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Zelenskiy: toll of Donbas battle 'terrifying'

The intense battle for Sievierodonetsk is taking a terrifying toll on Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday evening, as Russian forces moved closer to capturing the strategic eastern city.

Ukraines president made the comment during his nightly address to the nation on Telegram, AFP reports, noting the fighting was having a severe effect on civilians and his countrys military:

The human cost of this battle is very high for us. It is simply terrifying.

The battle for the Donbas will without doubt be remembered in military history as one of the most violent battles in Europe.

Ukrainian defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov last week said up to 100 of his troops were dying daily and 500 sustaining injuries in the intense fighting against Russian troops, in a rare public disclosure of casualty figures.

Zelenskiy, on 1 June, said his army was losing between 60 and 100 soldiers every day, while other estimates are higher, with experts predicting the unsustainable losses could soon bring the conflict to a tipping point.

Russian troops have advanced on Sievierodonetsk as part of their large-scale offensive in the eastern Donbas region after failing to take the capital Kyiv. It is the largest city in the eastern Luhansk region, which forms part of Donbas, still under Ukrainian control.

Zelenskiy, who has expressed fears of losing support from the west as the conflict drags on, repeated earlier pleas for more and heavier military weapons from allies including the US and UK:

We are dealing with absolute evil. And we have no choice but to move forward and free our territory.

We draw the attention of our partners on a daily basis to the fact that only a sufficient number of modern artillery for Ukraine will ensure our advantage and finally the end of Russian torture of the Ukrainian Donbas.

Serhiy Haiday, the regional governor of Luhansk, said Monday that Russian forces control 70 to 80% of Sievierodonetsk, but had not encircled or captured it amid fierce Ukrainian resistance.

But he added that evacuations from the city and access to it were impossible because the last of its three bridges has now been blown up.

Heres my colleague Pjotr Sauers latest report on the fight for Sievierodonetsk:

Updated at 17.13EDT

Thank you for joining us for todays live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

We will be pausing this live blog for now and launching another in the next few hours.

In the meantime, here is a comprehensive run-down of where things stand in Ukraine as of 3am.

The Wikimedia Foundation, which owns Wikipedia, has filed an appeal against a Moscow court decision demanding that it remove information related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, arguing that people have a right to know the facts of the war.

A Moscow court fined the Wikimedia Foundation 5 million roubles ($88,000) for refusing to remove what it termed disinformation from Russian-language Wikipedia articles on the war including The Russian Invasion of Ukraine, War Crimes during the Russian Invasion of Ukraine and Massacre in Bucha.

In a statement as cited by Reuters, Stephen LaPorte, Associate General Counsel at the Wikimedia Foundation, said:

This decision implies that well-sourced, verified knowledge on Wikipedia that is inconsistent with Russian government accounts constitutes disinformation.

The government is targeting information that is vital to peoples lives in a time of crisis.

We urge the court to reconsider in favour of everyones rights to knowledge access and free expression.

Wikipedia, which says it offers the second draft of history, is one of the few remaining major fact-checked Russian-language sources of information for Russians after a crackdown on media in Moscow.

The Moscow court argued that what it cast as the disinformation on Wikipedia posed a risk to public order in Russia and that the Foundation, which is headquartered in San Francisco, California, was operating inside Russia.

The Foundation was prosecuted under a law about the failure to delete banned information. The case was brought by Russias communications regulator Roskomnadzor.

The Wikipedia appeal, which was filed on June 6 with details released on Monday, argues that removing information is a violation of human rights. It said Russia had no jurisdiction over the Wikimedia Foundation, which was globally available in over 300 languages.

Zelenskiy earlier asked the German Chancellor to show full support for Kyiv, accusing Olaf Scholz with being too concerned about the repercussions that would have for Berlins ties with Moscow.

In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF, Zelenskiy said:

We need from Chancellor Scholz the certainty that Germany supports Ukraine.

He and his government must decide: there cant be a trade-off between Ukraine and relations with Russia.

His comments come amid speculation that Scholz could make his first trip to Kyiv since the start of the war on Thursday.

