22:29 German howitzers will arrive in Ukraine in the coming days, German Ambassador Anka Feldhusen said on the air of the telethon. And within three to six weeks, according to her, HIMARS, which are supplied jointly with Britain and the United States, will be added to them. HIMARS are now being assembled in Europe and Ukrainian soldiers are being trained to use them.
Also, closer to October, modern anti-ballistic systems, which Scholz announced, are expected - at the moment they are still being manufactured.
22:23 The number of people injured as a result of rocket attacks on an oil depot in the Novomoskovsky district of the Dnipropetrovsk region has increased to 11 people, one of whom is in serious condition, said the head of the OVA, Valentin Reznichenko.
21:39 Since the beginning of the war, Ukraine has received a total of about 7.4 billion dollars from external partners, said the first deputy head of the NBU, Yekaterina Rozhkova, on the air of the telethon. She also said that the gold and foreign exchange reserves of the National Bank are declining, but at the moment they are enough to ensure critical imports, including defense ones.
21:27 Scholz called for reforming the EU to facilitate the admission of new members. In an interview with the dpa agency, the chancellor said that not only the candidate countries, but also the EU itself must prepare for the enlargement of the bloc: "To do this, it must modernize its structures and decision-making processes. It is not always possible to unanimously adopt everything that should be unanimously taken today." Scholz promised to raise this issue at the EU summit in Brussels on June 23-24.
21:23 Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, Zelensky has been tried to be killed at least five times, said NSDC Secretary Oleksiy Danilov in an interview with The Globe And Mail: “The Russian attack on Ukraine included five separate attempts to kill Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. All of them were committed in late February and early March.
21:10 Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte said that "Ukraine must win, this is very important. In any case, we must do everything possible to bring Ukrainians closer to this victory," writes De Telegraaf. Rutte also said that the Netherlands, together with Germany, would send armored howitzers to Ukraine.
21:07 Russia is preparing a large-scale offensive in the Donbass, said the head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration Sergei Gaidai: "We are waiting for large offensives in the Luhansk region in the coming days. The Russians have thrown all their reserves into the Severodonetsk and Bakhmut directions. They are trying to establish full control over the regional center."
20:59 InformNapalm reports that over the past 72 hours, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have destroyed at least seven military depots of the Russian Federation in ORDLO. The targets were destroyed by high-precision strikes: seven strikes - seven objects.
"At the same time, the locals know that the rashists are trying to" blur the successes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine" by shooting through the city center with smaller calibers (they carry out typical actions characterized as "false flag" operations) in order to intimidate the local population and interrupt rumors about the high accuracy of the work of the Armed Forces of Ukraine exclusively in warehouses. ammunition," InformNapalm notes.
20:48 In the Novomoskovsky district of the Dnipropetrovsk region, three Russian missiles destroyed an oil depot, a strong fire broke out, which is extinguished by rescuers. Three people were injured, they were hospitalized with burns, said the head of the OVA, Valentin Reznichenko.
20:12 The Armed Forces of Ukraine repelled the assault in the direction of Sirotino, the Russians have partial success in the village of Metelkino (a suburb of Severodonetsk), they are trying to gain a foothold, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.
19:47 In the Izyum region, the Russians fired at a gas processing plant. According to preliminary data, several rockets were hit, and private houses were also damaged. There was a large-scale fire, rescuers localize it, said the head of the Kharkiv OVA Oleg Sinegubov.
19:33 The curfew in the Sumy region will be reduced - starting from June 20, it will operate from 23:00 to 04:00, said the head of the OVA Dmitry Zhivitsky.
18:52 Zelensky, following the Nikolaev region, arrived in Odesa, inspected the stronghold, weapons samples and the shooting range of the units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
18:18 Shmygal said that in July the Cabinet of Ministers will present a plan for the restoration of Ukraine - United24: "We rely on a regional approach that provides for the guardianship of one of the partner countries over a specific region or industry." According to the prime minister, the total size of the program is estimated at 500-600 billion euros.
