Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 118

Employees of the Liubotinsky Lyceum of Railway Transport and local residents examine the ruins of an administrative building destroyed by a Russian rocket, in Lyubotyn, Kharkiv File: Sergey Bobok/AFP]

Here are the key events so far on Tuesday, June 21.

Get the latest updates here.

Fighting

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the eastern cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk are seeing the “most difficult” fighting. Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai said Lysychansk was shelled non-stop on Monday and Russian forces have entered the industrial part of Severodonetsk, where an estimated 500 civilians are sheltering in the Azot chemical plant.
• The coming week is set to be decisive for Russian efforts to take Severodonetsk, the Institute for the Study of War cited Ukrainian officials as saying.
• Zelenskyy claimed Russia is planning a renewed attack on Kharkiv after Moscow withdrew its forces from the city and region in mid-May.
• Moscow is holding more than 1,500 Ukrainian civilians in Russian prisons, according to Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.

Diplomacy

• Russia warned NATO member Lithuania that unless it lifts a new ban on the transit of goods to Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Sea, Moscow will take undisclosed measures to defend its national interests. Russia’s foreign ministry will summon the European Union ambassador to Moscow on Tuesday over the dispute, the governor of Kaliningrad said.
• A referendum on Ukraine’s occupied region of Kherson becoming a part of Russia will be held this autumn, the Moscow-backed authorities in the region said.
• The Russian co-winner of last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, journalist Dmitry Muratov, sold his medal for $103.5m at an auction to raise money for children displaced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• Actor Ben Stiller visited Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Monday, telling him: “You’re my hero.”

It was an honour to meet President @ZelenskyyUa on #WorldRefugeeDay as part of my visit with UNHCR @Refugees to stand in solidarity with people forced to flee in Ukraine and worldwide, and bring more attention to the humanitarian situation. @Refugees #WithRefugees pic.twitter.com/zpNpva233j

— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) June 20, 2022

Economy

• China’s crude oil imports from Russian soared by 55 percent in May compared with a year earlier, displacing Saudi Arabia as its top supplier.
• Europe’s biggest Russian gas buyers are racing to find alternative fuel supplies and even looking at burning more coal to compensate and avoid a possible energy crisis next winter.