The agreement on the sixth package of sanctions to be adopted against Russia in the context of the European Union summit arrived overnight. The main step concerns the embargo on Russian oil by sea, which, however, will be triggered - as far as we know - in eight months.
" The agreement was a complete success ", said Prime Minister Mario Draghi at a press conference in Brussels: "Imagining it a few days ago would not have been credible. Italy is not penalized by the agreement, even for us the obligation not to import Russian oil will start at the end of the year, and therefore we will be like everyone else "." EU action on energy will develop on many fronts - he continued -. We were satisfied with the functioning of the energy market and the high prices. The Commission has officially received a mandate to study the feasibility of the price cap ".
"It was a rather long European Council but the results of which we can be satisfied", concluded the Italian Prime Minister, explaining that "the moment of maximum impact of all the sanctions approved so far" on Russia "will come from this . summer onwards ". As for the possibility of Matteo Salvini 's trip to Ukraine :" Ours is a government firmly established in the EU , in the historical transatlantic relationship. It has always moved on this track and continues to move. It is aligned with the G7 partners and intends to continue on this path ".
The other important measures are those of the exclusion from the Swift system for international payments towards three new Russian banks ; the inclusion of the Orthodox Patriarch Kirill on the black list; three TV stations banned; stop to insurance of Russian ships by EU companies ; ban on the supply of European companies for a range of services to Russian companies.
Today the Russian military released the video of the first freight ship leaving the port of Mariupol after mine clearance . The ship was "accompanied by units from the Novorossiysk naval base of the Black Sea fleet". According to the Russian Defense Ministry "the merchant ship was loaded with metal, which was to be delivered to the port of Rostov-on-Don" in Russia.
A load that according to the Ukrainian media is the result of the sacking of the iron and steel plants of the city , definitively conquered a few days ago, after a long and devastating siege that saw the Azovstal steel plant as the last bastion of the Ukrainian armed forces. On 24 May the territory of the port of Mariupol was cleared by specialists of the Russian Black Sea fleet. "In total 134 structures were examined, more than 12 thousand explosive objects and weapons were discovered neutralized".
However, there remains the problem of wheat, of which Ukraine is a major exporter, and of other ports. In particular, that of Odessa, the release of which was once again asked of Putin today by Macron and Scholz.
On the war front, the Russian siege of Donbass continues and in particular the city of Severodonetsk , in Lugansk, where today a nitric acid tank was hit by a bombing: "Nitric acid is dangerous if inhaled, ingested and if comes into contact with the skin, "said Governor Serhiy Gaidai. Russian forces now control most of the city, as the Ukrainians themselves admit.
Channel 24, citing sources of the Ukrainian secret services, says that Putin has given the order to occupy the entire Donbass, namely the Lugansk and Donetsk oblasts, by 1 July .
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The day by the hour:
Zelensky: "Progress in Kherson and Kharkiv, complicated situation in Donbass"
"We have some successes in the direction of Kherson, as well as progress in the Kharkiv region. The Ukrainian armed forces are holding back the pressure of the occupiers in the Zaporizhzhia region." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in his usual evening speech on social media, quoted by Ukrainska Pravda.
However, he continues, "the situation in the direction of Donbass is very complicated. Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, Kurakhove are now the epicenter of the clash".
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Zelensky thanks the EU for the sanctions
"Finally, we have the details of the sixth EU sanctions package against Russia for this war. The key elements of the package are already clear and, above all, its direction. European countries have decided to significantly limit imports. of oil from Russia. And I am grateful to everyone who worked to reach this agreement. " Thus Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his usual evening video speech, broadcast on Telegram. "The practical result is tens of billions of euros less, which Russia cannot now use to finance terrorism," he added.
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Usa "concerned about the situation in Kherson"
"We are particularly concerned about Russia's moves to take away Ukraine's sovereignty, especially in the Kherson area." The spokesman for the US State Department, Ned Price, said in a press briefing, reiterating that the initial goal of the Kremlin "to conquer Ukrainian territory is a complete failure".
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The Russians control Severodonetsk
Russian forces control "most" of Severodonetsk. This was stated on Telegram by the governor of the eastern Ukrainian region of Lugansk, Serhiy Gaidai. According to the governor, 90% of the city has been destroyed and it is "impossible" to evacuate the civilian population.
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Struck nitric acid reservoir in Severodonetsk
A nitric acid reservoir in a chemical factory was hit by a Russian bombing in Severodonetsk, the besieged city in Ukraine's eastern Lugansk region. Governor Serhiy Gaidai reported this on Telegram. "Nitric acid is dangerous if inhaled, ingested and if it comes into contact with the skin," he stressed.
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Oil embargo by sea starts in eight months
The EU embargo on Russian oil imports by sea will take effect in eight months. This is what is learned in Brussels at the end of the two-day extraordinary summit of European leaders. Some special exceptions will be granted to the Czech Republic for 18 months and until 2024 for Bulgaria.