18:14 More than 60 servicemen of the Russian Federation deserted from the hostel in Mikhailovka, Vasilyevsky district, where the Russians settled, the Defense Forces of the Zaporozhye Territory reported.
17:53 The quick capture of the Kherson region was made possible thanks to the betrayal of a previously recruited SBU officer, Assistant Head of the Regional Directorate of the Security Service Igor Sadokhin, head of the Kherson Regional Council Oleksandr Samoylenko told Ukrinform: "It is believed that it was he who issued the minefield net to the enemy and coordinated the actions of Russian aviation, when he accompanied the convoy of the Kherson SBU to the evacuation. He was detained back in March. And after the inspection, as I understand it, the President of Ukraine dismissed Serhiy Krivoruchko from the post of the head of the SBU in the Kherson region and deprived him of his general rank. Law enforcement officers are also working there now."
17:49 On the ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, 20 Caliber-type cruise missiles are ready to launch, the operational command Pivden reported. Also in OK reported that Russians continue artillery and mortar attacks of settlements in the Nikolaev area. During June 18, the enemy shelled the Shirokovskaya and Bereznovatskaya communities, damaging houses and farm buildings.
17:27 Today, another exchange of prisoners took place according to the "5 to 5" formula - five citizens of Ukraine returned home, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense reported. All those released are civilians illegally held by the occupying forces. Four civilians were captured by the invaders during the fighting in the Kyiv region, three of them during the occupation of Gostomel. We also managed to return the body of one deceased defender of Ukraine.
16:54 In Donetsk today they are shelling the very center - the Voroshilovsky district. According to local publics, shells are hitting Universitetskaya Street near the Zvezdochka cinema, the area of ​​the Donbass Arena stadium and the Expodonbass exhibition complex is also being shelled.
16:32 Odessa authorities are planning to partially open the coast for recreation, Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky said. According to him, now passes the selection of safe areas for swimming. At the same time, the minister stressed that in most places in Odessa today it is still dangerous to swim.
16:07 Johnson supported the holding of Eurovision 2023 in Ukraine: "There is still a whole year ahead. Everything will be fine before the start of Eurovision, and I hope that the Ukrainians will receive it."
15:44 Zelensky awarded the head of the Nikolaev OVA Vitaly Kim and the mayor of Nikolaev Alexander Senkevich with the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky III degree. The rank of Brigadier General was awarded to Colonel Andrey Gnatov.
15:28 The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that "high-precision weapons" in the regions of Kremenchug and Lysichansk destroyed "oil refining capacities and storage facilities with fuel for Ukrainian military equipment." Earlier, the authorities of the Poltava OVA reported that it was the Kremenchuk Oil Refinery, which had not been operating for a long time.
15:14 Russian media report that "Ukrainian terrorists" have made an attempt on the head of the Department of the Execution of Punishments in the Kherson region Yevgeny Sobolev - he is in the hospital with injuries.
14:45 Zelensky, during a working trip to the Mykolaiv region, held a meeting on the current situation in the region, visited the hospital and advanced positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
14:22 The commander of the Azov regiment, temporarily replacing the captured Denis Prokopenko, was Nikita Nadtochy (call sign "One-Two"), said ex-commander of Azov Maxim Zhorin. According to him, the mission of Nadtochey is to assemble and prepare the regiment for the continuation of combat missions. Nadtochy was the commander of the second battalion of the regiment, he was seriously wounded in Mariupol and was evacuated by helicopter.
13:49 The executive committee of the Nikolaev City Council banned the use of the Russian language in the city's schools from September 1. The functioning of grades 1-4 with the Russian language of instruction is prohibited. Also banned is the study of the Russian language as a subject, course or elective for grades 1-11. These measures apply to all communal educational institutions.
13:36 The occupiers fired rockets at the Inhulets district of Krivoy Rog. According to preliminary information from the head of the Dnepropetrovsk OVA, Valentin Reznichenko, two people were injured.
