5Overview Russians retreat to Kharkov, locals are back

Once a day, NU.nl gives you an overview of the situation in Ukraine. This time: there is heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine. The mayor of Kharkiv says the Ukrainian army is pushing the Russians back there. According to local journalists, Ukrainian troops advanced north of the city as far as the Russian border.

Mayor Ihor Terekhov has also made statements against him. BBC† According to him, the Russian army only once succeeded in taking a small part of Kharkov.

Ukrainian soldiers also reportedly destroyed parts of a Russian armored column trying to cross the Siverskyi Donets River. This would appear from photos and videos released by the Ukrainian military. Images have been verified by a second independent source.

Ukrainian journalists reported that the Ukrainian army was advancing north from Kharkov to the nearby Russian border. This may be true because they Pictures It was self-published on what appears to be the Ukrainian-Russian border.

Kharkiv residents return to ‘still dangerous’ city

The governor of the Kharkov region reported that displaced residents have returned to clean up the destruction of the city. He warns that it can still be dangerous there.

Kharkiv is the second largest city in Ukraine with 1.4 million inhabitants. The city in the northeast is of strategic importance due to its location close to the Russian border and the Donets basin. Many pro-Russian separatists live in this region.

A large column of Mariupol was allowed to go to Zaporizhzhya. to go

Ukrainian media too large intestine Five hundred to a thousand cars are allowed to drive further northwest to the city of Zaporizhzhya, along with residents of the southern port city of Mariupol. An adviser to the mayor of Mariupol has announced this. City residents have reportedly waited three days to escape the violence of war.

Mariupol is of strategic importance to Russia. The Azovstal steel factory is the last stronghold of the Ukrainian resistance in the port city. On Tuesday, about 100 civilians were still hiding in the factory from Russian attacks.

Ukrainian authorities reported days ago that after the mediation of the United Nations and the Red Cross, at least all women, children and the elderly have been evacuated from the factory. It was unclear at the time how many of Mariupol’s 400,000 residents lived elsewhere in the city.

Difficult conditions at the beleaguered Mariupol Steelworks

A soldier from the Azovstal Ironworks reports: CNN He said the conditions were difficult. It is reported that as many as 600 wounded soldiers, some seriously wounded, received inadequate medical care and in some cases even died as the campus was besieged by Russia for weeks. Due to the lack of medicines, doctors had to operate without anesthesia.

Relatives of the soldiers in the steel mill cry CNN Chinese President Xi Jinping will mediate between his relatives and Russia. A few days ago, they made a similar request to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan offered to evacuate the wounded surrounded by sea, Ukraine is happy with the offer, but Russia has not yet accepted it.

Ukraine predicts the end of the war

Ukrainian intelligence chief Kirilo Budanov believes the war in his country will end in Russian defeat before the end of the year. He told his British broadcaster on Friday night Weather forecastI

This is the most detailed and optimistic prediction ever made by a senior Ukrainian official. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky was more cautious ahead of Budanov’s prediction. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he could not predict how long the war between the two countries would last. BBCI

According to Budanov, the war is progressing so well that by the end of this year Ukraine will recapture all conquered territories, including the Crimean peninsula and the Donets Basin in eastern Ukraine. The turning point would come in the second half of August.

Russia dissatisfied with Finland’s rapprochement with NATO

In addition, Prime Minister and party chairman Sanna Marin said on Saturday that Finland’s ruling Social Democratic party is in favor of NATO membership after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Finland did not want to join NATO for a long time, but Russian aggression quickly changed the situation, including among the Finnish population. The country shares a border of about 1,300 kilometers with Russia.

Thirty NATO countries must give the green light to join. Turkey initially expressed restraint, but now says it is not necessarily against the possible arrival of Finland and Sweden.

Finland assumes NATO countries will protect the Finns before membership is formally completed, as Russia “absolutely” sees the move as a threat and warns of its military and political ramifications. Russian electricity exports have already been halted this weekend.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Marin approved the decision on Thursday. Niinisto briefed Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday about his membership plans.