The Russian Invasion|

The Russian Invasion|The Battles
Ukraine: Civilians used as human shields

Russia has captured tens of civilians in Vovtyansk in the Kharkiv region, and is using them as "human shields". This is claimed by Serhiy Bolvinov, head of the local police investigation unit, according to CNN.

According to Bolvinov, about 40 civilians are being held in a basement of the headquarters set up by the Russian assault forces, and are being interrogated by Russians who claim to be members of the FSB security service.

Those captured are "mostly elderly who did not want to evacuate until the last moment", and who were captured when they finally chose to flee towards Ukrainian-controlled territory. 

CNN has not been able to verify the information.

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Zelenskyy expects the offensive to intensify

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi expects the Russian offensive in northeastern Ukraine to intensify. He says so in an interview with the news agency AFP.

He says the Russian forces advanced between five and ten kilometers to the west before Ukraine managed to stop the offensive.

- I wouldn't call it a great success (for Russia), but we have to look soberly at the situation and realize that they are getting deeper into our territory, says Zelensky.

He describes the situation as "controlled but not stabilized".

In the interview, Zelenskyy says he does not want a ceasefire during the summer Olympics, as this could give Russia an opportunity to transport new soldiers and heavy weapons to Ukraine.

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The Russian invasion|The response of the outside world
Poland reinforces the border to the east for billions

Poland is to invest 2.5 billion euros, almost SEK 30 billion, in strengthening the border with Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. This was announced by Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Saturday, according to AP.

The project goes by the name "Eastern Shield" and includes, among other things, a system of various fortifications and reshaping of the terrain.

- We have started this work to make the Polish border safe in peacetime, and impenetrable to the enemy in wartime, says Tusk.

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Called: Russia uses refugees as weapons

Russia is using refugees as a weapon to divide Europe. That's what Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas warned during a speech in Tallinn on Friday, writes The Guardian.

According to Kallas, Russia knows that precisely migration and refugee reception is Europe's weak point, and the Russian strategy is to make it so difficult for people to live in Ukraine that they are forced to flee to the West. She points out that Russia has acted in the same way before, including during the Syrian war and during various conflicts in Africa.

- They push migrants across the border, create problems for Europeans and use it as a weapon, because in accordance with human rights you have to receive these people. And that is, of course, grist to the far-right's mill, Kallas said.