13:00 The book of the executioners of the Ukrainian people has begun work , Yermak said. The site contains detailed and verified information about Russian war criminals: https://russian-torturers.com/
12:42 The sanctions Action Plan of the McFaul-Yermak group has already been implemented by 48%, Yermak said. He recalled that the United States introduced new financial restrictions, Switzerland joined the sixth package of EU sanctions, and the UK imposed sanctions against Patriarch Kirill.
"However, so far there has been no progress in sanctions in the energy and transport sectors. We are also waiting for Russia to be recognized as a sponsor of terrorism. The Kremlin continues to blackmail Europe by reducing gas supplies to Germany by 60% and to Italy by 15%," Yermak wrote.
12:18 Danilov denied the data on a large number of dead Ukrainian soldiers: "They say that every day we have 200, 300 or more people die at the front. Some even said about 1000 ... They have no way to get such information."
The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council noted that he does not know why they make such loud statements, and whether they are aimed at "putting pressure" on Ukraine's Western partners in order to stimulate a more active transfer of weapons to the Ukrainian army, but "you must answer for your words - this is people's lives."
Earlier, Arakhamia, who was on a visit to Washington, said that up to 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers are killed or injured in the Donbas every day, of which an average of 200 to 500 are killed.
11:47 Military assistance from the United States under the Lend-Lease procedure has not yet begun, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Alexei Danilov said. According to him, it is not known exactly when the weapons will start to arrive: “It could be July, August, or maybe September. There will be lend-lease, the question is when. For some, a day is like a day, but for us it is a completely different dimension."
10:52 Kuleba told Foreign Affairs magazine that Putin will negotiate if Ukraine manages to push Russian troops far enough. But to do this, Kyiv needs a weapon "that will prove that the West wants to help us really win, and not just keep us from losing."
The head of the Foreign Ministry acknowledged that war weariness is growing in the world, hence the calls for Ukraine to compromise. Decision makers in African, Arab and Asian states support Ukraine but politely invite it to stop resisting. But Ukraine's mission, according to Kuleba, is to significantly weaken Russia, allowing the US and the rest of the world to seriously negotiate with a "submissive and more constructive" Moscow.
10:47 Ukraine may resume negotiations with the Russian Federation after it conducts counter-offensives in August , Arakhamia said: "The end of August. We do not want to share our plans with the Russians, because they can see it in open sources. But I think we will counter-offensive operation in some places."
10:16 The missiles that hit Kremenchug this morning were fired from the territory of the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation, said the head of the Poltava OVA Dmitry Lunin. Fires at refineries and thermal power plants have already been extinguished. According to him, there is a lot of destruction at the plant - it will not be possible to launch it this year. The thermal power plant will undergo enhanced repairs in order to provide heat to the residents of Kremenchuk by the beginning of the heating season.
10:10 British intelligence reports that in Severodonetsk, Russia continues to practice unilateral declaration of humanitarian corridors, which is a mechanism for manipulating the space of hostilities and forcibly relocating the population.
Analysts believe that the Ukrainians blocked in Severodonetsk are likely to be "suspicious" about using the proposed corridor. In addition, the route proposed by the Russians leads to the occupied territory. If civilians refuse to be evacuated along the Russian humanitarian corridor, this will be an excuse for the Russians, why they hit not only military targets.
According to intelligence, in the last 48 hours, Russia may have resumed efforts to move south of Izyum with the aim of moving deep into the Donetsk region and encircling Severodonetsk from the north.
10:08 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the enemy on the morning of June 18. The enemy suffered the greatest losses in the Slavic, Bakhmut and Krivoy Rog directions.
personnel - about 33,350 (+200) people liquidated,
tanks - 1465 (+9),
armored combat vehicles - 3573 (+10),
artillery systems - 739 (+5),
MLRS - 233 (+0),
air defense systems - 98 (+1),
aircraft - 216 (+1),
helicopters - 180 (+0),
UAVs of the operational-tactical level - 594 (+1),
cruise missiles - 129 (+0),
ships/boats - 14 (+1),
automotive equipment and tankers - 2513 (+17),
special equipment - 55 (+0).