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Kiev in the EU, Macron: "Debate in June"
On Ukraine's request to join the EU "we await the report from the European Commission and on the basis of this we will have the debate in June. It will be an important moment and I want to reiterate France's readiness to give a strong signal" to Kiev and "to many countries "such as Georgia and Moldova. This was said by French President Emmanuel Macron at the end of the extraordinary EU summit, insisting on the need to complement the enlargement process, defined as "too slow", with the creation of a European political community. "I want to launch this initiative in the coming weeks and make it concrete," he stressed.
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Draghi: “Kiev candidate for the EU? Only we agree "
"Candidate status is objected to by almost all the major EU states, I would say all of them except Italy. Candidate status is currently not predictable due to the opposition of these countries, but imagine a quick path" to Ukraine "yes. And it seems to me that the Commission also agrees" on this perspective. Prime Minister Mario Draghi said this at a press conference when answering a question on the possible assignment of candidate status for the EU to Ukraine already at the June European Council.
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Draghi: "The agreement was a complete success"
"The sanctions agreement was a complete success. Imagining it a few days ago would not have been credible. Italy is not penalized by the agreement, even for us the obligation not to import Russian oil will start at the end of the year, and so we will be like everyone else ". Prime Minister Mario Draghi said at a press conference in Brussels about the sixth EU sanctions package against Russia.
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The prosecutor of the CPI: "We are working to open an office in Kiev"
International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan said the International Criminal Court is "currently working to open an office in Kiev". Karim Khan spoke at the press conference organized by Eurojust together with the Ukrainian Attorney General, Iryna Venediktova.
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Media: "The Ukrainian Parliament has voted sanctions against Kirill"
The Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, voted to impose sanctions against Patriarch Kirill. This was announced by parliamentary sources, reports Tass.
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Media: "Putin wants to occupy the Donbass by 1 July"
Russian President Vladimir Putin has given the order to occupy the entire Lugansk and Donetsk region by 1 July. Channel 24 reports, citing sources of the Ukrainian secret services, UNIAN reports.
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A 12-year-old woman and a woman killed in Kharkiv in a Russian attack
A 12-year-old boy and a woman were killed this morning in the Russian bombing of the Kharkiv region. In the past 24 hours, three people have been killed and 14 have been injured in the region. Ukrinform reports it.
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Moscow: "Hateful sanctions are against the Russian people"
"Against whom is all this? A revolting conclusion is called for: these sanctions are aimed precisely at the Russian people". This was stated by the vice president of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev on his Telegram channel, as reported by Tass. "This conclusion is disheartening, but unfortunately it is true. Everyone hates us! These decisions are based on hatred of Russia, of the Russians, of all its inhabitants," he stressed.
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Kiev: 2 Russian soldiers sentenced to 11 years in prison
The Ukrainian court sentenced two Russian soldiers to 11 and a half years in prison for hitting two villages in the northeastern region of Kharkiv with multiple missiles. It is Kiev's second sentence for war crimes since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
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In Severodonetsk 12 thousand civilians trapped
The Norwegian Refugee Council said up to 12,000 civilians remain trapped and in need of help in the eastern city of Severodonetsk, where Russian troops are advancing. "I am horrified to see Severodonetsk, the thriving city where we had our operational headquarters, become the epicenter of another chapter in the brutal war in Ukraine," said Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, "we fear that up to 12,000 civilians remain trapped in the city's crossfire, without sufficient access to water, food, medicine or electricity. " (
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Gazprom suspends gas supplies to the Netherlands
Russian gas giant Gazprom has announced that it has suspended its gas supplies to the Netherlands. Gazprom said it had cut off gas supplies to the Netherlands after Dutch company GasTerra refused to pay in rubles. "Gazprom has completely cut off its supplies to GasTerra following the non-payment in rubles," Gazprom pointed out in a statement.
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The pro-Russian: "Mariupol's civilian ships are now our fleet"
Some ships from the port of Mariupol will become part of the commercial fleet of the (self-proclaimed and pro-Russian) People's Republic of Donetsk (Dpr). This was announced by the head of the DPR Denis Pushilin, reported by the Russian agency Interfax. "Some of the ships, which were in the port when the special operation began, will be transferred to the jurisdiction of the DPR. Decisions have already been made. These ships will be renamed," said Pushilin. In this way, the Donetsk People's Republic “will be able to form its own commercial fleet.
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Russian troops advance deep into Severodonetsk
The Russian army has advanced deeper into the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, fighting is going on street by street. This was announced by the head of the Lugansk regional military administration Sergiy Gaidai quoted by the Ukrainian media. After the bombing of an evacuation vehicle near Lysychansk, in which a French journalist was killed and several people were injured, the evacuation from the Lugansk region was halted.
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First freighter left Mariupol with a load of metal
The first cargo ship after two months of war blockade has left the port of Mariupol, carrying a cargo of metal. This was reported by the press office of the Russian Southern Military District quoted by TASS. It was the first ship to enter the port after the end of the fighting in Mariupol. "The ship has left the port," said the press office.
(Unioneonline)