From kyiv, on the other hand, the withdrawal was seen as a great victory. “I thank the defenders of the Odessa region who have done everything possible to liberate a strategically important territory,” Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valeri Zalujni said on Telegram.
For British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, this withdrawal shows that Russia “will find it impossible” to break Ukraine.
Since the beginning of the Russian offensive, the small Snake Island has become one of the symbols of the Ukrainian resistance after a group of guards defending it rejected in a radio message the order to surrender launched from a Russian ship. .
It was also a strategic objective, located about 50 km from the mouth of the Danube, one of the main rivers in Europe and an important commercial route, and a hundred kilometers from the Ukrainian port of Odessa. kyiv optimistically proclaimed yesterday that this last city remains in its power, which prevents the conquest of the entire south – and the outlet to the sea – by the invading forces.
However, the pro-Russian forces took control of the Lisichansk oil refinery, the most important in Ukraine, said the ambassador of Lugansk, a province on Ukrainian territory that declared its independence with the support of Moscow) in Russia, Rodión Miroshnik .
“Ukrainian forces have been expelled after several days of shooting at the industrial compound. Their fighters have escaped by abandoning shelters and equipment,” Miroshnik posted on the Telegram social network.
This indicates that Russia has decided to reinforce its offensive in eastern Ukraine, which the defending forces are failing to contain, with a view to eventual annexation. According to analysts, there are no signs that the armed conflict could end in the short term.
Food
In peacetime, Ukraine is one of the world’s largest grain exporters, but the Russian invasion destroyed farmland and blocked ports, raising fears of a global food crisis. Western countries accuse President Vladimir Putin of using this situation to increase pressure against the international community.
A first cargo ship carrying 7,000 tons of grain, escorted by the Russian navy, set sail yesterday from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian port of Berdyansk, the pro-Russian authorities appointed by Moscow announced.
Evgeny Balitski, the head of the pro-Russian administration in the region, said the ship’s security would be “guaranteed by the ships and patrol boats of the Black Sea Fleet military sea base.”
alliance
The conflict in Ukraine was the focus of the NATO summit, which ended yesterday in Madrid, and in which the leaders of the member countries affirmed that Russia represents the greatest “direct threat” to the security of the allies.
The Atlantic Alliance officially invited Sweden and Finland to join the bloc, two countries that decided to abandon their traditional military neutrality after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Likewise, the United States announced strong deployments in both Western and Eastern European countries, whether of troops, planes, warships and missile batteries.
Putin denounced the “imperial ambitions” of NATO, which he said seeks to assert its “hegemony” under the guise of Ukraine.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz yesterday dismissed these accusations of imperialism as “ridiculous” and recalled that “NATO is a defensive alliance. He is not a threat to anyone.”
Source: Ambito
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