On the 120th day of the full-scale Russia’s wars 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 UN, about 14 million residents of Ukraine have already left their homes. DW is following developments on Thursday, June 23rd (Moscow time).
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Kishinev cannot fully support EU sanctions against Russia due to the weakness of the Moldovan economy, said Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister of the Republic Nicolae Popescu. “At the current stage, the degree of stability and the ability of our country to solve the whole range of problems do not allow us to join a large package of restrictive measures,” the minister said.
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Finnish manufacturer of paints and varnishes Tikkurila announced that he was preparing to leave the Russian market. It follows from the company’s message that the exit scenario (with or without the sale of assets) has not yet been selected. The company had previously partially suspended its activities in the country: sales were minimized.
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US authorities do not intend to impose sanctions in relation to countries that import grain from Russia. This was stated by Deputy Assistant to the President of the United States for National Security John Finer. “Moreover, we want to clearly convey to food distributors and other countries that they can import Russian grain without any risk of falling into our sanctions lists,” he added , speaking at an international forum dedicated to the war of Russia against Ukraine.
NATO is preparing a new alliance strategy
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At the upcoming summit in Madrid NATO leaders will announce a new deployment of forces in Europe, as well as adopt a new strategy for the alliance. This was announced by a senior US administration official at a press conference. According to him, in the new strategy of the alliance, Russia will be designated as the most serious and immediate threat to NATO.
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Visas to enter the Czech Republic, as well as a residence permit in this country will not be issued to citizens of Russia and Belarus until March 2023. The exception is humanitarian cases, the press service of the Foreign Ministry said. The decision to suspend the issuance of visas and residence permits was taken by the Czech authorities almost immediately after the start of Russian aggression against Ukraine. However, the timing of the resumption of the issuance of these documents was not specified at that time.
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The US authorities are achieving a positive result on the issue of accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO to the next summit of the organization, said Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried. She called the talks held on Monday between NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and representatives of Turkey, Sweden and Finland at the headquarters of the alliance constructive. Two Nordic countries applied to join NATO on 18 May. However, Turkey is consideration of these applications blocks. In particular, she demands that Stockholm and Helsinki refuse to support Kurdish groups, which are considered terrorist in Turkey.
The United States intends to increase the defense budget by 37 billion
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Profile Committee US House of Representatives amended the country’s draft defense budget for 2023. Together with an increase in military assistance to Ukraine from the originally proposed $450 million to $1 billion, the country’s defense budget will be increased by $37 billion. Document published on the committee website.
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Volodymyr Zelensky called on students in Canada to put pressure on the authorities in order not to let the war in Ukraine be forgotten. “Everyone is tired of the war. Therefore, by your actions, using social networks, using communication with friends, using exits to the squares in your states, do not give those who are somewhere at the top, in bureaucratic corridors, the opportunity to forget about what is happening in Ukraine, to forget about war,” the Ukrainian president said, speaking via video link to students in Toronto. According to him, Ukraine “needs weapons, financial and humanitarian support, constant sanctions pressure on Russia“, and this will never be much as long as the war continues. “We need strong support,” Zelensky said
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Harvesting in Ukraine
US offers support to other states in case of problems with deliveries from the Russian Federation. If countries experience any difficulty in accessing Russian food and fertilizer exports, they should seek help from Washington, the US State Department.
Chronicle of events June 22 14.00 – 23.59 >>>
Chronicle of events June 22 00.00 – 13.59 >>>
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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 shell 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 division 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
