The pro-Russia, so-called Donetsk People’s Republic has taken fortified positions that were held by Ukrainian forces until recently, as these images show.
The footage was obtained from the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) along with a statement on Friday, June 24, saying that they had “knocked out Ukrainian forces from fortified positions, from where they had shelled residential areas of Gorlovka.”
Gorlovka is the Russian name for the city of Horlivka, which is located in the Donetsk Oblast of eastern Ukraine.
An unnamed spokesperson for the DPR also said: “We are in a position that a month ago was Ukrainian.”
We have not been able to independently verify the claims or the footage.
We have contacted the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) representatives for further comment, as well as the Russian and the Ukrainian Defense Ministries but haven’t received a reply at the time of writing.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what the Kremlin is calling a “special military operation.” June 24 marks the 121st day of the invasion.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between February 24 and June 24, Russia had lost about 34,530 personnel, 1,507 tanks, 3,637 armored combat vehicles, 759 artillery units, 241 multiple launch rocket systems, 99 air defense systems, 216 warplanes, 183 helicopters, 622 drones, 137 cruise missiles, 14 warships, 2,553 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 60 units of special equipment.
On Thursday, June 23, the European Union approved Ukraine’s application to become a candidate for admission to the bloc, which is currently made up of 27 countries. The decision has been hailed in both Brussels and Kyiv as a “historic moment,” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying that “Ukraine’s future is in the EU”.
The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, warned Russia may stop supplying gas to Europe this winter. Several European countries have already received less Russian gas than expected in the last few weeks, with European imports of natural gas from Russia dropping from approximately 40 percent to 20 percent.
Germany has taken a step closer to gas rationing after a drop in supplies from Russia.
British intelligence has estimated that the pro-Russian, so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) has lost 55 percent of its original forces.
U.S. intelligence has revealed that Russia is mining the Black Sea ports of Odesa and Ochakiv to throttle Ukraine’s ability to export grain.
Russia is now thought to control all of the eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, apart from the Azot chemical plant.
Russian Foreign Ministry press secretary Maria Zakharova has said that Moscow’s response to Lithuania banning the transit of goods, sanctioned by the EU, to Kaliningrad will not only be diplomatic but also practical.
But Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte has accused Russia of lying over the blockade, saying that people are still able to travel between Russia and Kaliningrad and that the blockade only affects 1 percent of goods.
Russia conducted an anti-ship missile exercise in the Baltic Sea this week amid escalating tensions with NATO member Lithuania after the country blocked the transit of some goods to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, has urged locals in the Kherson region to evacuate, to help Ukrainian forces “de-occupy” the area.
Ukrainian officials have said that there are currently no safe towns for civilians in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, as fighting in the area intensifies.
