June 14, 2022

*) Fierce fighting in Ukraine's Donbass region President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the battle for the eastern Donbass will go down as one of the most brutal in European history. The region, comprising the provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk, is claimed by Russian separatists. Zelenskyy said "for us, the price of this battle is very high. It is just scary," adding, "we draw the attention of our partners daily to the fact that only a sufficient number of modern artillery for Ukraine will ensure our advantage." *) Sievierodonetsk under siege Russian forces have laid siege to the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk, destroying the last bridges into the industrial hub. The cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk have been targeted for weeks as the last areas in the eastern Donbass region of Luhansk still under Ukrainian control. Ukraine's forces had been pushed back from Sievierodonetsk's centre after a weeks-long Russian offensive, said regional governor Sergei Gaidai. *) Türkiye to start transferring gas from Black Sea in early 2023 Türkiye will start transferring 10 million cubic metres of natural gas daily from the Sakarya Gas Field in the Black Sea to the national transmission system in the first quarter of 2023, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said. First gas transmission is planned to be delivered through a 150-kilometre-long subsea pipeline that Türkiye will construct to run from the field to onshore where it will be connected to the national gas grid. Türkiye sees energy as "the key to regional cooperation, and not an area of tension and conflict," Erdogan said. *) UK to send first refugees to Rwanda The British government is preparing to send a first plane carrying failed asylum seekers to Rwanda despite legal bids and protests against the controversial policy. A chartered plane was to leave one of London's airports overnight and land in Kigali on Tuesday, campaigners said on Monday, after UK judges rejected an appeal against the deportations. Claimants had argued that a decision o