting “strayed almost immediately, as soon as they took the floor, to the frenzied criticism of the Russian Federation in connection with the situation in Ukraine”.
Lavrov, representing a country that started its latest invasion of Ukraine on 24 February this year and whose forces remain on the ground in Ukraine, said “‘Aggressors’, ‘invaders’, ‘occupiers’ – we heard a lot of things today.”
Russia has ‘nothing to talk about with the west’ Lavrov says
Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has spoken to reporters following his meeting with G20 foreign ministers today.
Lavrov said Russia is ready to negotiate with Ukraine and Turkey about grain but it is unclear when such talks might take place.
Russia’s RIA news agency quotes Lavrov as saying:
If [the west] wants not negotiations, but the victory of Ukraine over Russia on the battlefield, then, probably, there is simply nothing to talk about with the west, because with these approaches, in fact, it does not allow Ukraine to move on to the peace process.”
UK says Russia concentrating for attack on Siversk
Russia is likely concentrating equipment on the frontline in the direction of Siversk, about 8km (4.9 miles) west of the current Russian frontline, Britain’s defence ministry has said.
Russian forces are likely pausing to replenish before undertaking new offensive operations in the the Donetsk region, the Ministry of Defence said in its latest intelligence report.
The ministry added that there is a realistic possibility that Russia’s “immediate tactical objective” will be Siversk, as its forces attempt to advance towards its most likely operational goal of the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk urban area.
Ukrainian forces continue to make gradual advances in the south-western Kherson sector, the report said.
China and Russia have maintained normal exchanges and promoted cooperation, showing the “strong resilience” and “strategic resolve” of their relations, Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, said on Thursday.
China will also support all efforts conducive to the peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis, Wang told Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in a meeting on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry.
Earlier in the week, China attacked the US and Nato, stating that Washington “observes international rules only as it sees fit”. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijing that the “so-called rules-based international order is actually a family rule made by a handful of countries to serve the US self-interest”.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken will hold separate talks with Wang “to discuss having guardrails” on US-China relations so that competition “does not spill over into miscalculation or confrontation”, said US assistant secretary of state Daniel Kritenbrink.
“This will be another opportunity … to convey our expectations about what we would expect China to do and not to do in the context of Ukraine,” he said.
Wang spoke to Lavrov on Thursday ahead of the G20 meeting as the pair were pictured in a bilateral meeting on the Indonesian resort island. A Russian foreign ministry statement said Lavrov informed Wang “about the implementation of the main missions of the special military operation” in Ukraine and reiterated Moscow’s rhetoric that its aim is to “denazify” the country.
“Both parties underlined the unacceptable nature of unilateral sanctions adopted by circumventing the UN,” the statement said. Beijing has upheld friendly ties with Russia as Western nations have sought to isolate Vladimir Putin’s government.
Putin dares west to defeat Russia on battlefield
Vladimir Putin has issued one of his most ominous warnings yet, claiming Moscow has barely started its campaign in Ukraine and daring the west to try to defeat it on the battlefield.
Speaking at a meeting with parliamentary leaders on Thursday, the Russian president said the prospects for any negotiation would grow dimmer the longer the conflict dragged on.
“Everyone should know that, by and large, we haven’t started anything yet in earnest,” he said. “At the same time, we don’t reject peace talks. But those who reject them should know that the further it goes, the harder it will be for them to negotiate with us.”
Putin also accused Ukraine’s western allies of fuelling hostilities, charging that “the west wants to fight us until the last Ukrainian” and that they were welcome to try, but it would only bring tragedy for Ukraine.
“Today we hear that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. What can you say, let them try,” he said.
“We have heard many times that the west wants to fight us to the last Ukrainian. This is a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but it seems that everything is heading towards this.”
Indonesia urges end to war at G20 meeting with Russia
Indonesia has called for an end to the war in Ukraine as it leads the G20 meeting of foreign ministers in Bali today.
At the opening of the meeting, Indonesian foreign minister, Retno Marsudi, said:
It is our responsibility to end the war sooner than later and settle our differences at the negotiating table, not the battlefield.”
She said that the world was just recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic when it was “already confronted with another crisis – the war in Ukraine.”
The ripple effects are being felt globally – on food, energy and fiscal space.
As always, developing and low-income countries are affected the most.”
