KIU, Ukraine – Russian forces have attacked the cities of Lysychansk and Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine – Luhansk, the governor of the region said on Friday.
Sergei Gaidai said in a telegram on Friday that 12 people had been killed and more than 60 homes had been destroyed across the region.
He added that the attack on Severodonetsk “was unsuccessful – the Russians suffered casualties and retreated.” His remarks could not be independently verified.
The General Staff of Ukraine in the morning update on Friday also said that the Russians tried to attack Severodonetsk, but suffered losses and retreated.
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KEY DIVISIONS OF THE RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR:
– The Senate is sending Biden to sign a bill to help Ukraine $ 40 billion
– Rejecting Turkey, Biden praises the applications for NATO from Sweden and Finland
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– The Red Cross registers hundreds of Ukrainian prisoners of war leaving the Mariupol Metallurgical Plant
– The camera of the captured doctor shows the horror of Mariupol first hand
– Explainer: What will happen to Ukrainian soldiers from Mariupol?
– UN chief “hopes” for Ukraine’s grain deal to help food crisis
– The impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war attracts the attention of G7 financial leaders
– American intelligence shows that the Russians are afraid that the abuse of Mariupol will lead to the opposite result
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– Follow the coverage of the war in Ukraine in the AP at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
KIU, Ukraine – President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the United States for a $ 40 billion aid package that received final approval from Congress on Thursday.
“This is a demonstration of strong leadership and a necessary contribution to our common defense of freedom,” Zelensky said in his evening video address to the people.
He also thanked the European Union for its support.
“And for our partners it is not just a cost and not a gift. This is their contribution to security, ”Zielenski said. “After all, defending Ukraine also protects them from new wars and crises that Russia can provoke if it succeeds in the war against Ukraine. Therefore, we must work together to ensure that Russia’s aggression against our state does not succeed in military, economic or any other. “
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Zelensky said that Ukraine’s monthly budget deficit is $ 5 billion, “and so to survive the war for freedom, we need quick and sufficient financial support.”
The United States has announced the supply of military equipment to Ukraine for $ 100 million, in addition to what will come from the $ 40 billion approved by Congress. The latest package includes 18 more howitzers, as well as anti-artillery radar systems, both of which the United States delivered to Ukraine after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
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Kyiv, Ukraine – President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian troops are stepping up attacks in the Donbass.
“It’s hell there, and it’s no exaggeration,” he said in his daily video address to the people. “The brutal and absolutely senseless bombing of Severodonetsk. In just one day, there are 12 dead and dozens injured. “
Zelensky said Russian strikes on the northeastern Chernihiv region included a terrible strike on the village of Desna, where he said many were killed and rescuers were still going through the rubble.
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“Bombs and shelling of our other cities, air and missile strikes by the Russian army are not just military actions during the war … This is a deliberate and criminal attempt to kill as many Ukrainians as possible,” Zelensky said. said. “To destroy more houses, public places, businesses. This is what will be qualified as genocide of the Ukrainian people and for which the occupiers will be held accountable. “
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A Russian veteran rock musician has been charged with discrediting the army for speaking at a concert on Wednesday.
On Thursday, charges against DDT singer Yuri Shevchuk were transferred to the administrative court. He faces a fine of up to 50,000 rubles ($ 800).
After the start of the war, Russia passed a tougher law, according to which the spread of “fake news” about the conflict was punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
During a concert in Ufa, Shevchuk questioned the purpose of the war and why young Russians and Ukrainians are fighting and dying in a war that also costs the lives of civilians.
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“Old people, women and children are dying,” he said. “For some Napoleonic plans of our last Caesar, right?”
“Motherland, my friends, this is not the president’s ass that needs to be licked and kissed all the time. Motherland is a poor grandmother who sells potatoes at the train station. This is the Motherland, ”he added.
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WASHINGTON – The United States has announced the supply of $ 100 million worth of military equipment to Ukraine, in addition to the $ 40 billion approved by Congress on Thursday.
The latest package includes 18 more howitzers, as well as anti-artillery radar systems, both of which the U.S. delivered to Ukraine after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the equipment would be in the hands of Ukrainians. forces “very, very fast”.
With this latest supply, the U.S. has provided nearly $ 4 billion in military aid since Feb. 24 and $ 6.6 billion since 2014, when Russia captured and annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine.
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Kirby said the United States would consult with Ukraine, as was often the case after the invasion, about what it needed in terms of equipment.
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WARSAW, Poland – Polish President Andrzej Duda, the country’s defense minister and US ambassador to Poland on Thursday observed a joint military exercise called Polish, American, French and Swedish troops called DEFENDER-Europe 22 in northeastern Poland.
The task of the troops was to cross the Narew River near the city of Navahrudak, in the area about two hours drive from the borders of the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and the allied Russia of Belarus.
Duda said that as Ukraine struggles with Russia’s invasion, everyone is “aware of the potential threat” in the region.
Duda said the earlier planned exercises would help “show NATO’s cooperation and effectiveness in the field of collective defense”.
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