[Korrespondent] 22:43 Kuleba is convinced that Orban is personally interested in the removal of Ukrainian prisoners of war from Russia to Hungary: “There was one simple goal: Viktor Orban had to show the Hungarians both in Hungary and outside of Hungary that he is their only defender. This whole operation was implemented in the political interests of one person."
22:39 The Russians fired mortars at the Yunakiev community of the Sumy region: as a result of hitting a residential building, one person was killed, one was injured, the OVA reported.
22:24 ISW analysts and experts do not rule out that the Ukrainian military may temporarily suspend the counteroffensive. Read more in the material Operational pause in the counteroffensive: why it matters .
22:18 Zelensky said in an evening video message that Ukrainian troops are moving forward in parts of the directions, in parts they are defending positions and resisting assaults and intensified attacks by the invaders. "We have no lost positions. Only liberated ones. They have only losses. And in general, the situation of pressure, our pressure, which allows us to pave the way for our flag," the president added.
21:45 The death toll as a result of the explosion of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station has increased to 18, of which 14 - from drowning, four - from gunshot wounds during the evacuation. Missing - 31 people, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported. Water continues to recede, but 39 settlements and 818 houses remain flooded. 3773 people and 284 animals were evacuated.
21:17 Zelensky said that on the eve of the Conference on the restoration of Ukraine in London, which will be held on June 21-22, he discussed with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen further financial support for Ukraine and the prospects for the adoption of the 11th package of EU sanctions against Russia. "This week we expect the publication of an interim oral assessment of Ukraine's progress in implementing the recommendations of the European Commission," the president added.
20:58 Ukraine has fulfilled two of the seven conditions for starting negotiations on EU membership, Reuters reports citing sources. The criteria relate to judicial reform and media law.
20:22 Zelensky said that he had a telephone conversation with Prime Ministers of the Netherlands Mark Rutte and Denmark Matte Frederiksen: "He spoke about the current situation on the battlefield and the results of the visit of African leaders to Kiev. We discussed the necessary efforts to consolidate support for Ukraine by the countries of the Global South. In that and to involve these countries in the implementation of our Ten Step Peace Formula."
20:00 Zaluzhny said that, together with the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Sergei Shaptala, he worked in groupings of troops "performing the most difficult tasks in areas where the most fierce battles are taking place." "The enemy is trying to prevent the advance of our units. To do this, he deployed a system of fortifications with dense mining of the area and a large number of reserves. Despite the fierce resistance of the invaders, our soldiers are doing everything possible to liberate Ukrainian territory. The operation continues according to plan," the commander in chief said. APU and showed the video.
19:47 The Russians hit Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region from heavy artillery - one person was injured, 16 private houses, a gas pipeline and a power line were damaged, the head of the OVA, Serhiy Lysak, said.
19:36 Chinese leader Xi Jinping met today with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Experts and diplomats unanimously claim that their conversation is historical and unusual in terms of protocol. Read more in the material Frank talks .
19:05 On Thursday, June 22, the European Commission will give its first oral assessment of Ukraine as an EU candidate country within the framework of an informal meeting of the European Council on general issues, said Ana Pisonero, speaker of the EC.
19:03 The American company Lockheed Martin is ready to help Ukrainian pilots in the training and maintenance of their F-16 fighters, if NATO countries agree to send them to Kiev, said COO Frank St. John.
18:59 European Commission Speaker Peter Stano said that Hungary should explain its role in the release of 11 Ukrainian prisoners of war from Russia.
18:30 Zelensky said that he had a telephone conversation with World Bank President Ajay Banga: "I invited the World Bank to resume the work of the representative office in Ukraine. We are interested in cooperation in the course of the post-war transformation of Ukraine, including in overcoming corruption and reducing the share of cash in the Ukrainian economy ".
18:08 The Associated Press published a photograph of a car bomb at the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station nine days before it was blown up. The publication reports that it received a photo from the Ukrainian military - it was taken from a drone on May 28. The picture shows a car parked on a dam and probably filled with explosives. Journalists note that, according to Ukraine, the explosion occurred in the engine room of the dam, and a car with explosives could have been placed on top to enhance the effect of the explosion.
AP also believes that Ukraine could not destroy the dam, since it simply does not have missiles of sufficient power - with a payload of more than 500 kg. And the interviewed experts do not believe in the version with saboteurs who crossed the Dnieper with so many explosives and mined the hydroelectric power station.
17:25 After the destruction of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station and the shallowing of the reservoir, two-thirds of the Krivoy Rog agglomeration remained without Dnieper water, said the head of the GVA Alexander Vilkul. According to him, the water in the transit South Reservoir is left for a little more than a month. To compensate for the absence of the Kakhovka reservoir, about 11 million cubic meters of water per month will be needed. You can take it only from Karachun, and transfer it to Karachun from other reservoirs of the Dnieper cascade, which are upstream. Vilkul noted that four technical solutions are already being implemented, but now the most important thing is the most severe water savings.
