Moscow expands offensive, Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska urges US Congress to provide ‘more weapons’

• “It is no longer just the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk (two breakaway territories in eastern Ukraine), it is also the regions of Kherson and Zaporizhya (in the south) and a series of other territories and this process continues, constantly”Lavrov told the Ria-Novosti news agency, adding that carrying out talks with kyiv would not have “no sense in the current situation”.
• Ukraine responds to Russian announcement calling for more weapons and additional sanctions against Moscow. “The Russians want blood, not negotiations. I call on all partners to strengthen sanctions against Russia and to speed up arms deliveries to Ukraine”, wrote the head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba. Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska, visiting the United States, for her part delivered a stirring plea before the American Congress: “I ask you for more weapons (…) to protect everyone’s homes and the right to wake up alive in these homes”she launched.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin assured on Tuesday, July 19, that the gas giant Gazprom would fully fulfill its supplier obligations, at a time when deliveries to Europe are falling in the midst of the conflict in Ukraine. “Gazprom has fulfilled, continues to fulfill and will fully fulfill its obligations, if anyone needs it”he said at a press conference after talks in Tehran.
• Mr. Putin called on Tuesday, July 19, to lift Western restrictions on Russian cereals to achieve progress in the export of Ukrainian agricultural production, currently blocked due to the invasion of the country by Russia. “We will facilitate the export of Ukrainian cereals, but on the basis that all restrictions related to air deliveries for the export of Russian cereals are lifted”said the Russian president.
• Mr Putin said on Wednesday 20 July that he had not observed any willingness on the part of Ukraine to respect the terms of what he presented as a preliminary peace agreement decided in March. While speaking on television after his visit to Iran, Vladimir Putin announced that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had offered mediation between Moscow and kyiv. “The result obviously depends on the willingness of the parties to implement the agreements that have been reached. We see today that this is not the will of the power in place in kyiv”said Vladimir Putin.
• Russia “works for the annexation of Ukrainian territories”using the same ” manual “ that for Crimea in 2014, accused, on Tuesday July 19, the White House. “The Russian government has detailed plans to annex a number of regions in Ukraine, including Kherson, Zaporizhia and all of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts”, Washington said. The representatives “illegitimate” that Moscow has imposed in these areas “will organize puppet referendums on reunification with Russia”, “maybe in September during the Russian regional elections”he added.
• At the same time, Russia is seeking to set up Russian banks there to generalize the use of the ruble, “forces residents to apply for Russian citizenship”, “imposes his followers in the security services”all in “sabotaging the civilian internet”he still assured.
• Bombings in eastern Ukraine have taken place. In Kramatorsk, a missile fell at the end of the morningTuesday, July 19, in a small garden surrounded by blocks of four-storey buildings, in the city center, noted the journalists of Agence France-Presse (AFP). “At this stage, we have a death”said Igor Yeskov, spokesman for the city hall.
• Southern Ukraine was hit by the Russian army. In the Odessa region, Russian forces fired seven missiles, injuring at least six people including a child, according to the Ukrainian presidency. The Russian Defense Ministry, for its part, claimed that its strikes on Odessa had destroyed a stockpile of ammunition supplied by the West.
• Six people were killed during a bombardment, Monday July 18 on Toretsk, in eastern Ukraine. According to local officials, a shell hit an apartment building in this city of about 30,000 inhabitants in the Donetsk region, one of the two Donbass provinces that Moscow is seeking to conquer in full.

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