On the 119th day full-scale war of Russia against Ukraine Russian troops continue to try to capture the settlements of the neighboring country. The Armed Forces of Ukraine and its territorial defense units are resisting aggression. It is impossible to quickly verify the statements of representatives of both sides of the conflict from independent sources. According to the UN, about 14 million Ukrainians have already left their homes.DW following developments Wednesday, June 22 (Moscow time).
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Europe should prepare for a complete shutdown of Russian gas this coming winter, and the reduction in supplies to EU countries last week should be seen as a foreshadowing of their complete halt, said Director General of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Fatih Birol in interview with The Financial Times. “Moscow is trying to use gas as a pressure factor in the ongoing war with Ukraine. Europe must be ready for a complete shutdown of Russian gas. The closer we get to winter, the better we understand Russia’s intentions. I’m sure the supply cuts are aimed at preventing Europe to fill storage facilities and increase Russia’s influence in the winter months,” Birol said.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold an operational meeting with the permanent members of the Security Council, said its spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “He has working meetings, and he also plans to hold an operational meeting with the permanent members of the Security Council in the middle of the day,” he said. The topics of discussion are not reported.
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After the end of Russian-Turkish negotiations port of Mariupol left the Turkish cargo ship, which had been waiting for a permit for several days, the Turkish Defense Ministry said. The Azov Concorde was the first foreign ship to leave Mariupol since it was seized by Russian forces in May, the statement said.
A few hours earlier, talks between Russia and Turkey ended in Moscow. As noted in the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Russian and Turkish military discussed the safe exit of Turkish merchant ships and export of grain from Ukrainian ports. “The delegations of Russia and Turkey emphasized the importance of interaction in a bilateral format, which made it possible to ensure the exit from the port of Mariupol, including the Turkish dry cargo ship Azov Concorde. As a result, an agreement was reached to continue consultations,” the Russian ministry said.
Chronicle of events June 22 00.00 – 13.59 >>>
Chronicle of events June 21 14.00 – 23.59 >>>
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War in Ukraine: what is happening in Russian-occupied cities
Over 90 percent of all buildings destroyed in Mariupol
Even at the beginning of the fourth month of the war, the Russian military continue to claim that they are striking exclusively at military infrastructure, as well as at the places of deployment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and imaginary “Ukrainian militants.” At the same time, most of the cities captured by Russia in the east of Ukraine – Mariupol, Rubizhne, Popasna, Severodonetsk – are almost completely destroyed.
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War in Ukraine: what is happening in Russian-occupied cities
Cemetery on the outskirts of Mariupol
Another Kremlin propaganda claim: the Russian army does not shell residential areas. According to the mayor of Mariupol, Vadim Boychenko, during the almost 80-day Russian siege, more than 22,000 inhabitants died from artillery shelling in the city, the city was destroyed by more than 90%.
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War in Ukraine: what is happening in Russian-occupied cities
A blow to the theater in Mariupol
The next assertion of Russian propaganda is that the civilian population in Ukraine is not the target of the Russian army. On March 16, an air strike was carried out on the theater building in Mariupol, which was used as a bomb shelter. “Children” was written in large letters in front of the building, the inscription was visible in the pictures from space. The impact killed about 600 people who were hiding in the theater.
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War in Ukraine: what is happening in Russian-occupied cities
Destroyed residential buildings in Severodonetsk
Russian propaganda calls the war in Ukraine “liberation” of the local population from “Ukrainian Nazis”. In the coming days, Severodonetsk in the Luhansk region may be completely captured by Russia. Before the war, 100 thousand people lived in the city, of which, according to the Ukrainian authorities, 85 thousand left without waiting for their “liberation”.
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War in Ukraine: what is happening in Russian-occupied cities
Ukrainians flee from “liberation” in the west of the country or in Europe
The attitude towards the Russian “liberators” is also clearly shown by the flows of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war. In three months, about 13 million Ukrainians left their permanent place of residence, about 90 percent of them went to the regions of Ukraine controlled by Kyiv or to European countries (6.8 million people). According to the UNHCR, about 1.1 million Ukrainians left for Russia.
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War in Ukraine: what is happening in Russian-occupied cities
Russian shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant
Another assertion of Russian propaganda: the Russian army does not fire on vital non-military infrastructure. However, on March 4, the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in Energodar was shelled, then it was still under the control of the Ukrainian authorities. The administrative building of the power plant burned down.
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War in Ukraine: what is happening in Russian-occupied cities
Residents of Kherson protest against Russian occupation
The arrival of the Russian “liberators” was not welcomed by the inhabitants of the occupied Kherson region. Kherson saw numerous peaceful protests by local residents against the occupation in March and April. In April, local activists and city officials began to disappear in Kherson.
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War in Ukraine: what is happening in Russian-occupied cities
Kherson region is transferred to settlements in rubles
The authorities of the Russian Federation, including Putin, have repeatedly stated that the purpose of the “special operation” is not the occupation of Ukraine. But in the Kherson region, captured in early March, they announced the transition to Russian rubles from May 1. And from September, the region will completely abandon the hryvnia, the occupying authorities said. A similar situation is in the Zaporozhye region (in the photo – a supermarket in Melitopol).
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War in Ukraine: what is happening in Russian-occupied cities
“Non-occupation” of Kherson and Zaporozhye regions is accompanied by the issuance of Russian passports to residents
How Russia “does not plan” to occupy Ukraine: On May 25, Russian President Putin signed a decree on the simplified issuance of Russian passports to residents of the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. On May 30, the first subdivision of the Russian Federal Migration Service opened in Melitopol. At the end of May, the heads of the Russian-appointed administrations of both regions announced that both regions “will take a course towards becoming part of Russia.”
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War in Ukraine: what is happening in Russian-occupied cities
Humanitarian aid with propaganda added
Another sign of occupation: receiving humanitarian aid in Russian-occupied cities is impossible without forced familiarization with the programs of Russian state television channels. In the photo: a truck with a video screen broadcasting Russian TV, at the point of distribution of humanitarian aid in Mariupol.
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War in Ukraine: what is happening in Russian-occupied cities
Putin’s statements for residents of occupied Mariupol
… or with the statements of Putin, on whose orders the Russian military invasion of Ukraine was launched. In the photo: a van with a large TV screen on one of the central squares of Mariupol.
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War in Ukraine: what is happening in Russian-occupied cities
Russian Yunarmiya members at the monument to the victims of World War II in Mariupol
Another sign of Russian occupation is the guard of honor of the Yunarmiya, an organization that does not exist in Ukraine, with Russian, Soviet and “DPR” flags at the monument to those killed in World War II in Mariupol.
Author: Sergey Gushcha