09:35 The situation in the Lugansk region is difficult, but controlled, said the head of the OVA Serhiy Gaidai. According to him, the fiercest battles are taking place near Severodonetsk, Toshkovka and Zolote are being heavily shelled. The invaders cannot come closer to Lisichansk, so they simply shoot the city.
09:09 The first commander of the Azov regiment Andrey Beletsky said that absolutely all the defenders of Azovstal, regardless of the unit, are in Yelenovka in the "DPR". A small part of them are in medical institutions in Novoazovsk and Donetsk, but when their condition is stabilized, they are sent to the same Yelenovka, to a prison camp.
According to Beletsky, it is theoretically possible to exchange the wounded in the near future. "As for the exchange of all the fighters of Azovstal, this is more difficult, but let's hope that if not June, then July-August will become the months of Ukrainian victories, the months of boilers for the Russians, our exchange fund will increase significantly, and we will see our comrades and brothers here," Beletsky said.
08:39 The head of the Poltovsk OVA, Dmitry Lunin, specified that six Russian missiles hit the Kremenchug oil refinery, which was not working anyway, and two more missiles hit the thermal power plant. There were no casualties. This is not the first time that the enemy has attacked these facilities; during the full-scale war, oil refineries and thermal power plants were subjected to the greatest attacks and destruction among the entire infrastructure of the Poltava region.
08:36 In the Luhansk region, the invaders launched airstrikes on Sirotin and Borovsk, hostilities continue in Severodonetsk, the Russians unsuccessfully tried to conduct assault operations outside the city, said the head of the OVA, Sergei Gaidai.
08:34 The Russians again fired at the Krivoy Rog district of the Dnipropetrovsk region, said the head of the OVA, Valentin Reznichenko. The enemy hit the village of Velikaya Kostromka several times from artillery, there is destruction, people were not injured.
08:18 Due to hostilities, Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, was left without water - the Karlovskaya filtration station was de-energized, Mayor Ruslan Trebushkin said.
08:04 After each "artillery duel", on average, two out of six M777 howitzers have to be taken away for repairs, Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Denis Sharapov said in an interview with National Defense. According to him, the nodes of these guns are damaged by debris from the "arrivals" of shells, which indicates the fierceness of the counter-battery fight.
07:50 The Armed Forces of Ukraine inflicted serious losses on the Russian invaders in Donbas, the General Staff reports in the morning summary . So, not far from Gorsky, Berestovoye and Kodema, after unsuccessful assault actions, the invaders retreated. Units of the 11th separate motorized rifle regiment of the 1st Army Corps suffered significant losses and were withdrawn from the combat area to restore combat capability.
07:41 At night, the Armed Forces of Ukraine shot down two cruise missiles over the Odessa region, launched from the Crimea, said the speaker of the Odessa OVA Sergey Bratchuk.
07:29 The invaders fired at Kremenchug, from six to eight Russian missiles hit the oil refinery and other infrastructure, said the head of the Poltava OVA Dmitry Lunin.
05:34 The United States will help Ukraine with the heating season, Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko said following a meeting with US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink. They discussed, in particular, the increase in the supply of nuclear fuel by the American company Westinghouse. So Ukraine will be able to abandon the nuclear assemblies of the Russian Federation at nuclear power plants.
05:01 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports that Ukrainian forces are likely to conduct a counteroffensive northwest of Izyum to push back Russian troops from the advance on Slovyansk. Also, Ukrainian troops seek to disrupt Russian supply routes. In this counter-offensive, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have achieved little success, analysts say.
01:17 Washington's sale to Ukraine of four MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones is under threat due to US fears that this sophisticated equipment could fall into the hands of the Russians, Reuters writes, citing its sources. The sales warning was issued during an in-depth review by the Pentagon's Defense Technology Security Office, which is tasked with keeping expensive technology out of the hands of the enemy.
The decision to extend the agreement is being considered by higher authorities in the Pentagon, but the timing of the decision is not clear. One solution would be to replace the existing radar and sensor suite with something less complex, sources say, but that could take months.