European leaders in Kiev; Severodonjek fight rages

Ukraine's military said Russia has concentrated its forces in the north of the Luhansk region and is trying to attack simultaneously in nine directions.

The hard fight in the Luhansk region continues”, said Valeriy Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

To show solidarity with Ukraine, some European leaders arrived Thursday morning in Kiev.

France's presidency said that the head of this state, Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, traveled to Kiev together, from Poland.

Romania's president, Klaus Iohannis, joined them in the Ukrainian capital. Speaking to reporters after arriving in Kiev, Macron said the leaders of the European Union's three biggest economies want to forward “the message of European solidarity” to Ukraine's president, Volody Zelensky.

Scholz added that EU leaders want “to show their support for Ukraine and the citizens of Ukraine”.

But we do not want to demonstrate only solidarity; we also want to ensure that the aid we organise financial and humanitarian, but even when it comes to weapons, we will continue”, Scholz said.

Earlier, Ukraine has criticised France, Germany and, to a move Italy has said, hesitations in their support for Kiev and has said they are slow in sending weapons.

On the battlefield, the war on Severodonjek continues for weeks. The capture of Severodonjeck ) the largest city in Luhansk, still under Ukraine's control, would enable Russian forces to advance to the cities of Slovansk and Kramatorsk, farther west.

The British Defence Ministry said in its daily intelligence bulletin that the situation continues to be extremely difficult for SeverodonJeck defenders.

British intelligence also noted the potential difficulties Russia has in replacing troops fallen into the battlefield.

“Sic is claimed by Ukrainian authorities, some tactical groups of Russian battalions usually created at about 600 to 800 members have managed to collect up to 30 of those”, British intelligence said.

The United Nations said about 12,000 civilians remain trapped in Severodonjeck with supplies nearly before the end. Many of them are sheltered in bunkers, under the nitrogen chemical plant.

The lack of water and sanitation is of great concern. It is a great concern for us because people cannot survive long without water”, UN Human Affairs Office spokesman Saviano Abreu told the BBC.

On June 15th, Russia has asked Ukrainian defenders, sheltered in the nitrogen factory, to give up the pointless “resistance and hand over weapons”. She has also promised a “humanitarian command” for civilians sheltered in the plant and for warriors, but Kiev has ignored the ultimatum.

The United States announced on Wednesday an additional arms package for Ukraine, worth about a billion dollars. The president of the United States, Joe Biden, said he informed President Zelensky of help through a telephone conversation.

Zelensky, in advance, has called for more heavy arms and more European Union sanctions against Russia.

Speaking Wednesday, ahead of a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels, the coalition's chief, Jens Stoltenberg, said there is an urgent “emergency need” to send more advanced weapons to Kiev, but warned that familiarising the Ukrainian Army with such weapons systems takes time. /Rel