Day 111 of the war. All three bridges to Severodonetsk destroyed. Zelensky vows to reclaim Crimea

All three bridges to the besieged city of Severodonetsk have been destroyed, says the governor of the Lugansk region. 20-30% of the city was still under Ukrainian control on Monday night. The Russian attacks focus on a chemical plant that houses 500 civilians, the Ukrainian official added.

According to separatists in Lugansk, the last Ukrainian soldiers in the city are those trapped in the factory. They have been given an ultimatum to surrender, otherwise they will die.

In his overnight speech, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainians pay a terrifying human cost in the battle for Severodonetsk. Meanwhile, a new mass grave was discovered 10 kilometers from Bucha, near Kyiv.

The Russian army is making “small advances” in Kharkov. Moscow’s defense industry affected by economic sanctions

The assault on the “bag” around the city of Severodonetsk, created by the Russian advance in the Donbas, remains Russia’s main operational effort, according to Tuesday’s analysis by the British Ministry of Defense regarding the evolution of the war in Ukraine. At the same time, forces in the Western Group of the Russian Army have managed to make “small advances” in the Kharkov sector for the first time in recent weeks. The British Ministry of Defense also points out that on June 10, the First Vice-Chairman of the Russian Military Industrial Commission issued a forecast of an increase in Russia’s military spending by 600-700 billion rubles (around 10-12 billion euros), which would correspond to a 20% increase in the defense budget of the Russian Federation.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 14 June 2022

Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/yLAMUTwSGK

?? #StandWithUkraine ?? pic.twitter.com/R1qjlpdsue

— Ministry of Defence ?? (@DefenceHQ) June 14, 2022

Lugansk Governor: All three bridges in Severodonetsk are destroyed 

All three bridges linking the city of Severodonetsk to Lysichansk are now impassable for vehicles, which limits the evacuation of those who want to get out of the city, but also the supply possibilities, said Sergei Haidai, governor of the Lugansk region. “It’s impossible to use the bridges,” Haidai was quoted as saying by CNN. The destruction of the bridges gives the Russian army an advantage because the supply lines are interrupted, Haidai said. Bringing weapons and supplies is now “difficult, but not impossible,” he added. He said travel between Severodonetsk and Lyshansk was still possible, but did not give further details for security reasons. Haidai added that the Russians “control most of the city”, about 70% to 80%.

The Russians are attacking the positions of the Ukrainian army in the Zaporozhye region 

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian army reported that Russian forces fired two airstrikes on the positions of the Ukrainian army in the Zaporozhye region, according to The Kyiv Independent. The villages of Kamianske and Mali Scherbaky were attacked by Su-25 and Mi-8 helicopters, while the village of Zelene Pole was hit by Ka-52 helicopters.

Zelensky pledges to reclaim Crimea

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has promised his compatriots that he will recapture the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula. “The Ukrainian flag will fly again over Yalta and Sudak, over Djankoi and Yevpatoria,” Zelensky was quoted as saying in a video on Monday night in Kyiv, quoted by the DPA. “Of course, we will liberate our Crimea as well,” the Kyiv leader added.

The Russian military occupied the Black Sea peninsula in 2014, when Ukraine was weakened by a change of power and could not resist. Then a referendum was held, which is not internationally recognized, and Crimea was annexed to Russia.

Zelensky has always advocated a return of the peninsula to Ukraine, but has seldom said so strongly as a war target, writes DPA. The president called on Ukrainian citizens to stay in touch with parts of the Russian-occupied country, such as Donetsk or the Kharkov region. He said the areas would be liberated again.  “Tell them that the Ukrainian army is sure to come! In the east, in the Donbas, the army is under pressure. It urgently needs modern artillery from its foreign partners,” said Zelenski.

Zelensky also said that the battle in Donbas “will surely go down in military history as some of the most brutal battles in and for Europe”.

“The human cost of this battle is very high for us. It is frightening. We are dealing with absolute evil. And we have no choice but to move on, to liberate our entire territory. We will make it. We just need enough weapons. Our partners have enough. And we work every day for the political will, so that they will give us these weapons,” the Kyiv leader said in his daily message to the people.

Dmitry Rogozin calls to genocide in Ukraine

Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Roscosmos and former Russian deputy prime minister in charge of the defense industry, sent a shocking call on his Twitter account on Monday night demanding a genocide in Ukraine, “for the sake of our grandchildren.” “In general, what has happened in place of Ukraine poses an existential threat to the Russian people, Russian history, the Russian language and Russian civilization,” Rogozin wrote.

“If we don’t finish [the Ukrainians] now, unfortunately, our grandparents didn’t finish it with them, we will have to die, but at an even higher cost for our grandchildren. So let’s get this over with. Once and for all. For our grandchildren,” added the Russian official close to Vladimir Putin.

CNN: Putin’s final goal is to restore the Russian Empire

Reading the mind of Russian President Vladimir Putin is usually a difficult task, but sometimes the Kremlin leader makes our work easier. Putin’s speech in Moscow last week during a meeting with a group of young Russian entrepreneurs speaks for itself: What the Russian president is trying to do in Ukraine is to restore Russia as an imperial power, a CNN analysis shows.

