[Korrespndent] 23:52 The decision on the status of a candidate for Ukraine was made "in 30 seconds," Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Olga Stefanishyna said on the air of the telethon. According to her, immediately after the discussion about the Balkan countries, there was a mood for a difficult consideration of the issue of Ukraine - and suddenly information came that the decision had been made.
The Deputy Prime Minister named the third country that hesitated over Ukraine - this is Portugal, which has long maintained skepticism. As for Hungary, according to the Deputy Prime Minister, Zelensky's conversation with Orban on the eve of the EU summit played an important role.
22:59 Zelensky said in an evening video message that “Russian missile strikes are not just the destruction of our infrastructure, they are also very cynical, calculated pressure on the emotions of our people, able to break the spirit of Ukrainians."
The President recalled that the fifth month of a full-scale war began today: "The occupiers were going to capture most of our country on the fifth day, but they were forced to arrange such a missile display for the fifth month, which strategically does not change anything for Russia."
The head of state also said that on Monday, June 27, he would participate in the G7 summit: "The NATO summit will also be held this week. 45 missiles in half a day - and just on the eve of the meetings. Everything is clear. Another confirmation of our position. This is confirmation, that sanctions packages against Russia are not enough, more armed assistance is needed for Ukraine, and air defense systems - modern systems that our partners have - should not be in training grounds or in storage, but in Ukraine, where they are needed now.
22:47 The status of a candidate member of the EU gives Ukraine access to financial assistance and support programs totaling 14 billion euros, Adviser to the Prime Minister Kirill Kryvolap said on the air of the telethon. According to him, Kyiv will also get access to EU structural funds: "Ukraine can count on 90 billion euros a year of international assistance for 2-2.5 years."
22:45 Ukrainians who have entered Russia will be allowed to cross the border even without documents, Vereshchuk said on the air of the telethon: "We have an agreement with the border guards - if the Ukrainians manage to reach the border with Ukraine, we will let them through without passports, without identity documents.” "The main thing is to find a way to return home. Call us, we will help with tickets, help with passport documents."
According to her, the Russian-Ukrainian border is closed, so now people get back to Ukraine through third countries - mainly Estonia and Latvia. The Ministry of Reintegration intends to launch free buses from these countries.
22:39 Switzerland can start providing consular services to Russia and Ukraine, Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said, BBC reports. According to Kassis, Ukraine asked Switzerland for such a service - to provide consular assistance to its citizens who now live in Russia. And now, according to him, retaliatory negotiations are continuing with Moscow.
In a similar pattern - in the absence of diplomatic relations after the 2008 war - Switzerland helps Georgian citizens in Russia and Russians in Georgia. The Swiss embassy in Tbilisi has a department of Russian interests, and the embassy in Moscow has a department of Georgian interests.
22:06 As a result of today's attacks by Russians on the city of Sarny, Rivne region, three people were killed and four injured, said the head of the OVA Vitaliy Koval. Rescue robots continue.
22:03 Russia is not ready for serious negotiations, Igor Zhovkva, deputy head of the Presidential Office, said on the air of the telethon: "The main 'negotiations' are taking place on the battlefield." Zhovkva is sure that the topic of negotiations with the Russian Federation will not be the main one either at the OSCE summit or at the G7 summit.
21:57 Russia must respect all the rights of British citizens Sean Pinner and Aiden Aslin "sentenced" in the "DNR", British Ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons said: "This is a fictitious case. It is completely unacceptable to talk about them as mercenaries. They are not mercenaries. "They are prisoners of war. They fought on the basis of the same contract as the Ukrainians, on the same terms as the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They have rights that Russia violates. That is why Russia must respect their rights." Simmons assured that everything possible is being done to free the British.
21:46 The leaders of the G7 countries have previously agreed on an embargo on Russian gold, Reuters reports citing sources. Gold exports are the second largest source of profit in the Russian state budget after energy exports. The 48th G7 Leaders' Summit will be held at the Bavarian castle of Elmau in Germany from 26 to 28 June.
