Kharkiv, Ukraine, May 11 (Reuters) – Russia’s gas flow to Europe via a major transportation point in Ukraine dried up on Wednesday, while Kiev claimed victory on the battlefield, including the recapture of four villages around the second Kharkiv city. .
Even after President Vladimir Putin called for a “special military operation” on February 24, Ukraine remains the main route for Russia to export gas to Europe.
Emerging Western sanctions seek to restrict or gradually reduce the use of Russian energy as a major source of funding for Putin’s war effort and to the detriment of Europe, especially Germany.
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The Ukrainian gas operator, who has blamed Russian occupation forces for the suspension, said on Tuesday that it would divert gas from the Tsokranivka transit point in the occupied territory of Russia to another Ukrainian-controlled area. read more
Wednesday morning data from the network operator showed zero recommendations for Russian gas by traffic point. read more
As Russia was forced to abandon its offensive in the capital, Kiev, in late March, its main force was trying to encircle Ukrainian troops in the eastern Donbass region.
Ukrainian troops are often opposed to attacks from all three directions, and top US intelligence officials say the war is now a stalemate.
Putin appeared to be preparing for a protracted confrontation and US victory in the Donbass region would not end the war, US Director of National Intelligence Avril Hines said in Washington on Tuesday. read more
But the offensive near Kharkiv could mark a new phase, with Ukraine on the offensive and supply routes to Russia now vulnerable.
President Volodymyr Zhelensky said that Ukrainian conquests were gradually driving Russian forces out of Kharkiv, which had been bombed since the war began.
“But I want to emphasize to all of our people … do not spread too much emotion. We should not create an atmosphere of excessive moral pressure, where successes are expected even weekly and even daily,” Zelenskiy said in a video speech.
Collecting bodies
In the villages of Starry Saltiv and Vilkivka near Kharkiv, Ukrainian soldiers collected the bodies of Russian soldiers killed in the fighting, according to Reuters witnesses.
Ukrainian civil servants said early Wednesday that Russian forces were trying to prevent Ukrainian troops from advancing further into the border in the Kharkiv region and that they were trying to capture the town of Rubisne completely.
Ukrainian border guards say Russian forces are conducting shelling in the Sumi and Chernihiv areas near the border.
“Enemy aircraft fired two unmanned missiles at Sumi’s border. There were two mortar shells in the Chernihiv region,” they told their Telegram channel.
In the south, the Ukrainian armed forces claimed to have hit nine enemy targets, killing 79 soldiers and losing 12 pieces of equipment, including armored vehicles and howitzers.
Russian fire has engulfed the Mykolaiv region, where private homes have been damaged, as well as farms and electrical connections to a city.
Ukrainian civil servants say Russian forces have continued to fire on the Azovstal steelworks in the southern port of Mariupol with artillery, tanks and airstrikes, trying to capture the last stronghold of the Ukrainian resistance in the ruined city.
Ukraine says tens of thousands of people have been killed in the city in the two months since the Russian siege.
At the beginning of the invasion, Russia sought to strengthen its troops on the island of Zmiinyi, also known as Snake Island, known for its vicious resistance to Ukrainian border guards.
“If Russia stabilizes its position on Zmiinyi Island with strategic air and naval missiles, they could dominate the northwestern Black Sea,” the British Defense Ministry said in a regular bulletin.
Russia’s relocation ships have minimal security in the western Black Sea, following the withdrawal of the Russian navy to Crimea after the loss of primary Moscow, it said.
Reuters could not independently verify the war news.
According to the United Nations, the number of Ukrainians fleeing their country is approaching 6 million, which indicates that the refugee crisis has been growing rapidly since World War II.
Russia denies targeting civilians and denies Ukrainian and Western war crimes allegations.
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Tom Balmforth Additional Report on Kyiv; Written by Rami Job and Lincoln Feast; Editing Stephen Coates, Robert Brussel
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