Ukraine: On the 100th day of the conflict, Russia is fighting for Donbass

The Russian invasion of Ukraine reached its 100th day on Friday, an offensive that has allowed Moscow to seize 20% of Ukrainian territory and focuses on the Donbass region (east) and its strategic city of Severodonetsk. “We have had some successes in the battle for Severodonetsk. But it's still too early, it's the most difficult zone right now,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday evening, referring to a similar situation in the surrounding areas, particularly in Lysychansk and Bakhmut.

Regarding the Donbass region as a whole, he said that the situation had not “changed significantly during the day.” He said earlier that the situation in the east was “really difficult (...) We are losing 60 to 100 soldiers a day, killed in combat, and some 500 are injured.” Severodonetsk, the administrative capital of the region, is “80% occupied” by Russian forces and fighting is raging in the streets, according to the governor of the Luhansk region Sergiy Gaidai. Russian forces currently control “about 20%” of Ukrainian territory, or nearly 125,000 square kilometers, the Ukrainian president said on Thursday.

Elizabeth II's jubilee: the queen absent on the 2nd day of celebrations

The British royal family meets Friday for a mass celebrating 70 years of Elizabeth II's historic reign, but the 96-year-old sovereign will not attend, apparently tired from the first day of festivities. Announcing her absence “reluctantly” on Thursday night, Buckingham Palace explained it as a “certain discomfort” during the first day of celebrations Thursday. The queen, who has difficulty walking, has appeared there twice on the balcony of the palace. The mass at St Paul's Cathedral is due to mark the first public appearance of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan in the UK since they left for California two years ago. The day before, to the delight of the tens of thousands of spectators gathered to kick off four days of festivities, however, the queen appeared twice on the palace balcony, smiling and dressed in a dove-blue outfit, leaning motionless on a cane.

Oil: OPE+ speeds up the pace and spares Russia

After months of waiting despite soaring prices, the members of OPEC+ decided to step up and boost their production, responding to calls from Westerners without upsetting Russia. The announcement on Monday by the 27 countries of the European Union of an embargo on most Russian oil increased fears of shortages and visibly changed the situation for the cartel, which underlines “the importance of stable and balanced markets.”

Representatives of the thirteen members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), led by Riyadh, and their ten partners led by Moscow agreed to increase July production “by 648,000 barrels per day,” according to a statement released after another flash meeting. The volume was previously set at 432,000 barrels. This is a turning point for OPEP+, which had limited itself since spring 2021 to modest increases in its quotas, with the aim of gradually returning to its levels before the Covid-19 pandemic.

IN SHORT

The ambassadors of EU countries approved a sixth package of sanctions against Moscow including an embargo, with exemptions, on oil purchases but renounced blacklisting the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, under pressure from Budapest, according to several diplomatic sources.

Western countries must prepare for a “long-term war of attrition” in Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned in Washington on Thursday after his meeting with US President Joe Biden.

Portugal drew 1-1 against Spain, the runner-up of the last edition, in Seville on the first day of the 2023 Nations League, in a match where Cristiano Ronaldo, who came on time, was very discreet.