21:34 In the Krasnopolsky community of the Sumy region this afternoon, two Russian helicopters, without flying into the territory of Ukraine, fired six missiles at one of the villages, said the head of the OVA Dmitry Zhivitsky. As a result, civilian infrastructure was destroyed and damaged - a hospital, a cultural center, a library, a school. The enemy also dropped two munitions onto the territory of the community from a drone. In all cases, there were no casualties.
21:12 Ukrainian troops withdrew from the destroyed Severodonetsk in the direction of Lysichansk, Major General Kirill Budanov, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, said in an interview with Reuters: "The actions taking place in the Severodonetsk area are a tactical regrouping of our troops. This is a retreat to advantageous positions to obtain a tactical advantage .Ukrainian forces are moving to higher ground to continue defensive operations."
20:47 Ukraine does not intend to take steps towards joining NATO, realizing the futility of such efforts because of the positions of individual countries of the alliance, Igor Zhovkva, deputy head of the OP, said in an interview with the Financial Times.
| So much for Turkey’s attempted quid pro quo with Sweden about the Kurds. |
18:51 Lukashenka told Putin at a meeting in St. Petersburg that Lithuania's isolation of Kaliningrad is "actually a declaration of war." Lukashenka also asked Putin to help with a "mirror response" to NATO air flights with nuclear weapons near the borders of Belarus and said that Minsk is concerned about the "confrontational policy" of Poland and Lithuania: "We are very stressed by the confrontation policy pursued by the neighboring states of Poland and Lithuania. The policy is disgusting, the behavior is aggressive."
In turn, Putin told Lukashenka that the Americans have 200 nuclear tactical munitions in Europe, and 257 aircraft have been prepared for their possible use: “We must take care of our security. over the next few months, we will transfer the Iskander-M RTK to Belarus."
18:37 After the withdrawal of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Russians are fixed in the areas of Severodonetsk, Sirotinoye, Voronovoye and Borovsky, the General Staff reports. At the same time, their assaults in other places were repulsed.
18:34 As a result of another shelling of Kharkov, the nuclear subcritical installation Source of Neutrons was damaged. The buildings and infrastructure of the industrial site were damaged, the SNRCU reported. The radiation background in the experimental hall of the building is within the normal range, the installation itself has been transferred to a deep subcritical state.
18:07 The Russian army occupied Severodonetsk, the Ukrainian military retreated to more fortified positions , said the head of the military administration of the city Alexander Stryuk: "The city is completely under the occupation of the Russian Federation, which is already trying to establish its own rules there - a commandant has been appointed, he is collecting some kind of asset. The city so destroyed that it will be difficult for people to cope with this situation."
According to Stryuk, the civilians who were on the territory of the Azot plant are partially leaving it, and propaganda videos are being filmed with them. Now there is no opportunity to leave the city for the territory controlled by Ukraine - only for the occupied ones.
Kadyrov said that 800 civilians had been "liberated" from the territory of the Azot plant. The head of the Lugansk OVA, Sergei Gaidai, said a few days ago that 568 people remained at Azot, including 38 children - mostly employees of the enterprise and their families, they refused to evacuate.
17:56 The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation confirmed the data of British intelligence that the Southern Group of Russian troops in Ukraine is commanded by General of the Army Sergei Surovikin. According to DW, this was reported by a representative of the Russian ministry. Earlier, British intelligence reported that since the beginning of June, the Russian high command could remove several generals from key operational command positions, including the commander of the Southern Group of Forces, General of the Army Alexander Dvornikov.
17:28 Russia's war against Ukraine is forcing NATO to reconsider the issue of building up its military potential, said the head of the British armed forces, Admiral Tony Radakin. According to him, NATO is assessing its resources, as well as how quickly it can respond in the event of an escalation with the Russian Federation.
16:49 At the NATO summit in Madrid, Poland will raise the issue of increasing the alliance's grouping on its territory, said Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak. According to him, the NATO grouping needs to be increased to the size of a brigade, that is, about 8,000 people. The minister also expects the summit to strengthen coordination on military assistance to Ukraine.
16:13 Rogozin said that Roskosmos has begun mass production of the new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles. According to him, by the end of the year, one of the regiments of the Uzhur missile formation, which is deployed in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, will receive new Sarmatians.