16:56 Ukraine still has no evidence of Russia's deployment of nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus, said Fyodor Venislavsky, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence. At the same time, he added that the storage facilities for the location of nuclear weapons in Belarus are carefully prepared.
16:34 Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar reported on the difficult situation in the east: the enemy has pulled up its forces and is actively advancing in the Limansky and Kupyansky directions, trying to seize the initiative. Ukrainian forces do not allow the enemy to advance.
16:08 Russian media write that the Armed Forces of Ukraine this morning fired at Volnovakha from the MLRS in Donetsk region, the blow allegedly hit a "peaceful busy quarter", 20 people were injured.
15:57 China has assured that it will not provide lethal weapons to Russia, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said after meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. At the same time, he expressed concern about the possible provision by Chinese companies of technology that Russia could use to make weapons. "And we have asked the Chinese government to be very vigilant about this," Blinken added.
15:26 Britain will not lift sanctions against the Russian Federation until it pays compensation to Ukraine, the British Foreign Office told UP. It is assumed that the new legislative mechanism will also allow sanctioned Russians to donate frozen funds for the restoration of Ukraine.
15:19 Peskov said that Russia will not give UN representatives access to the occupied territories affected by the consequences of the explosion of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station, since it is unsafe "because of the ongoing shelling by the Ukrainian side." According to him, it will be "very difficult for UN representatives to ensure security," and there are "other nuances."
14:55 In Ukraine, more than 100 thousand hectares of agricultural land out of 470 thousand hectares identified for priority clearance have been demined and ready for use, said Minister of Economy Yulia Sviridenko.
14:24 Ukraine has spent more than $800 million on weapons that were never delivered or turned out to be in disrepair, writes The New York Times, citing documents from the Ukrainian government. In some cases, Kyiv transferred funds for weapons, but did not receive them; in some cases, a refund was made. According to the publication, the total amount of weapons bought by Ukraine at its own expense is billions of dollars.
13:58 Ukraine is taking active measures to return home 11 prisoners of war, whom Hungary secretly took out of Russia, but all attempts to establish a constructive dialogue with the Hungarian authorities through official diplomatic channels are ignored, Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said. According to him, in fact, Ukrainian captives are kept in isolation, do not have access to open sources of information, their communication with relatives takes place in the presence of third parties, they are denied contact with the Ukrainian embassy.
"Such actions by Budapest cast doubt on the declared humanitarian motives for the export of Ukrainians to Hungary. In addition, they can be qualified as a violation of the provisions of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms," Nikolenko stressed. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry once again appealed to the Hungarian side with a demand to immediately allow the Ukrainian consul to the Ukrainian prisoners of war, so that he could assess their physical and psychological condition, tell them about their rights, and provide urgent consular assistance.
13:29 Zelensky announced that he had held a meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief: “Today we focused as much as possible on two topics: the front and offensive brigades. Syrsky, Tarnavsky, Zaluzhny, Budanov reported: operational situation, provision of ammunition, forecast of enemy actions in the near future. Minister Klymenko reported on the training of brigades of the National Guard and border guards, providing them with equipment and everything necessary to carry out combat missions.
13:03 Ukrainian prisoners of war, whom Russia handed over to Hungary, continue to be considered captives. It is not yet known on what grounds they are there and why they are not being handed over to Ukraine, Ivan Angelin, adviser to the Commissioner for Missing Persons under Special Circumstances, told Suspilny. He added that the conditions of detention of Ukrainian captives are also unknown.
12:36 Zelensky said that he had a telephone conversation with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak - they discussed the course of hostilities, Ukraine's defense needs and the supply of long-range weapons.
12:12 The Ukrainian military hit the Russian helicopter Ka-52 Alligator on June 18 from MANPADS, Air Force speaker Yuriy Ignat told Radio Liberty: “In general, it’s normal to hit such equipment from MANPADS. Because helicopters are pressed to the ground as low as possible so as not to hit into the zone of destruction of medium-range anti-aircraft missile systems, such as Buk or S-300".
11:48 The vast majority of foreign electronics used by Russia to manufacture missiles are made in the USA - 81%. This is stated in a new document of the Yermak-McFaul sanctions group, which came into the possession of the LIGA. The second largest share after the US is for electronic components made in Switzerland (8%). 3.5% each - in Germany and Japan.
11:41 The average water level in the Kherson region continues to decline and is at around 80 cm, the OVA reported. Until now, five settlements on the right bank of the Dnieper remain flooded: Kherson, Belozerka, Dneprovskoye, Novogrednevo, Blagodatovka (843 houses remain under water).
