Russia’s war against Ukraine: Day 116, June 19 – Update 2

Here are the latest developments in Russia’s war in Ukraine:

 – Ukraine war could last ‘years’, warns NATO chief –

The war in Ukraine could last “for years”, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warns in an interview published Sunday by German newspaper Bild, while reiterating calls for Western countries to provide long-term support to Kyiv.

“We must be prepared for this to last for years,” the secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization says.  “We must not weaken in our support of Ukraine, even if the costs are high — not only in terms of military support but also because of rising energy and food prices.”

He tells Bild that the food and fuel costs are nothing compared to the one paid daily by Ukrainians on the frontline, warning “we would have to pay an even greater price” if Russian President Vladimir Putin were to achieve Moscow’s goals in Ukraine.

– Ukraine says repulsed Russian attacks near Severodonetsk –

Ukrainian troops have repulsed Russian attacks on villages near the eastern city of Severodonetsk, where the two armies have fought bloody battles for weeks, Kyiv’s armed forces say Sunday.  “Our units repulsed the assault in the area of Toshkivka,” the Ukrainian army says on Facebook. “The enemy has retreated and is regrouping.”

It says Russian forces were “storming” towards the village of Orikhove, but that it has “successfully repulsed” an assault near the village.   A day earlier, officials said fierce battles were taking place in settlements outside Severodonetsk, which they say is mostly, but not entirely, under Russian control.

“All declarations by Russians that they control Severodonetsk are lies. Indeed, they control the majority of the city but they do not control it entirely,” local governor Sergiy Gaiday says on his Telegram Sunday.

– Zelensky vows to retake south – 

President Volodymyr Zelensky vows Sunday that his forces “will not give away the south to anyone” after his first visit to the southern frontline.  Making a rare trip outside Kyiv, where he is based for security reasons, Zelensky travels to the hold-out Black Sea city of Mykolaiv and visits troops nearby and in the neighbouring Odessa region for the first time since the Russian invasion.

“We will not give away the south to anyone, we will return everything that’s ours and the sea will be Ukrainian and safe,” he says in a video posted on Telegram as he makes his way back to Kyiv.

– Prepare for the long haul, UK’s PM tells Western allies –

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson warns allies to prepare for a long war in Ukraine, urging sustained support for Kyiv or risk “the greatest victory for aggression” since World War II.  In an article for The Sunday Times, Johnson says Ukraine’s foreign backers should hold their nerve to ensure it has “the strategic endurance to survive and eventually prevail”.

The British premier offers President Volodymyr Zelensky a ramped up military training programme to help in its fight against Russian forces.  He outlines a four-point plan for “constant funding and technical help”, levels of which should be maintained for “years to come” and potentially be increased.

– Germany takes emergency measures to meet energy needs –

Germany announces emergency measures including increased use of coal to ensure it meets its energy needs after a drop in supply of Russian gas.  “To reduce gas consumption, less gas must be used to generate electricity. Coal-fired power plants will have to be used more instead,” the economy ministry says in a statement.

The move comes after Moscow turned up the pressure last week on Western allies, sharply reducing flows of natural gas in its pipelines to western Europe, driving up energy prices.  Gazprom says the supply reductions via the Nord Stream pipeline are the result of repair work, but EU officials believe Moscow is punishing allies of Ukraine.