" It is essential that Putin does not win this war " and that Kiev decides on the end of the conflict, without whose consent "peace is not sustainable". Prime Minister Mario Draghi, addressing the 27 European leaders gathered in Brussels, starts from here to unravel a reasoning that leads to a series of consequences, from the necessary support for Ukraine to the irreversible exit strategy from energy dependence on Moscow. Draghi addressed a summit that, in the evening, was preparing to tackle the hottest and most divisive issues, such as that of oil sanctions .

The premier said he was "skeptical about the usefulness" of the phone calls to Putin, all conversations that however show that it is the Russian president who "does not want peace". Then he raised the alarm: " The risk of a food catastrophe is real : and if there is no solution, it must be clear that Putin is to blame."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also spoke at the summit: he called on Europe to " remain united and not divide " and asked for the new sanctions to be approved "as quickly as possible". But the package, Von der Leyen said, will not be approved in the next 48 hours.

Meanwhile, when we are at the 96th day of the war, the Russian attacks in the Donbass continue unabated, which has now become an " absolute priority " for Moscow, as Foreign Minister Sergej Lavrov reiterated.

“Our priority is the liberation of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which are now recognized by the Russian Federation as independent states. Our goal is obviously to push the Ukrainian army and battalions out of these regions ", he declared, specifying that" this is not about annexation, it is a military operation requested by the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics ".

The offensive focuses on Kherson and Severodonetsk, where there is street fighting and the Russians have disabled electricity and mobile phone services: "We are doing everything we can to repel the Moscow offensive," Zelensky said. A French journalist was killed right near Severodonetsk.

Joe Biden's reverse on medium range missiles . The US president freezes Zelensky and denies them in Kiev because they could hit Russian territory and lead to an escalation of the conflict. Moscow applauds Washington's decision calling it "reasonable".

And Erdogan 's mediation returns to the field. The Turkish president today had a conversation with Putin and said he was willing to host a meeting between Russia, Ukraine and the UN in Istanbul . Ankara, he added, is also ready to "participate in a potential observation mechanism in Ukraine if Moscow and Kiev reach an agreement". Then he also heard Zelensky, making it known that he was committed to reaching the resumption of negotiations and talking to him about the need to create "safe corridors" for the transport of agricultural products.

( HERE all the news about the war)

( HERE all the videos)

The day by the hour:

Erdogan to Zelensky: "Safe corridors for wheat"

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke of the need to "create safe corridors" for the transport of agricultural products by sea in a phone call with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. During the meeting, as reported by Anadolu, the Turkish president made it known that Ankara is committed to reaching the resumption of negotiations between Kiev and Moscow. The phone call with Zelensky came a few hours after Erdogan's telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

***

Draghi: "The risk of a food catastrophe is real, Putin's fault"

"Confrontation with Putin is necessary to solve the problem of grain, of food security. The risk of a food catastrophe is real: and if there is no solution, it must be clear that Putin is to blame." Prime Minister Mario Draghi said this when speaking at the European summit.

***

Draghi: "Skeptical about the usefulness of phone calls with Putin"

"It is essential that Putin does not win this war. At the same time we must ask ourselves if it can be useful to talk to him. I am skeptical of the usefulness of these phone calls, but there are reasons for them. These conversations show that it is Putin who does not want peace." This is what Prime Minister Mario Draghi said at the European summit.

On the negotiations: "Ukraine must decide what peace it wants. If Ukraine does not agree on the terms, peace cannot be sustainable."

"Putin must not win", the prime minister also said, "it is essential that he does not win this war".

***

Kiev: "First case of rape in war in court"

The first case of rape in the war in Ukraine was brought to court. This was announced by the Ukrainian Attorney General, Iryna Venediktova, on Twitter, adding that the accused is "Mikhail Romanov, a soldier of the 239th Regiment of the 90th Armored Division of the Vitebsk-Novgorod Guard of the Russian Armed Forces". The man "will be tried for the alleged murder of her husband and for group sexual violence against his wife," Venediktova explained.

***

Putin: "Export agricultural products only with the lifting of sanctions"

"In light of the problems on the world food market, which have arisen due to the imprudent financial and economic policy of the West, Russia can export considerable quantities of fertilizers and agricultural products if the anti-Russian sanctions are lifted". This is what Russian President Vladimir Putin said to Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan in today's telephone conversation, as reported by the Kremlin quoted by TASS.

***

Putin: "Ready to facilitate exports from Ukraine"

Russian President Vladimir Putin in a telephone conversation with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan underlined "Russia's readiness to facilitate unimpeded maritime transit of goods in coordination with Turkish partners", "this also applies to wheat from Ukrainian ports. ". This was reported by the Kremlin, quoted by Tass, adding that the two leaders also discussed the "question of ensuring safe navigation in the Black and Azov seas, eliminating the threat of mines".

***

Erdogan ready to host Kiev-Moscow-UN meeting

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a telephone conversation to discuss the situation in Ukraine. This was announced by the office of the Turkish president, as reported by TASS. Turkey is ready to organize a meeting between Russia, Ukraine and the UN in Istanbul, Erdogan told Putin.

Turkey is also ready to participate in a potential observation mechanism in Ukraine if Moscow and Kiev reach an agreement on this, Erdogan added.

