War - day 121: Zelensky ordered redeployment? Russia: There'll be consequences VIDEO

War - day 121: Zelensky ordered redeployment? Russia: There'll be consequences VIDEO

A Russian administration official was killed in Kherson, Ukraine.

The leaders of the European Union granted Ukraine and Moldova the announced status of official candidates for joining the European bloc, which is a brave geopolitical step that Kyiv and the EU itself welcomed as a "historic moment".

Russian forces are advancing towards the southern parts of Donbas. Fighting for Severodonetsk and neighboring Lysychansk is flaring up.

Divided by the river, those cities became a key battlefield in Russia's attack on the industrial heart of Donbas.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says that Moscow does not see any problems in allowing wheat-carrying ships to sail from Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea, and that it is only necessary to remove mines and organize their passage.

SBU: Ukrainian MP a member of the Russian spy network

The Ukrainian State Security Service (SBU) announced today that it has discovered a Russian spy network in which Ukrainian MP Andrii Derkach is involved, while the United States previously accused him of being a Russian agent.

The SBU states that Derkach, whose whereabouts are unknown, established a network of private companies to provide security services, which he used to facilitate and support the entry of Russian units into cities during Russia's attack on Ukraine, Reuters reports.

The statement quotes the testimony of Derkach's associate from the parliament, Ihor Kolykhaiev, when it is stated that he was arrested at the beginning of the war and that he was a link between Derkach and the Russian military intelligence service.

According to the SBU, Kolykhaiev said that Derkach's companies had to provide passage for Russian vehicles, enter armored vehicles with Russian flags and thus provide the Russian army with a peaceful entry into the city.

The SBU claims that Derkach received 3-4 million dollars every month for those services. He previously denied that he committed those crimes and claimed that he was targeted because he exposed corruption. The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Derkach in September 2020 due to, as it stated, attempts to influence the presidential elections held that year.

A statement from the Ministry stated at the time that he was "an active Russian agent for more than a decade."

Ukraine will allocate its spare units?

The Ukrainian army could deploy all its reserves from other directions to Lysychansk and Severodonetsk, said today Vitaliy Kiselyov, Assistant Minister of Internal Affairs of the Luhansk People's Republic (LNR).

"We are receiving insider information that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky allegedly ordered the redeployment of maximum reserves and forces from all fronts and directions from Odessa, Chernihiv, Poltava, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv regions to Lysychansk and Severodonetsk, in order to strengthen Kramatorsk and Slavyansk," he said for TASS.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov previously said that the Russian army broke through the Ukrainian defense and blocked Lysychansk from the south.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov previously said that the Russian army broke through the Ukrainian defense and blocked Lysychansk from the south.

Russian troops liberated 11 settlements during the blockade of Lysychank, Konashenkov said. The Ukrainian army could deploy all its reserves from other directions to Lysychansk and Severodonetsk, said today Vitaliy Kiselyov, Assistant Minister of Internal Affairs of the Luhansk People's Republic (LNR).

Russia: EU decision on Ukraine and Moldova will have negative consequences.

"We are receiving insider information that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky allegedly ordered the redeployment of maximum reserves and forces from all fronts and directions from Odessa, Chernihiv, Poltava, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv regions to Lisichansk and Severodonetsk, in order to strengthen Kramatorsk and Slavyansk," he said for TASS.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov previously said that the Russian army broke through the Ukrainian defense and blocked Lysychansk from the south. Russian troops liberated 11 settlements during the blockade of Lysychanks, Konashenkov said.

Air alarm in many regions of Ukraine