15:50 Culeba announced support for Moldova in its plans to join the EU sanctions: "We support the people and the government of friendly Moldova against the backdrop of regular threats from Moscow. Threats to other states are all that Russia has left after decades of a failed policy based on aggression, coercion and disrespect. It only shows Russia's weakness."
14:55 At the request of the SBU, about 500 pro-Russian YouTube channels with an audience of more than 15 million subscribers have been blocked. The topics of the channels were "absurd fakes about "biological laboratories" and radio-controlled geese." 1529 Telegram channels and bots, 426 accounts on Instagram, 93 on Facebook, 1050 on TikTok were transferred for blocking.
13:47 A new stamp from Ukrposhta will be released on June 28, it will depict the Mriya plane. The illustration was drawn by an eleven-year-old schoolgirl from Volyn last year for the contest What is Ukraine for me?
13:20 The command of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine told the details of the night massive missile attack on Ukraine. Russian troops fired more than 50 missiles of various types - air, sea and land-based. So, for the first time from the territory of Belarus, the enemy used Tu-22M3 long-range bombers. The Russians also resumed shelling of Ukraine with the use of Iskander complexes based in Belarus.
Kh-22 missiles launched by Tu-22M3, as well as missiles of the Iskander and Tochka-U complexes flew from Belarus in the northern direction. In the southern direction, the Russians used Onyx missiles of the Bastion operational-tactical complex, which can be based in the Crimea. And Caliber cruise missiles launched from ships hit targets in western Ukraine.
The command noted that Kh-22, Oniks, Iskander missiles are extremely difficult targets for air defense. Onyx and Kh-22 fly at a speed of more than 3000 km / h, and Iskander - along a ballistic trajectory (canopy).
12:37 The Ministries of Finance of Ukraine and Germany signed an agreement on providing Ukraine with 1 billion euros in grant funding, the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance said. The funds will be directed to the state budget to finance priority social and humanitarian spending during martial law.
12:13 Johnson said that he could resign if he had to stop helping Ukraine due to growing economic problems in his own country, but so far he does not see such a scenario: "If it so happened that I had to to abandon the Ukrainian case, because it would become too complicated, and the cost of supporting these people would become too high against the backdrop of inflation, economic harm - then I would have to admit that I had lost a very important argument, and I would have left."
11:39 It made no sense to hold Severodonetsk, Khariton Starsky, press officer of the Rapid Response Brigade of the National Guard, said on the air of the telethon: "The point of the withdrawal is to save the lives of our soldiers, who are now responsible for the defense of this city. The situation in Severodonetsk resembles the situation in Rubizhne, which was practically wiped off the face of the earth by Russian bombs and Russian shells, and to keep it, despite the fact that it is more than 90% destroyed, does not really make much sense."
11:37 Klitschko said that yesterday, allegedly on his behalf, the mayors of several European capitals were sent requests for communication via ZOOM from a fake postal address. "Since our friends respond quickly and support us, the mayors of Berlin and Madrid agreed to talk. And with the help of DeepFake technology, the attacker spoke to them, posing as Klitschko," the mayor of Kyiv wrote and urged law enforcement to investigate these cases.
11:33 Today's missile strikes from the territory of Belarus are a large-scale provocation of the Russian Federation with the aim of further drawing Belarus into the war against Ukraine , the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense said. This is the first case of an air strike on Ukraine directly from the territory of Belarus.
For today's missile strikes, six Tu-22M3 aircraft were involved, which launched 12 Kh-22 cruise missiles. The launch line is a district of the city of Petrikov, not far from Mozyr, approximately 50-60 kilometers from the state border of Ukraine. The bombers took off from the Shaikovka airport in the Kaluga region of the Russian Federation. Further through the territory of the Kaluga and Smolensk regions they entered the airspace of Belarus. After the launch of the missiles, they returned to the Shaikovka airport on the territory of the Russian Federation. The blow was inflicted on the Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy regions.
11:04 Berlin police are investigating the incident with the deepfake "Klitschko", with whom the mayor of the German capital Franziska Giffay spoke via video link, writes DW. The mayor said that the first 15 minutes of a conversation with an impostor posing as the mayor of Kyiv did not arouse her suspicions. But then the fake “Klitschko” asked to talk about Ukrainian refugees trying to get benefits, to assist in the return of young Ukrainians to their homeland, and finally asked if the Berlin authorities could help Kyiv to hold a gay pride parade.
