No ‘pause’ in Russian attacks, Zelenskyy says
- Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says there has been no let-up in Russian attacks on his country with 34 air raids conducted in the past 24 hours, including the attack that has so far killed 15 in the Donetsk town of Chasiv Yar.
- The head of Ukraine’s President’s office, Andriy Yermak, calls the Chasiv Yar attack an act of “terrorism” saying Russia should be on the list of state terrorist sponsors.
- The Nord Stream 1 pipeline carrying Russian gas to Germany starts annual maintenance on Monday, with flows expected to stop for 10 days, but governments, markets and companies are worried Moscow might extend the shutdown.
Here are the latest updates:
Russia restricts access to website of German daily Die Welt
Russia has restricted access to the website of Germany’s Die Welt newspaper at the request of prosecutors, according to the country’s communications regulator.
Russian officials accuse the West of spreading false information about what Moscow describes as a “special military operation” in Ukraine. Since sending troops to the neighbouring country, Russia has blocked or limited access to BBC, Voice of America, Deutsche Welle and other media outlets.
It was not immediately clear why prosecutors asked for the restriction in respect of welt.de page.
Ukraine’s army holding back Russian forces in village near Sloviansk: Governor
Ukraine’s army has trapped Russian forces in the area of the village of Bilohorivka, about 50km (30 miles) east of Sloviansk, from where they are shelling the surrounding settlements and carrying out air attacks, the governor of Luhansk has said.
Serhiy Haidai said that Ukraine’s army was holding Russia’s forces from advancing further and that Moscow’s talk of the imminent capture of Sloviansk and Bakhmut was at this point, “just words”.
The Donetsk regional Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said that a Russian missile had struck Druzhkivka, a town behind the front line, and reported shelling of other population centres.
Russian rockets destroy school and children’s health centre in Kharkiv: Officials
Russian rockets damaged a school and a health centre for children in Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv early on Sunday, local officials have said.
The shelling left no casualties, but severely damaged the school’s building.
“I think that this is genocide of our nation and our culture,” Vadym Kostenko, whose granddaughter went to the damaged school, told the Reuters news agency.
In another district, a rocket destroyed a private house and damaged a health centre for children. Officials also earlier said a rocket hit a residential building in the centre of the city, injuring six people.
Chasiv Yar attack a ‘terrorist’ act: Zelenskyy adviser
Zelenskyy’s chief of staff has called the attack on the town of Chasiv Yar a terrorist act, and has again called for Russia to be officially considered a state sponsor of terrorism.
“The Russians hit a high-rise apartment building with civilians again. Another terrorist attack by a terrorist country,” Andriy Yermak wrote on Twitter.
“The Russian Federation should be on the list of state sponsors of terrorism,” he added.
Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region.
The Russians hit a high-rise apartment building with civilians again. Another terrorist attack by a terrorist country.
The Russian Federation should be on the list of state sponsors of terrorism. pic.twitter.com/6iZDwNehLL
— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) July 10, 2022
No ‘pause’ in Russian attacks: Zelenskyy
Zelenskyy has said there was not let-up in Russian air attacks on his country, after officials said at least 15 people were killed, and two dozen more were feared trapped after Russian Uragan rockets hit a five-storey apartment block in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
Speaking during his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said the death toll from the attack in the Donetsk town of Chasiv Yar was likely to rise.
“Two residential high-rise buildings were destroyed. Dozens of people are under the rubble. Six were saved. There are 15 names in the list of the dead and, unfortunately, this is not the final number,” he said, refuting claims that Russian air raids had been “paused”.
“34 airstrikes by Russian aviation in the past 24 hours, in one past day, is an answer to all those who invented this ‘pause’,” he said, adding: “The Ukrainian army is holding on, holding firm … But, of course, a lot still needs to be done so that Russian losses become such that there will really be a pause.”
Europe on edge as Russian gas link set for planned shutdown
The biggest single pipeline carrying Russian gas to Germany starts annual maintenance on Monday, with flows expected to stop for 10 days, but governments, markets and companies are worried the shutdown might be extended due to war in Ukraine.
The Nord Stream 1 pipeline transports 55 billion cubic metres a year of gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea. It will undergo maintenance from July 11 to 21. Europe fears Russia may extend the scheduled maintenance to restrict European gas supply further, throwing plans to fill storage for the northern winter into disarray and heightening a gas crisis that has prompted emergency measures from governments and painfully high bills for consumers.
Germany’s economy minister has said the country should confront the possibility that Russia will suspend gas flows through Nord Stream 1 beyond the scheduled maintenance period.
“Based on the pattern we’ve seen, it would not be very surprising now if some small, technical detail is found and then they could say ‘now we can’t turn it on any more’,” Robert Habeck said at an event at the end of June.
Read all updates from July 10 here.