Online magazine Focus, citing Italian newspaper La Stampa, reported that Scholz and his counterparts from France and Italy would travel to the Ukrainian capital on Thursday, adding a specific date to a Bild am Sonntag report on Sunday that they planned to go before a Group of Seven summit at the end of June.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz declined to comment Monday on any of the reports.

In an interview late on Monday with German public broadcaster ZDF, Zelenskiy said:

To be honest, Germany joined a little later than some of our neighbouring countries, as far as the arms deliveries were concerned. Thats a fact.

Updated at 18.57EDT

Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has provided a little more detail on the fighting unfolding in Donbas, describing a tactical win against Russian forces.

In the battles in Donbas - and they will surely go down in military history as one of the most brutal battles in Europe and for Europe - the Ukrainian army and our intelligence tactically still beat the Russian military.

And this is despite the significant advantage of the Russians in the amount of equipment, and especially - artillery systems.

The price of this battle for us is very high. Its just scary. And we draw the attention of our partners on a daily basis to the fact that only a sufficient number of modern artillery for Ukraine will ensure our advantage and finally the end of Russian torture of the Ukrainian Donbas.

Zelenskiy reiterated Ukraines desire to free its entire territory and drive the occupiers out of all our regions.

Although now the width of our front is already more than 2,500km, it is felt that the strategic initiative is still ours.

Volodymr Zelenskiy says he spoke with Netherlands prime minister Mark Rutte this afternoon to thank him for defence assistance his country was providing to Ukraine.

Held talks with Netherlands prime minister Mark Rutte. Informed about the current situation on the front; thanked for the defence assistance provided to Ukraine by the Netherlands in countering Russian aggression. Discussed Ukraines European integration path. We count on the Netherlands support! Ukraines president tweeted.

Updated at 17.56EDT

Here are some more images from Ukraine on Monday, sent to us by news agencies:

Its just past midnight in Kyiv, and heres where things stand as Russias invasion of Kyiv enters its 111th day:

The intense battle for Sievierodonetsk is taking a terrifying toll on Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday evening, as Russian forces moved closer to capturing the strategic eastern city.

Ukraines president made the comment during his nightly address to the nation on Telegram, AFP reports, noting the fighting was having a severe effect on civilians and his countrys military:

The human cost of this battle is very high for us. It is simply terrifying.

The battle for the Donbas will without doubt be remembered in military history as one of the most violent battles in Europe.

Ukrainian defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov last week said up to 100 of his troops were dying daily and 500 sustaining injuries in the intense fighting against Russian troops, in a rare public disclosure of casualty figures.

Zelenskiy, on 1 June, said his army was losing between 60 and 100 soldiers every day, while other estimates are higher, with experts predicting the unsustainable losses could soon bring the conflict to a tipping point.

Russian troops have advanced on Sievierodonetsk as part of their large-scale offensive in the eastern Donbas region after failing to take the capital Kyiv. It is the largest city in the eastern Luhansk region, which forms part of Donbas, still under Ukrainian control.

Zelenskiy, who has expressed fears of losing support from the west as the conflict drags on, repeated earlier pleas for more and heavier military weapons from allies including the US and UK:

We are dealing with absolute evil. And we have no choice but to move forward and free our territory.

We draw the attention of our partners on a daily basis to the fact that only a sufficient number of modern artillery for Ukraine will ensure our advantage and finally the end of Russian torture of the Ukrainian Donbas.

Serhiy Haiday, the regional governor of Luhansk, said Monday that Russian forces control 70 to 80% of Sievierodonetsk, but had not encircled or captured it amid fierce Ukrainian resistance.

But he added that evacuations from the city and access to it were impossible because the last of its three bridges has now been blown up.

Heres my colleague Pjotr Sauers latest report on the fight for Sievierodonetsk:

Updated at 17.13EDT

Russia is again attempting to assert that the main goal of its special military operation in Ukraine is merely to protect the Donetsk and Luhansk peoples republics.

According to Reuters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov repeated the claim Monday to Russias RIA state news agency.

In general, the protection of the republics is the main goal of the special military operation, Peskov said.

Donetsk and Luhansk are two breakaway Russian-backed entities in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

Fighting in the conflict, which began with Russias 24 February invasion of Ukraine, has focused largely on the Donbas region after strong resistance forced the Russian military to abandon its initial goals including the capture of the capital Kyiv.