The Group of 20 foreign ministers met with the top envoys from the United States and Russia attending, their first gathering since the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
The gathering will mark the first time that Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has met counterparts from nations that are strongly critical of the war.
🇷🇺🇮🇳 On the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks with Minister of External Affairs of India @DrSJaishankar.
📸 Photo by Maria Zakharova pic.twitter.com/o7yugqRIs6
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) July 8, 2022
US officials say that Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, will refuse to speak separately with Lavrov after Blinken warned Russia of massive consequences if it went ahead with the invasion of Ukraine during their last meeting in Geneva in January.
“It clearly cannot be business as usual when it comes to Russia’s involvement and engagement in enterprises like the G20,” a senior US official said ahead of the meeting.
Japan’s foreign minister, Yoshimasa Hayashi, stayed away from a G20 reception in Indonesia in view of the international community’s opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a government spokesperson said.
Russia’s top diplomat was seated between the Saudi Arabian and Mexican foreign ministers as the meeting began.
Ukraine ‘will not be broken’, Zelenskiy says
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said the raising of the Ukrainian flag on Snake Island in the Black Sea is a sign his country will not be broken.
In a national address on Thursday night, Zelenskiy said that the two-month operation to retake Snake Island was a warning to all Russian forces.
Let every Russian captain, aboard a ship or a plane, see the Ukrainian flag on Snake Island and let him know that our country will not be broken.”
Summary and welcome
Hello it’s Samantha Lock back with you as we unpack all the latest news from Ukraine this morning.
Vladimir Putin has issued one of his most ominous warnings yet, claiming Moscow has barely started its campaign in Ukraine and daring the west to try to defeat it on the battlefield.
Here are all the latest lines as of 8am in Kyiv.
- The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, warned Moscow had barely started its campaign in Ukraine and dared the west to try to defeat it on the battlefield. Putin said the prospects for any negotiation would grow dimmer the longer the conflict dragged on, during a speech to parliamentary leaders. “Everyone should know that, by and large, we haven’t started anything yet in earnest,” he said. “The further it goes, the harder it will be for them to negotiate with us.”
- Three people were killed and another five wounded after Russian forces fired rockets at Kharkiv, officials said. The regional governor, Oleh Synyehubov, said a district in the north-eastern Ukrainian city was shelled on Thursday.
- The mayor of Sloviansk said his city near Kramatorsk had come under Russian fire. Some residents were injured, said Vadym Lyakh, without providing further details. Ukraine’s military said pressure was intensifying with heavy shelling on Sloviansk and nearby populated areas.
- Foreign analysts say Russia may be temporarily easing its offensive in eastern Ukraine in an “operational pause” as its forces attempt to reassemble for a new assault. Russian forces made no claimed or assessed territorial gains in Ukraine on Wednesday “for the first time in 133 days of war”, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
- The UN has warned of a “looming hunger catastrophe” due to Russia’s blockade on Ukrainian grain. Patrick Beasley, director of the UN World Food Program, said a hunger catastrophe was set to explode over the next two years and called for an urgent lifting of the blockade on 25m tonnes of Ukrainian grain trapped by a Russian blockade.
- Investigators in Ukraine said they had foiled a criminal gang that forced women into sex work abroad after luring them with false advertisements for legitimate employment. Authorities in Kyiv arrested the suspected leader of the gang after months of surveillance resulted in them stopping a woman as she was about to cross the border.
- Russian prosecutors have called for prison sentences for a prominent opposition activist and for a Moscow city council member who opposes the invasion of Ukraine. Alexei Gorinov faces up to 15 years in prison for spreading “knowingly false information” about the Russian army. Gorinov criticised Moscow’s military actions in Ukraine at a city council meeting in March.
- Russia’s foreign minister has flown to the Indonesian island of Bali for a gathering of G20 foreign ministers. The gathering, which is likely to be overshadowed by Moscow’s war in Ukraine and deep divisions within the bloc over how to respond to the crisis, will mark the first time that Sergei Lavrov has met counterparts from nations that are strongly critical of the war.
- Boris Johnson spoke with Volodymyr Zelenskiy “to reiterate the United Kingdom’s steadfast support” in light of his resignation as British prime minister, Downing Street said. In his resignation speech outside No 10, Johnson addressed the people of Ukraine directly and promised that “the UK will continue to back your fight for freedom for as long as it takes”.
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