Ukrainians have started to flee towns near the captured city of Avdiivka as Moscow’s troops advance across the front line.
President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russian troops would push further into Ukraine to build on their success on the battlefield after the fall of the town of Avdiivka, where he said Ukrainian troops had been forced to flee in chaos.
“Avdiivka is an absolute success, I congratulate you. It needs to be built on,” Putin told Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in the Kremlin.
The town, which once had a population of 32,000, fell to Russia on Saturday, a capture that is Russia’s biggest battlefield triumph since its forces seized Bakhmut in May 2023.
EU targets nearly 200 entities with Russian sanctions
The European Union this week approved a 13th package of sanctions against Russia, in what has been hailed as “one of the broadest” measures to date.
The fresh wave of sanctions targets nearly 200 entities and individuals accused of helping Moscow procure weapons or of involvement in kidnapping Ukrainian children.
The Belgian presidency said on X, “EU Ambassadors just agreed in principle on a 13th package of sanctions in the framework of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.”
The new package will see 193 entities and individuals added to the list of those banned from travelling to the EU or doing business there, but no fresh measures against specific economic sectors, EU diplomatic sources said.
Polish farmer flies pro-Putin banner during grain protests
Poland has threatened additional restrictions on Ukrainian food products as farmers displayed a pro-Putin banner.
Poland’s government has ramped up pressure on Ukraine as its farmers continue their blockade of the border in protest against the EU agricultural policy which permits cheap grain imports from Ukraine.
Polish farmers have used their tractors to block border crossings with Ukraine to protest against the grain shipments, which they say threaten their livelihoods, with one tractor flying a Soviet flag and bearing a poster that read: “Putin – sort out Ukraine, Brussels, and our government”.
“Either they want to reach an agreement with us, or we will have to introduce further restrictions on the import of Ukrainian goods,” Michal Kolodziejczak, the Polish Agriculture Minister, said.
Volodymyr Zelensky has called for emergency talks with the Polish president and prime minister as well as the European Union to resolve the situation.
Russia ‘increases ground attacks around Robotyne’
It is “highly likely” Russia has increased its ground attacks in and around southern Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense reported this week.
This is one of several points on the front line where Russia has intensified attacks within the last week in an attempt to “stretch Ukrainian forces”, it added.
The Robotyne axis in southern Ukraine was re-captured by Ukraine during its counteroffensive in summer 2023 and has remained on the front line ever since.
During the Ukrainian offensive, the Russian army and air force operating in the area sustained heavy casualties, but the ebb in tempo since – combined with a recruitment drive – have “likely enabled” Russian forces to reconstitute, the MoD said.
Three killed in Russian strikes
Three people died and 22 others were injured in Russian strikes over 24 hours on Wednesday.
The Russian attacks targeted nine regions of Ukraine in total, with casualties reported in Dnipro, Donetsk, Kherson, Kharkiv, and Sumy.
A strike on Kramatorsk injured at least seven people, with one buried under the rubble according to local military officials. One person was killed in the village of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk and two more were injured, the regional governor said.
Oleh Syniehubov, governor of the Kharkiv region, said a Russian drone strike on a civilian vehicle in Kupiansk killed two passengers and injured a third.
Elsewhere, three people were injured in strikes on the Nikopol district in Dnipro which also damaged power lines and a gas pipeline.
Vadim Filashkin, governor of Donetsk Oblast, said on Facebook that Russian troops launched 19 strikes against multiple settlements in total, destroying and damaging around 15 houses, 19 apartment buildings and two industrial buildings.
Biden to announce ‘major package’ of Russian sanctions
Washington has confirmed it will unveil a “major sanctions package” against Russia at the end of this week to hold Moscow “accountable” for the death of Alexei Navalny.
A state department spokesperson said: “As the White House announced this morning at President Biden’s direction, we will be announcing a major sanctions package on Friday to hold Russia accountable for Navalny’s death in prison.”
President Biden said there is “no doubt” the death of the Russian opposition leader in an arctic penal colony last week was a “consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did”.
Compiled by Ana Dumbadze
