Voice of America
21 Jun 2022, 21:06 GMT+10
Ukraine reported heavy strikes Tuesday in the Sievierodonetsk region as Russian forces push to gain full control of the eastern city.
A spokesman for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said at a daily briefing that fighting in Sievierodonetsk was fierce, with Russia conducting both airstrikes and shelling on Ukrainian positions.
Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai reported heavy fighting at the Azot chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk, where Ukrainian fighters and about 500 civilians are taking shelter.
Haidai also said Russian forces had brought "catastrophic destruction" to the city of Lysychansk, located just across a river from Sievierodonetsk.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged difficulties trying to defend the country's eastern region but said Russian forces would continue to be met with Ukrainian resistance.
"We have the most difficult fighting there. But we have our strong guys and girls there," Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Monday, adding, "the occupiers receive a response to their actions against us."
Earlier Monday, Zelenskyy accused Russia of holding Africa "hostage" by blocking wheat deliveries and contributing to rising food prices on the continent.
In a video speech to African Union leaders, Zelenskyy said, "This war may seem very distant to you and your countries. But catastrophically, rising food prices have already brought it home to millions of African families."
He said Ukraine is holding "complex, multilevel negotiations" to try to end Russia's blockade of Ukrainian ports.
"But there is no progress yet. ... That is why the global food crisis will continue as long as this colonial war continues," he said.
Russia denies it is deliberately blocking wheat exports from Ukraine and blames sanctions imposed by Western nations for rising global food prices.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called Russia's actions "a real war crime." He told the EU's top diplomats gathered in Luxembourg on Monday, "It is inconceivable, one cannot imagine that millions of tons of wheat remain blocked in Ukraine while in the rest of the world, people are suffering (from) hunger."
Also Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland met in Toronto to discuss sanctions and other ways to boost economic pressure against Russia.
Yellen said at the start of the meeting that the two would also work together to boost energy production to counter high gas and energy prices.
Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse.
Get a daily dose of Kenya Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Kenya Star.
More InformationTripoli, Libya - Protesters stormed Libya's parliament building in the eastern city of Tobruk on Friday, demonstrating against deteriorating living ...
Birmingham [UK], July 2 (ANI): Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja on Friday added a mammoth 222-run partnership stand for the ...
Dustin Johnson shot a 4-under-par 68 to tie Mexico's Carlos Ortiz for the lead after the second round of the ...
LONDON - The World Health Organization's Europe chief warned Friday that monkeypox cases in the region have tripled in the ...
Yaounde, Cameroon - Blind people in Cameroon were protesting this week against job discrimination when according to witnesses, police bundled ...
Washington - Somalis across the world marked 62 years of independence Friday with little jubilation and much concern about a ...
DUBAI, UAE: The Arab states have built significant amounts of solar and wind power installations, and are in line to ...
ASSAM, India: During this week's heavy rains, which caused the region's worst floods in years, staff at the Cachar Cancer ...
KAREN STATE, Myanmar - Over the past three days, an army outpost meters away from Myanmar's border with Thailand has ...
BERLIN, Germany: A German Interior Ministry spokesperson has said that in a bid to relieve airports overwhelmed by staff shortages ...
WATFORD, UK: Watford F.C. has cancelled a friendly match against the Qatar national team due to the Gulf country's human ...
JAKARTA, Indonesia: Indonesian President Joko Widodo has said that he will urge his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts to open peace ...