***

Missiles and medium range, Moscow applauds Washington

Vice-president of the Russian Security Council Dmitri Medvedev considers "reasonable" the decision of US President Joe Biden not to supply Ukraine with medium-range missiles capable of reaching Russia. Tass reports it. In the event of attacks on its cities, Russia, Medvedev adds, would hit the "criminal decision-making centers", some of which are "far from Kiev".

***

US will not send medium-range missiles to Kiev

The US will not send (medium range) missile systems to Kiev that can reach Russian territory: President Joe Biden said.

***

Sanctions, Orban: "Irresponsible EU Commission"

"If we find ourselves in this situation it is the fault of the European Commission, which presented the sixth package of sanctions without first having the agreement of the member states, an irresponsible way of doing". This was said by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

***

Russia "stole half a million tons of wheat"

Russia stole from Ukraine, then illegally exporting it on its own, almost half

million tons of grain. This was announced by the Deputy Minister for Agricultural Policies and Food Taras Vysotskyi, as reported by a correspondent for Ukrinform. "There is evidence from all temporarily occupied regions: Cherson, Zaporizhia, Luhansk, Donetsk and Kharkiv. The cargo is brought to Russia, mainly from Kharkiv, Donetsk, Lugansk or via Crimea," Vysotskyi said. The invaders initially tried to sell stolen grain to Egypt and Lebanon, but they refused to buy.

***

Russian raid in Kherson kills 9-year-old girl

The Russian artillery attack in Kherson Oblast killed a 9-year-old girl and injured 2 other children, the Kyiv Independent reported. The Attorney General's office also confirmed that a Russian bombing hit the village of Myroliubivka, in the largely occupied region, on May 29, injuring a seven-month-old boy and a five-year-old girl.

***

A Ukrainian post equipped with "Italian" artillery destroyed

Russian forces destroyed a Ukrainian post "where the nationalists had positioned

artillery (howitzer) sent from Italy ". Russian agencies report this, citing the Moscow Ministry of Defense. The military has published a video showing a position hidden in the trees.

***

Kiev: "Counteroffensive in Kherson, Russian defense line broken"

In the southern port city of Kherson, the Ukrainian army claims to have launched a counter-offensive in an attempt to recover the lands conquered by Russia, perhaps heralding a new phase of the fighting. "Kherson resists, we are close", tweeted the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, quoted by the BBC. The Ukrainian military headquarters said in a statement that its forces have broken through a Russian defense line pushing it into less favorable terrain and are threatening Russia's supply routes on the Dnipro River bridges.

***

Kremlin: "Putin-Erdogan phone call today"

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will have a telephone conversation today. This was reported by the Russian state news agency Tass. "Yesterday we confirmed Mr. Erdogan's statement: indeed, there will be a conversation with the president of Turkey," Peskov said. "Yesterday - continued Putin's spokesman - there were many questions from colleagues on the hypothesis of some kind of trilateral conversation. We clarified: no, we are talking about a bilateral conversation between Putin and Erdogan".

***

Three doctors missing in Severodonetsk

Three doctors are missing in the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, where fierce fighting is ongoing between Russian units and Kiev forces. According to the testimonies, Russian soldiers also fire on the cars of doctors and volunteers. The car of the three doctors was found, damaged by the shots, but no trace of them.

***

Moscow: "1.5 million refugees in Russia from Ukraine"

More than 1.55 million refugees arrived on Federation territory from the (self-proclaimed) republics of Donetsk and Lungansk and from Ukraine. This was declared today by a law enforcement source to the Russian agency Tass. "According to the latest reports, over 1 million 550 thousand people have arrived in Russia from Ukraine and the Donbass republics, including more than 254,000 children," the source said, adding that most of the people came from the People's Republics. of Donetsk and Lugansk.

***

Strong explosion in the center of Melitopol

A loud explosion was heard this morning in the center of the eastern Ukrainian city of Melitopol, black smoke spread to the area. This was reported by Vladimir Rogov, a member of the main council of the military-civil administration of the Zaporizhzhia region, quoted by the Russian agency Ria Novosti. Rogov argued that a Ukrainian sabotage group was behind the blast.

***

Zelensky evaluates 3-way telephone talks with Erdogan and Putin

"The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will consider the proposal to hold three-way telephone talks with the leaders of Russia and Turkey Vladimir Putin and Tayyip Erdogan, if the president of the Russian Federation is ready to participate." This was reported by the spokesman of Ukrainian President Sergiy Nikiforov, quoted by ZN.UA.

***

Lavrov, "the top priority is to free Donetsk and Lugansk"

"Our top priority is the liberation of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which are now recognized by the Russian Federation as independent states. Our goal is obviously to push the Ukrainian army and battalions out of these regions," said the Foreign Minister. Russian Sergei Lavrov in an interview with the French broadcaster Tfi, quoted by CNN. Asked whether Russia intends to annex the Donbass territories, Lavrov replied: "This is not annexation. This is a military operation requested by the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics."

***

Zelensky, "we are doing everything to stop the Russians in Severodonetsk"

The Ukrainian army is doing everything possible to repel the Russian offensive in Severodonetsk, in the Lugansk region. President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in his latest video speech, reported by Ukrinform. Regional officials said Russian forces were "storming" Severodonetsk and fighting was taking place street by street, disabling electricity and mobile phone services.

(Unioneonline)

© Riproduzione riservata