Later, in a comment to Bild, the real Vitali Klitschko said that he did not call Giffey and expressed the hope that he would still be able to talk to her in person, to which Giffey replied that with pleasure.
11:01 In the Donetsk region, Russians were actively shooting this night in the Bakhmut district - in the Bakhmut, Toretsk, Soledar and Svetlodar communities. It is known about one dead and two wounded in Bakhmut, said the head of the OVA Pavel Kirilenko.
10:57 In the Zhytomyr region this morning, the Russians fired about 30 missiles, of which about ten were shot down, said the head of the OVA, Vitaly Bunechko. The shelling was carried out by Russian aircraft from Belarus, the missiles were aimed at infrastructure facilities in the region. There is information about minor damage to the military infrastructure, one soldier was killed, one was injured.
10:55 BBC journalists, together with colleagues from the Mediazon publication and volunteers, verified the death of 4,010 Russians in Ukraine from open sources. Leadership in losses continues to hold Dagestan (218), Buryatia (174) and Krasnodar Territory (134).
10:44 Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar criticized those who announced the withdrawal of troops from Severodonetsk, because military operations were disrupted because of this: "Public demonstration by civilians of awareness of the course of military operations and reporting this on social networks before the official statements of the General Staff partly disrupts military operations - as it was yesterday and the day before yesterday in Severodonetsk. When they simply did not let the Armed Forces of Ukraine finish what was planned."
10:42 The war in Ukraine will end with peaceful negotiations, but first the West wants to ensure the strongest possible negotiating position for Kiev, Stoltenberg said in an interview with El País: "Most likely, this war will end at the negotiating table. Our responsibility is to ensure the strongest possible position of Ukraine and help it to remain a sovereign and independent European nation. And the best way to do this is to provide strong military support, economic support and tough sanctions against Russia."
The Secretary General noted that "peace can always be achieved if you give up," but the Ukrainians are "ready to pay a very high price, to sacrifice themselves" for their freedom and the right not to submit to Russian rule. "It is not for us to tell them how far their sacrifices must go," he added.
10:36 As a result of rocket attacks in the Zhytomyr region, at least one military man was killed, said the head of the OVA Vitaliy Bunechko.
10:34 The Russians will need at least 3-4 weeks to return to Belarus a powerful strike group capable of resuming the offensive on the northern border of Ukraine, Vadim Skibitsky, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, said in an interview with RBC-Ukraine. At the same time, he added that an offensive from the north depends on how successful the enemy is in the eastern and southern directions: “Especially in the east, how quickly he can complete the tasks that he sets for himself. And the enemy’s immediate task is to reach the administrative borders Lugansk, and then - Donetsk regions".
10:25 In the Khmelnitsky region, air defense forces shot down two enemy missiles, said the head of the OVA, Serhiy Gamaly. Fragments of one of them fell in the forest in the Kamenetz-Podolsk region, the second - in the rural garden of one of the communities of the Khmelnytsky region. There were no dead or wounded; windows and doors in several residential buildings were damaged in the Khmelnytsky region.
10:21 Starting from August, certain events will take place that will demonstrate to the whole world that a turning point is beginning, Major General Kirill Budanov, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, said on ITV News. "Ukraine will return to the borders of 1991, and we are not considering any other scenarios. By the end of the year, active hostilities will drop to almost zero. We will regain control over our territories in the foreseeable future," he stressed.
Budanov acknowledged that part of the success of the Ukrainian army now depends on international support, and noted the recent UK offer to train 10,000 Ukrainian troops.
10:13 Part of the group of Russian Black Sea Fleet ships returned to their bases due to a storm, but the likelihood of a missile strike from the Black Sea in Ukraine is still present. Now there are two missile ships and a large landing ship of the Russian Federation near the borders of Ukraine, OK Pivden reported.
10:11 In the Luhansk region, as a result of the shelling of the village of Maloryazantsevo, a mother with two children was wounded, they are in the hospital, said the head of the OVA Serhiy Gaidai. The enemy shelled Severodonetsk with artillery, hits were recorded on the Azot and Fiberglass plants. A dead man was found in Lisichansk, and there were numerous damages to houses in the city.
