Heading towards World War III?

Intense street to street fighting is ongoing in the key eastern city of Severodonetsk and both Ukrainian and Russian sides are likely suffering high numbers of casualties, the UK’s Ministry of Defence has said in its latest intelligence update.

However, Russian forces have not made advances into the south of city, the MoD says.

It adds that Russia is massing fires with its artillery and air capabilities, in an attempt to overwhelm Ukrainian defences.

www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-61764008

US President Joe Biden has said that his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky "didn't want to hear" American warnings ahead of Russia's invasion of his country.

"I know a lot of people thought I was exaggerating," Biden said at a fundraiser yesterday, referring to his forewarning of the possibility of a Russian attack.

"But I knew we had data to sustain (the assessment)," he said, adding that there was no doubt that Russian President Vladimir Putin was going to "go into the border" and "Zelensky didn't want to hear it, nor did a lot of people".

www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-61764008

Returning to Kyiv on Saturday for a meeting with Ukrainian president Zelenskiy, she said they will discuss Ukraine’s reconstruction and progress towards European Union membership.

www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/jun/11/russia-ukraine-war-latest-news-putin-zelenskiy-live

Russian diplomats called out the news agency Reuters on Friday for not noticing that a Ukrainian man they identified only as a “local resident” in the city of Kharkov had an elaborate Nazi tattoo on his arm.

“We’ve fixed your oopsie, Reuters,” the Russian arms control mission in Vienna tweeted on Friday, putting a red circle around the man’s tattoo and posting an enlarged image alongside, showing it more clearly.

“In case you forgot, a Nazi is a Nazi is a Nazi,” the mission added.

The diplomats called the photo “another propaganda stunt to slander Russia.” Reuters had captioned the photo as the aftermath of an alleged Russian strike on a residential area of Kharkov. Moscow has consistently denied attacking civilian infrastructure, insisting it only targets military objects.

www.rt.com/russia/556967-reuters-swastika-tattoo-ukraine

Germany should brace for a difficult autumn and winter due to skyrocketing prices, as the country pushes for independence from Russian energy, German Vice Chancellor and head of the Ministry of Economy Robert Habeck said on Friday in Berlin.

“As for the support of the people who need it, I clearly indicated what is ahead of us and what is already partially a reality... we are facing a very difficult autumn and a very tough winter,” he said, as cited by RIA Novosti.

Habeck made the prediction as he presented a new energy saving initiative of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). Berlin is planning to replace Russian coal and oil by the end of the year and stop importing Russian gas by 2024, and is struggling to find alternative energy sources. According to the vice chancellor, energy prices are already extremely high and “many people will get significantly higher bills than usual” in the upcoming heating season.

www.rt.com/business/556975-germany-difficult-heating-season-warning

The Ukrainian Armed Forces can admit to having lost around 10,000 personnel since the beginning of the Russian military offensive in late February, presidential aide Alexey Arestovich indicated on Friday, while claiming Moscow’s losses are significantly higher.

Russian sources believe that Kiev is significantly underestimating its casualties.

www.rt.com/russia/556981-arestovich-losses-ukraine-russia