Zelensky laments ‘terrifying’ human cost of Battle of Severodonetsk

5:55 am: Ukraine has lost “a quarter of its arable land”

Ukraine has lost a quarter of its cultivable land due to the Russian occupation of certain regions, in the south and east, its Ministry of Agriculture announced on Monday, without this however constituting « a threat to food security » of the country.

According to him, « consumption has also decreased due to massive displacements (of population) and external migrations », out of the country. More than seven million Ukrainians are internally displaced, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Added to this are 7.3 million who have fled abroad, more than half of them to Poland.

5:50 am: A new mass grave discovered near Boutcha

kyiv police announced the discovery of seven bodies on Monday in a new mass grave near Boutcha, a town near the capital where the bodies of civilians were found after the withdrawal of the Russian army at the end of March.

In a report published the same day, Amnesty International accused Russia of war crimes in Ukraine, saying that hundreds of civilians had died in relentless attacks on Kharkiv (northeast), carried out in particular with cluster bombs. .

5:45 am: The latest highlights on the ground

– Ukrainian forces admitted on Monday that they had abandoned the center of Severodonetsk following the Russian offensive. The two belligerents have been fighting over this key city in eastern Ukraine for weeks. According to the pro-Russian separatists fighting with the Russians in this region, the last Ukrainian divisions in Severodonetsk are now « blocked », after the destruction of the last bridge that led to the neighboring town of Lysychansk. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the « human cost » of this battle is « terrifying ».

– Pro-Russian separatists have also claimed that four people, including a child, were killed and 22 injured in « massive » shelling by kyiv forces on the city of Donetsktheir self-proclaimed capital.

– In northern Ukraine, three Russian missiles hit the town of Pryloukyand four villages have been ordered to evacuate for fear of fires sparked by shelling, Ukrainian authorities said on Monday.

5:45 am: Hello everyone, welcome to this live where we will follow the situation around the conflict in Ukraine, on the 111th day of the Russian invasion.