10:57 In Simferopol, on the Evpatoria Highway, the car of the assistant to the "Deputy Prime Minister" of the occupied Zaporozhye region, Vladimir Epifanov, exploded. He, as well as his secretary and bodyguard, suffered severe burns, according to Mash. Presumably, a gas cylinder exploded in the car, which was checked the day before at a service station in Simferopol.
10:50 SBU detained an employee of the local station of Ukrzaliznytsia in the Dnipropetrovsk region, who, on behalf of his curator from Russian military intelligence, was going to blow up the railway in order to disrupt the supply of fuel, weapons and ammunition for the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the southeastern front. Now the Russian agent is in custody, he faces life imprisonment.
10:38 In the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, the number of crimes of Russians is increasing, said Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar. So, at the beginning of last week, in certain settlements of the Kherson region, the invaders carried out a surprise raid to identify residents who refuse to receive Russian citizenship. To those who did not have a Russian passport or a supporting document to apply for it, the occupiers used severe physical force, some people were detained. The fate of many of the detainees remains unknown.
On June 13, in Debaltseve, Donetsk region, Russian servicemen committed a large-scale robbery of local enterprises, infrastructure facilities, household appliances stores, and grocery chains. The loot was loaded into military vehicles, the column of which left in the direction of the Luhansk region.
In Pokrovsky, Zaporozhye region, an engineering unit of Russian troops last week carried out chaotic mining of private summer cottages of local residents. In addition, separate sections of field roads and asphalt roadsides were mined. The occupiers did not install any relevant warnings on the ground about mines.
10:00 OK Pivden speaker Natalya Gumenyuk warned that in the coming days, the Russians will receive a new supply of Iranian drones and may intensify attacks on Ukraine.
09:39 British intelligence reports that Russia is transferring the military from the Kherson direction to Zaporozhye and Bakhmutskoe. According to analysts, several thousand military personnel of the 49th Army, including a motorized rifle brigade, as well as airborne troops and marines, could potentially be deployed. According to intelligence, this indicates that Russia considers a major Ukrainian attack across the Dnieper unlikely after the collapse of the Kakhovka dam.
09:27 At night, the Russians massively shelled Kherson, which caused several fires at once, the State Emergency Service reported. In particular, there was a fire in a gas tank at one of the gas stations in the city. Another fire broke out on the territory of one of the enterprises - warehouses, exhibition halls and outbuildings were on fire.
08:48 Russia refuses to let the UN humanitarian mission to the left bank of the Kherson region, said UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine Denise Brown. She called on the Russian Federation to act in accordance with international humanitarian law - not to refuse assistance to people who need it.
08:41 At night, the Russians attacked in the southern and eastern directions with four Kalibr cruise missiles and four Shahed-136/131 attack drones. All eight air targets were destroyed, the Air Force command said. Launches of cruise missiles were carried out from a submarine in the Black Sea, drones - from the eastern coast of the Sea of ​​Azov.
08:34 "Head" of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov said that at night in the north of the peninsula, air defense "worked normally" on two drones flying at low altitude. And the governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine allegedly fired on the Valuysky urban district, seven people were injured, including a child.
08:26 The defense forces have liberated Pyatikhatki, Zaporozhye region, said Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar. According to her, during the offensive operations in the Berdyansk and Melitopol directions within two weeks, units of the Tavria operational-strategic group of troops liberated eight settlements in total: Novodarovka, Levadnoe, Storozhevoe, Makarovka, Blagodatnoye, Lobkovoe, Neskuchnoye and Pyatikhatki. The units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Tauride direction advanced deep into the enemy up to 7 km, the area liberated in the south is 113 square meters. km.
In the east, the enemy is trying to stop the advance of Ukrainian troops in the Bakhmut direction, deployed additional units there and increased the number of shelling. The overall intensity of the fighting in this direction decreased last week, however, the fighting continued, the Defense Forces advanced deep into the enemy in several areas. The enemy also continued to advance last week in the Limano-Kupyansky, Avdeevsky and Maryinsky directions. "We have not lost a single meter of land in these directions," Malyar stressed.
08:17 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of June 19.
- personnel - about 220,450 (+630) people liquidated,
- tanks - 3989 (+5),
- armored combat vehicles - 7735 (+6),
- artillery systems - 3865 (+18),
- MLRS - 610 (+0),
- air defense systems - 370 (+6),
- aircraft - 314 (+0),
- helicopters - 305 (+1),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 3383 (+12),
- cruise missiles - 1211 (+0),
- ships/boats - 18 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 6613 (+42),
- special equipment - 526 (+4).
07:50 At night, the Russians attacked the Odessa region with Caliber cruise missiles fired from the Black Sea from an underwater rocket carrier. The air defense forces destroyed all four missiles as they approached the coast, OK Pivden reported.
07:28 The Russian army continues to focus its main efforts on the Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Maryinsky directions - 24 military clashes occurred during the day, the General Staff said in the morning report .