Ukraine War on the 86th day: Russia heavily shelled eastern Ukraine

Debris after a building in Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast was hit by a missile on May 19 reuters

Russia bombards the east

According to the General Staff of Ukraine, Russia is increasing pressure in eastern Ukraine with artillery and air strikes to destroy the surrounding defenses Donetsk. Chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army Valeriy Zaluzhny during a meeting at the Commission Military NATO says Russia is launching 10-14 ballistic missiles a day Ukraine.

See more: The Chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army gives the latest assessment of the conflict with Russia

Reuters reported that the Russian military on May 20 was also shelling the city Severodonetskone of the last Ukrainian-held areas in the province Luhansk. This seems to herald a major assault on the city to gain control of the entire Luhansk province.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu On May 20, it announced that its forces were in close control of the breakaway region Luhansk. “The liberation of the Luhansk People’s Republic is nearing completion,” Shoigu stressed during a meeting.

See more: Violent throughout the Donbass, Russia says it’s almost completely in control of Luhansk

However, the General Staff of Ukraine said that Russia suffered losses when it launched an attack on Severodonetsk and was forced to withdraw.

Ukraine says Russian shelling has killed 12 people and wounded 40 others in Severodonetsk on May 19. On the same day, one person was killed and 5 others injured in the province Kharkiv, while five civilians were killed and six others wounded in Donetsk. Russia has not commented on this information.

This situation prompted the president of Ukraine to say the region Donbassthe focus of the attacks of Russian forces in the second phase of the campaign, was “completely ruined” in a speech on the evening of May 19.

Germany delivers 15 Gepard tanks to Ukraine

Reuters quoted the spokesman German Ministry of Defense said the country will deliver the first 15 Gepard tanks to Ukraine in July. The spokesman said German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht had agreed to this in an online chat with her counterpart. Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov.

According to a government source, the Gepard tanks will be supplied with “sufficient” ammunition.

German Gepard anti-aircraft tank reuters

At the end of April, Virtue announced for the first time that it would supply Ukraine with heavy weapons, specifically the Gepard anti-aircraft tank, after receiving criticism. Since then, Germany has also committed to providing seven self-propelled howitzers to Kyiv and began training the Ukrainian army in these types of artillery.

G7 will provide 19.8 billion USD in aid to Ukraine

According to a joint statement on May 20, the financial leaders of the countries G7 agreed to give Ukraine 19.8 billion USD in aid, and at the same time declared to stand with Ukraine Ukraine until the hostilities cease and more support if necessary.

Finance ministers and central bank governors of the United States, Japan, CanadaBritain, Germany, France and Italy met in Germany on May 19 to discuss how to financially support Ukraine in the near future.

Earlier, the US Congress approved a new military and humanitarian aid package for Ukraine worth nearly 40 billion USD. The bill will go into effect after the President Joe Biden signed into law. Besides, Foreign Minister Antony Blinken The United States will also transfer to Ukraine an additional $100 million worth of weapons and other equipment from the Pentagon’s stockpile.

Russia stops supplying gas to Finland

State energy company Finland Gasum said on May 20 that Russian gas company Gazprom had announced it would stop supplying gas to Finland from May 21 because the country refused to pay in rubles.

The Gasum CEO said that Finland is well prepared for this situation, and because the gas transmission network is not disrupted, the company will be able to supply gas to all customers in the coming months.

Finland has also agreed to lease a storage and regasification vessel from the US-based company Excelerate Energy starting in the fourth quarter of this year to help replace supply from Russia.

See more: Russia cuts gas to Finland

Russia strengthens the west to deal with NATO

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that the country will take measures to deal with the NATO extended towards the Russian border. According to Shoigu, 12 military units and sub-units will be established in the Western Military District by the end of this year. The Russian Defense Minister also said that Russia’s countermeasures will be synchronized with the supply of modern weapons and military equipment to the army.

This announcement is made in the context of Finland and Switzerland may become a member of NATO. The two countries on May 18 officially applied to join the US-led military alliance.

See more: Russia Creates New Military Units to Deal with Expanding NATO