15,000 millionaires could leave Russia in 2022 (The Guardian)

More than 15,000 millionaires could leave Russia this year. The rich are turning their backs on Vladimir Putin’s regime after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to a migration analysis quoted by The Guardian. About 15% of Russians with more than $ 1 million in assets are expected to emigrate to other countries by the end of 2022, according to migration statistics from Henley & Partners, a London-based company. acting as an intermediary between the super-rich and the countries that sell their citizenship. “Russia is facing a hemorrhage of millionaires,” said Andrew Amoils, co-ordinator of the New World Wealth research team, who compiled by Henley.

“The rich have emigrated from Russia in ever-increasing numbers every year over the past decade, as an early warning of the country’s current problems. Historically, the decline of a country has usually been preceded by an acceleration of the emigration of rich people, who are often the first to leave because they have the means to do so,” Amoils added.

Pope Francis: We are living in World War III

Pope Francis said that “we are living in World War III” and that the war in Ukraine following the invasion of Russia “may have been somehow provoked or not prevented”, according to a transcript of a conversation he had. A few days ago, ten representatives of the European cultural magazines of the Society of Jesus (Jesuit Order of the Catholic Church), gathered in audience at the Private Library of the Apostolic Palace, EFE and La Stampa reports.

“A few years ago, it occurred to me that we were living in a third world war. Now, for me, World War III has been declared. And that should make us think. What is happening to humanity that has had three world wars in a century? ”, said Pope Francisc, according to a transcript of the conversation published on Tuesday by the newspaper La Stampa, taken over by EFE.

Referring to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and how it can contribute to peace, Francis said that “we must move away from the usual pattern that Little Red Riding Hood was good and the wolf was bad. It is shaping something global, with very interconnected elements “.

Kherson Is Not Afraid of Invaders From Russia

Residents of Kherson hold protests almost every day. Kherson and the region have been under occupation since the first days of the war. The occupiers frighten the residents with weapons, violence, and filtration camps. However, the residents of Kherson remain Ukrainians. It means that they don’t surrender to Russian soldiers and hold protests.

On Russia day, residents of the occupied city prepared a surprise for Russian soldiers. Unknown activists placed portable speakers. These columns at one time included the anthem of Ukraine.

“Residents do not perceive the occupiers at all. They regularly remind occupiers that Kherson in Ukraine: blue-yellow flags, various posters, and other symbols are placed in the city,” the correspondent Maryna Savchenko told TV 24 channel. Read more here.

Russians Throw Out Ukrainian Food 

Russians forbid the export of Ukrainian products from the occupied territories. Delivery of products is possible only in the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics or on the side of the road. In the occupied territories rot boxes with a Ukrainian harvest. In the boxes are tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, potatoes, etc. This situation is due to the occupation policy.

Russian authorities do not release cars with products on the territory controlled by Ukraine. The occupiers were forced to lay out the entire crop. Russian soldiers offer the Ukrainians two options in the occupation:

• Throw out young vegetables;
• Sell them to the annexed Crimea or the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republic.

But Ukrainians do not want to give their jobs to Russia, especially for low pay. Further details here.

The Worst Trend “Before/After” in 2022

The network published photos of Mariupol last year on the day of the celebration of the city’s liberation from the occupiers.

On 13 June 2014, the Ukrainian military was able to save the city of Mariupol from the occupation by Russian puppets from the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic. The battle lasted from 13 April to 13 June. Since in 2014 Russia was operating covertly, dividing Ukrainian territories, the city’s capture was unsuccessful. However, Ukraine, the Donetsk People’s Republic, and the British edition of The Guardian recorded armed clashes. In the fight for the inhabitants of Mariupol and its surroundings, about 70 people died. More details here.

“Good Morning, Odessa” From the Russian Invaders

On 14 June, Russian ships fired 2 missiles at a port city in the south of the country. Today, the Russian annexation of Ukrainian Crimea in 2014 looks like a careful plan. The aggressor country chose the peninsula and part of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions to have more points of contact with Ukraine. This allowed Russia to launch an offensive from 3 sides at once. Peninsula Crimea still serves as an excellent point for launching missiles.

On 14 June, annexed Crimea was used again to attack peaceful cities in Ukraine. At 7 a.m., the Russian Federation launched 2 Soviet supersonic universal anti-ship missiles over Odessa. They were developed in 1970. Recall that several experts consider old missiles more dangerous than modern ones due to an error impact of hundreds of meters. More details here.

Rocket Shelling of the Chernihiv Region

On June 13, residents of the villages of Zaizd, Petrivske, Tykhe, and Sukhostavets near the town of Pryluky were in extreme danger of their lives as a result of enemy shelling. A Russian missile hit an explosive device.

“Russian missiles hit a facility near Pryluky. Ammunition was detonated,” said Vyacheslav Chaus, head of the Chernihiv regional military administration. The entire article here.