War in Ukraine: control of the city of Vovchansk by kyiv, Western aid too slow… update on the situation

Le point sur la situation. Le Pictorium/Maxppp – Yevhen Vasyliev/Le Pictorium

Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Monday, May 20, 2024, discover the latest news around this conflict.

Ukraine still claims to control 60% of Vovchansk after the Russian assaults

Ukrainian troops still control about 60% of the Kharkiv region border town of Vovchansk and are fighting house to house to defend it from Russian attacks, Ukrainian officials said Monday .

The capture of Vovchansk, located about 5 kilometers from the Russian border, would be Moscow's most important gain since Russia launched a new offensive in the north of the Kharkiv region in early May.

"The enemy continues to try, especially inside Vovchansk, to push the Ukrainian armed forces out of the city", Deputy Governor of the Kharkiv region Roman Semenoukha said on public television on Monday.

"Approximately 60% of the city is controlled by the Ukrainian armed forces, which means that the assaults do not stop", he added.

According to the governor of the Kharkiv region, Oleh Synehoubov, the front line now runs along the Vovcha River, which runs through the city.
"Our soldiers are trying to defend the city house by house, street by street", he said, adding that the Russian plan aiming to quickly seize the north of the region had failed.

Vovchansk's police chief said last week that Russian forces had taken up positions in the city and described the situation as extremely difficult".

The Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region, with assaults in the Vovchansk and Lyptsi areas, forced Ukraine to send reinforcements, expanding its troops along the ;a front line of more than 1,000 km to the east and south.

The Ukrainian General Staff earlier said its forces had repelled Russian attacks near the border village of Starytsia. According to Roman Semenoukha, local authorities have evacuated around 10,500 people from border areas since the Russian assault on the region on May 10.

Western aid to Ukraine is too slow according to Zelensky

Decisions by Western allies on military support for Ukraine are taking too long, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday in an exclusive interview granted to Reuters in Kyiv.

He described the delivery of military aid, including air defense systems like the Patriot systems that Ukraine relies on to defend itself against Russia, as " big step forward" but regretted before that "the two steps back" of his allies.
He also regretted that the decisions taken were "one year late".

This interview was given at a time when Ukrainian soldiers are losing ground in the northeast and east of the country against the more numerous and better equipped Russian soldiers.

According to the Ukrainian president, the situation on the battlefield in the northeast of the country is now under control, after Russian incursions towards the city of Kharkiv.

US will continue working with ICC on Ukraine despite disagreement on Israel

The United States will continue to collaborate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Ukraine, despite its disagreement over the request for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, a declared the head of the Pentagon on Monday.

"Regarding the question of whether or not we will continue to provide support to the ICC regarding the crimes committed in Ukraine, yes, we are continuing this work", a Lloyd Austin told the press.

"Vital and urgent" to use frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine

The US Secretary of the Treasury considers "vital and urgent" to find a way to use the interests of Russian assets frozen in Western countries to help Ukraine, a subject that will be at the heart of the G7 Finance this week.

"It is vital and urgent that we collectively find a way to unlock the value of Russian sovereign assets tied up in our jurisdictions for the benefit of Ukraine", Janet Yellen will say on Tuesday in Frankfurt (Germany), according to excerpts of her speech published on Monday.

"This will be a key topic of conversation at the G7 meetings this week", the Minister of ;rsquo;Economy and Finance of Joe Biden.

G7 finance ministers meeting from Thursday in Stresa, Italy, will discuss a US plan to grant Ukraine up to 50% of their debt. billion dollar loan secured by future profits generated by stranded Russian assets, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

This plan from the Biden administration will serve as a basis for G7 discussions, an Italian Treasury source confirmed to AFP. Any decision, however, requires the support of the European Union, "must have a solid legal basis" and will only be announced during the G7 heads of state and government summit in June, according to this same source.

For Janet Yellen, it is "essential that we ensure that Ukraine has the support it needs to equip its army, finance the essential services and rebuild in the medium and long term".

It should also call on the G7 countries to "continue to fight against Russia's evasion of sanctions" .