His comments came as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov prepared for a closed-door foreign ministerial meeting at the G20 summit in Indonesia on Friday, which will be the first time Putin’s top diplomat has come face-to-face with the staunchest opponents of the invasion of Ukraine in February. read more In Ukraine, the governor of the northeastern city of Kharkiv said late Thursday that three people were killed and five others wounded when Russian forces shelled the city. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Russian forces have also bombed other potential holdings in eastern Ukraine ahead of an expected new offensive. “We have heard many times that the West wants to fight us to the last Ukrainian. This is a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but it seems that everything is going that way,” Putin said in televised remarks to parliamentary leaders. read more The West had failed to contain Russia and its sanctions on Moscow had caused difficulties but “not on the scale it seeks”, Putin added. Russia did not rule out peace talks, but the longer the conflict progressed, the harder it would be to reach an agreement, he said. Earlier, Kyiv lost one of its main international backers after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would step down. Ukraine said it expected Britain’s support to continue and thanked Johnson for standing up for Ukraine’s interests, while Moscow did not hide its joy at the political demise of a leader it had long criticized for arming Kyiv so heavily. read more In a phone call, Johnson told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, “You’re a hero, everyone loves you,” a Johnson spokesman said. read more Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba described the British prime minister as a “true friend of Ukraine” because he was among the first world leaders to unequivocally condemn the invasion and also “help Ukraine defend and ultimately win this war in the future.” Johnson’s resignation comes at a time of internal turmoil in some other European countries that support Kyiv and doubts about staying in a protracted conflict. The day began with Ukraine’s defiant flag-raising ceremony on the recaptured Snake Island in the Black Sea, located about 140 kilometers (90 miles) south of the Ukrainian port of Odessa. Moscow was quick to respond, with its warplanes striking the strategic island shortly after and destroying part of the Ukrainian contingent there, it said. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with parliamentary leaders in Moscow, Russia, July 7, 2022. Sputnik/Aleksey Nikolskyi/Kremlin via REUTERS read more Russia abandoned the island in late June in what it said was a gesture of goodwill – a victory for Ukraine that Kyiv hoped could ease Moscow’s blockade of Ukrainian ports. Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff of the Ukrainian president, suggested that raising the blue and yellow national flag was a moment that would be repeated across Ukraine.
KRAMATORSK
Meanwhile, Russian forces in eastern Ukraine continued to pressure Ukrainian troops trying to hold the line along the northern border of the Donetsk region in preparation for an expected wider offensive against it. After seizing the city of Lysychansk on Sunday and effectively consolidating full control of Ukraine’s Luhansk region, Moscow has made clear that it plans to seize parts of the neighboring Donetsk region that it has not yet captured. Kyiv still controls some major cities. The mayor of the Donetsk city of Kramatorsk said Russian forces fired missiles into the city center in an airstrike on Thursday, killing at least one person and wounding six. Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the Donetsk region, said the missile damaged six buildings, including a hotel and an apartment complex in the major industrial hub. read more Reuters could not independently verify these claims. In Kramatorsk, engineer-turned-soldier Artchk helped shore up defenses against the impending Russian attack, while, nearby, farmer Vasyl Avramenko mourned the loss of crops replaced by mines. “Of course we are already prepared. We are ready,” Artsk told Reuters, identifying himself by his first name. “It’s their (Russians’) fantasy to take these cities, but they don’t expect the level of resistance. It’s not just the Ukrainian government, it’s the people who refuse to accept them.” read more Russia denies it is targeting civilians in what it calls a “special military operation” to demilitarize Ukraine, root out dangerous nationalists and protect Russian speakers. Ukraine and its allies say Russia launched an imperial-style land grab with the February invasion, starting Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II that has killed thousands, displaced millions and leveled cities. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report from Reuters offices. Written by Andrew Osborn and Alexandra Hudson. Editing by Angus MacSwan and Hugh Lawson Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
