World
Ukraine’s military chief admits ‘difficult situation’ in Kharkiv region
General Syrskii says situation in northeastern oblast ‘significantly worsened’ this week as Russian forces continue to advance.
Ukraine’s military chief has admitted his forces are facing a “difficult situation” in the northeastern region of Kharkiv, where thousands more people have fled their homes as Russian forces continue to advance.
“This week, the situation in the Kharkiv region has significantly worsened,” Oleksandr Syrskii wrote on Telegram on Sunday. “There are ongoing battles in the border areas along the state border with the Russian Federation.”
While admitting that the situation is “difficult” and Russian attackers had achieved “partial successes” in some areas, he said, “Ukrainian defence forces are doing everything they can to hold defensive lines and positions.”
The intense battles have forced at least one Ukrainian unit to withdraw, leaving behind more land to Russian forces across less defended settlements in the so-called contested “grey zone” along the Russian border.
By Sunday afternoon, the town of Vovchansk, among the largest in the northeast with a pre-war population of 17,000, emerged as a focal point in the battle.
Volodymyr Tymoshko, the head of the Kharkiv regional police, said Russian forces were on the outskirts of the town and were approaching from three directions. “Infantry fighting is already taking place,” he said. A Russian tank was spotted along a major road leading to the town, Tymoshko said, illustrating Moscow’s confidence to deploy heavy weaponry.
Evacuation teams worked non-stop throughout the day to take residents, most of whom were elderly, out of harm’s way.
At least 4,000 civilians have fled the Kharkiv region since Friday when Moscow’s forces launched the operation, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said in a social media statement. Heavy fighting raged Sunday along the northeast front line, where Russian forces attacked 27 settlements in 24 hours, he said.
The Russian Ministry of Defence said Sunday that its forces had captured four villages on the border in addition to five villages reported to have been seized on Saturday. These areas were likely poorly fortified due to the dynamic fighting and constant heavy shelling, easing the Russian advance.
Ukraine’s leadership has not confirmed Moscow’s gains. But Tymoshko said Strilecha, Pylna and Borsivika were under Russian occupation and it was from their direction the Russians were bringing in infantry to stage attacks in the embattled villages of Hlyboke and Lukiantsi.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that there were intense battles across parts of the region.
“Defensive battles and fierce fighting continue on a large part of our borderline,” Zelenskyy said, adding: “The idea behind the attacks in the Kharkiv region is to stretch our forces and undermine the moral and motivational basis of the Ukrainians’ ability to defend themselves.”
The gains are “significant not just because of the territory but also because in 10km (6 miles) or so they will be at a shelling distance of Kharkiv city, the second largest city in Ukraine,” Al Jazeera’s John Holman said, reporting from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
“It also means that Ukraine is so stretched paper thin on different sides of the front, and it will probably have to divert soldiers from other areas and send them to the Kharkiv region,” he added.
Analysts said the Russian push is designed to exploit ammunition shortages before promised Western supplies can reach the front lines. Ukrainian soldiers said the Kremlin is using the usual Russian tactic by launching a disproportionate amount of fire and infantry assaults to exhaust their troops and firepower.
By intensifying battles in what was previously a static patch of the front line, Russian forces threaten to pin Ukrainian forces in the northeast while carrying out intense battles farther south, where Moscow is also gaining ground.
The advance comes after Russia stepped up attacks in March, targeting energy infrastructure and settlements, which analysts predicted was a concerted effort to shape conditions for an offensive.
A mob of Turkish nationalists attacked U.S. Marines in western Turkey on Monday, resulting in the arrests of 15 people.
The incident took place in Izmir, which is located on Turkey’s Aegean coast. In a statement, the Izmir governor’s office said the assailants belonged to the Youth Union of Turkey, which is connected to the nationalist Vatan Party.
The governor said that the victims, who were assigned to the USS Wasp, were “physically attacked.” The service members were identified as “soldiers” by authorities, but are U.S. Marines.