Ukrainian investigators say they have now exhumed seven bodies from makeshift graves in a forest near Kyiv, with officials saying they were civilians killed by Russian forces during their occupation of the area.

The bodies were found outside the village of Vorzel, Reuters reports, less than 10km from Bucha. In that city, Ukraine has alleged, Russian forces carried out systematic executions in an abortive attempt to capture the capital.

Russia denies the claim.

In a Facebook post, Kyiv regions police chief, Andriy Nyebytov, said: This is another sadistic crime of the Russian army in the Kyiv region.

One of the exhumed bodies was a man around 40, in plain clothes, Nyebytov told Reuters at the site of the graves.

He has two injuries. He was shot in the knee with a gun. The second shot was into his temple, he said.

Russias defence ministry did not immediately reply to an emailed request from the agency for comment.

Investigators said it would take time to clearly identify the bodies because they had decomposed.

Ukraine says mass graves were found in April containing more than 400 bodies.

The Associated Press has some extra detail on the uncertainty surrounding German chancellor Olaf Scholzs reported visit to Ukraine to meet counterparts from France and Italy.

Newspaper Bild am Sonntag said Scholz would travel to Kyiv to talk with French president Emmanuel Macron and Italian prime minister Mario Draghi before this months summit of G7 leaders in Germany.

Earlier Monday, a spokesperson for Scholz refused to confirm the report, and the AP says the chancellor also fobbed off reporters when he was asked about it this afternoon, saying he had nothing to add to his aides (non) statement.

Several European leaders, Germanys opposition leader and members of Scholzs own cabinet have visited Ukraine in recent weeks to express solidarity with the country in the face of Russias military assault, raising the pressure on the German chancellor to do likewise.

While Germany has contributed considerable financial and military aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion three months ago, Scholzs government has been criticised at home and abroad for being slower to do so than the US and some smaller European countries.

Updated at 14.54EDT

Its Richard Luscombe in the US taking you through the next few hours of developments in Ukraine. Thanks for joining me.

Ukraine has lost a quarter of its arable land since the Russian invasion, notably in the south and east, deputy agriculture minister Taras Vysotskiy has said, according to AFP.

At a news conference on Monday, however, Vysotskiy insisted food security for the countrys population was not under immediate threat:

Despite the loss of 25% of arable land, crop planting this year is more than sufficient [and] the current situation of crop planting areas... does not pose a threat to Ukraines food security.

Ukrainian farmers managed to prepare relatively well for sowing before the war started. In February, Ukraine had already imported about 70% of necessary fertilisers, 60% of disease control products and about a third of the required fuel.

National consumption levels, he said, had fallen due to mass displacement and external migration as millions fled to escape the fighting.

More than 7m are estimated to have been displaced within Ukraine by Russias war, figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) show.

Another 7.3m have fled abroad, more than half of them to Poland.

Despite Vysotskiys reassurances, the UN has warned the conflict risks tipping tens of millions around the globe into food insecurity, with the risks of malnutrition, mass hunger and famine.

Earlier this month, Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said about 20-25m tonnes of grain were blocked in Ukrainian ports, a figure which could rise to 70-75m tonnes by the autumn.

Read more about Ukraines food secuirty concerns here:

Its 9pm in Kyiv. Heres where we stand:

Thats it from me, Lonie Chao-Fong today as I hand the blog over to my colleague, Richard Luscombe. Thank you.

All three bridges to the embattled eastern city of Sievierodonetsk have been destroyed, according to the governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Haidai.

In a video update, Haidai said Russia had not completely captured the city and a part of the city was under Ukrainian control.

Earlier in the day, Haidai said Russians were continuing to storm the embattled city and having a significant advantage in artillery pushed back Ukrainian soldiers. The Russians are destroying quarter after quarter, Haidai said, adding that the Russian army had been partially successful at night and controlled 70% of the city.

The destruction by Russian forces of the remaining two bridges over the Siverskyi Donets River over the last two days leaves stranded civilians with no escape west to the neighbouring city of Lysychansk, which is also being shelled but remains in Ukrainian hands.

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Zelenskiy says the battle for Sievierodonetsk is taking a terrifying toll on Ukraine as it happened - The Guardian