Video posted to social media showed service members in civilian clothing yelling for help as they were restrained by a group of anti-American men.
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Marines assigned to the USS Wasp were attacked by Turkish nationalists, disturbing video shows. (@genclikbirlgi via X)
The footage also shows an attacker throwing a plastic bag onto a victim’s head as the crowd chanted, “Yankee, go home!”
Five U.S. service members intervened during the incident, and authorities eventually arrested all 15 of the men who attacked the Marines.
The U.S. Embassy in Turkey confirmed the incident in a statement published on social media on Monday, and said that the Marines are safe.
“We can confirm reports that U.S. service members embarked aboard the USS Wasp were the victims of an assault in İzmir today, and are now safe,” the embassy said.
UN, HUMAN RIGHTS, MEDIA GROUPS RELY ON HAMAS DEATH TOLL IN ‘SYSTEMATIC DECEPTION’: EXPERT
Crew members stand aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD-1) docked at Limassol Port, amid rising tensions in the Middle East, in Limassol, Cyprus, Sunday, August 11, 2024. (Danil Shamkin/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“We thank Turkish authorities for their rapid response and ongoing investigation.”
In a statement obtained by Reuters, the Youth Union of Turkey said the attack was “deserved” and criticized U.S. support of Israel.
Members of the Youth Union of Turkey (TGB) gather outside the U.S. Embassy to protest envoys of 10 countries over remarks on the Osman Kavala case in Ankara, Turkey on October 25, 2021. (Evrim Aydin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“U.S. soldiers who carry the blood of our soldiers and thousands of Palestinians on their hands cannot dirty our country,” the nationalists said. “Every time you step foot in these lands, we will meet you the way you deserve.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
Regional parlaments in Germany have no foreign policy competence and limited influence on national energy policy. But will the results from Saxony and Thuringia influence Germany’s energy transition and its support for Ukraine?
The results of the two regional elections in Germany’s East have sent shock waves through Europe.
That a far-right party known for its relativism and ambiguity about Germany’s Nazi past was able to win was met with horror and disbelief.
The leader of the liberal group in the European Parliament, Valérie Hayer, called it “unprecedented” and “a dark day” for Germany and for Europe.
The European Commissioner for the economy, Paolo Gentiloni, posted a bitter comment on the strong results of the far right and the populist far left: “Friends of Russia in a former USSR satellite state. Enemies of migrants in the German area with little immigration. Rancour against everything and everyone”.
It seems unlikely that the AfD and far-left Sarah Wagenknecht party will turn this majority of opinion into a governing coalition, but could this strong anti-Ukrainian and pro-Russion sentiment influence the German or even the European position on supporting Ukraine?
Peter Hefele is Policy Director at the centre-right think tank Wilfried Martens Centre in Brussels. He told Euronews:
“Luckily, the Länder do not decide on foreign policy. So the support [for Ukraine] in Germany, according to all the polls, we know is quite high and the same goes for Europe. [But] If you look into the numbers of young people who voted – up to 40% – for the extremist parties then this is really about the future and the vision we can give them, and about their hopes.”
Energy transition remains on track but Easterners’ efforts need to be recognised
One of the biggest losers of both regional elections has been the Green party, part of the governing coalition in Berlin. In Thuringia, they failed to get a single legislator elected.
Does that spell trouble for Germany’s ambitious energy transition goals? German Green MEP Michael Bloss believes that the narrative surrounding the transition should focus more on what has already been achieved, especially in Germany’s East, as he explained to Euronews:
“The transition is working. We are almost world leaders in renewables’ acceleration, energy prices are coming down from where they were when Putin blackmailed us with his gas.
There are different things that we need to address in the Eastern parts. We in Germany overall need to appreciate more of what they have already done in terms of transformation and how they have already achieved a lot.”
But with the political landscape changed beyond recognition and former governing coalitions reduced to irrelevance, the newly elected legislators in Saxony and Thuringia will first of all have to somehow find a way of forming a government.
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