10:07 NATO countries at the summit in Madrid on June 28-30 will agree on a full package of assistance to Ukraine, Stoltenberg said in an interview with El País.
10:03 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the enemy on the morning of June 25. The enemy suffered the greatest losses in the Bakhmut and Kurakhovsky directions.
- personnel - about 34,700 (+170) people liquidated,
- tanks - 1511 (+4),
- armored combat vehicles - 3645 (+8),
- artillery systems - 764 (+5),
- MLRS - 241 (+0),
- air defense systems - 99 (+0),
- aircraft - 217 (+1),
- helicopters - 184 (+1),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 626 (+4),
- cruise missiles - 137 (+0),
- ships/boats - 14 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 2560 (+7),
- special equipment - 60 (+0).
09:37 In the Kharkiv region, nine people were injured in a day, one person died, Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA, said. The enemy launched rocket attacks on the Kievsky and Nemyshlyansky districts of Kharkov, and fired at the Bogodukhovsky, Kharkovsky, Izyumsky and Chuguevsky regions on the territory of the region.
09:31 British intelligence notes that Ukraine can rebuild the defense in the Severodonetsk-Lysichansk sector, as Russian armored units continue to advance on the southern outskirts of the concentration area.
Intelligence also reports that since the beginning of June, the high command of the Russian Federation could remove several generals from key operational command posts, including the commander of the Southern Group of Forces, General of the Army Alexander Dvornikov. His place may be taken by Colonel-General Sergey Surovikin.
08:55 The Russians fired at a military facility in the Yavoriv region tonight, the head of the Lviv OVA, Maxim Kozitsky, said. According to preliminary information, two missiles were shot down, four more flew. Four people were injured.
08:39 Russians fired 20 missiles at the Desna village in the Chernihiv region, OK Pivnich reported. The missiles were launched from the territory of Belarus, from aircraft and from the ground. It is known about the destruction of infrastructure facilities, previously without casualties.
08:29 In the Zhytomyr region, the enemy fired 24 rockets tonight, military facilities around the city were fired at, Zhytomyr Mayor Sergei Sukhomlin said.
08:12 Massive nighttime missile strikes on Ukraine were carried out by Russian aircraft from the territory of Belarus, reports Belaruski Gayun. According to the monitoring group, the scheme looks like this: "aircraft take off from the airfields of the Russian Federation, enter the airspace of Belarus, fly close to the border with Ukraine, launch missiles until the plane is over Belarus (so that it is not shot down), turn around, and also return back to RF".
07:49 The Armed Forces of Ukraine repelled the assault of the Russians in the direction of Vladimirovka - Pokrovskoye and in the area of the settlement of Udy, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in the morning report . In the Severodonetsk direction, the occupiers fired from cannon artillery at the areas of the settlements of Lisichansk, Spornoe and Volcheyarovka. They launched an airstrike in the Lisichansk area, they tried to block the city from the south.
07:43 At night, the enemy again fired at the Krivoy Rog region - Shirokovskaya and Zelenodolsk communities fell under artillery strikes, said the head of the Dnipropetrovsk OVA Valentin Reznichenko. A woman was injured in Zelenodolsk, a country house was damaged.
07:41 In the Black Sea, four Russian ships are in readiness for missile strikes, said Sergey Bratchuk, the speaker of the Odesa OVA. According to him, in the southern direction, the enemy is trying to regain lost positions, but suffer losses.
05:25 Mayor of Nikolaev Alexander Senkevich reports explosions in the city.
04:10 The head of the Chernihiv OVA, Vyacheslav Chaus, announced the rocket attack on the village of Desna.
02:17 Turn Alive Foundation purchased 20 PD-2 drones with mobile ground stations for a total of $8.5 million. "This technique, purchased with public money, is already on the way to professional, experienced pilots," said Taras Chmut, director of the fund.
00:42 The US Department of Defense approves the withdrawal of troops from Severodonetsk in the Luhansk region, Sky News writes with reference to a representative of the department. "By leaving Severodonetsk, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are in a position where they can better defend themselves," the Pentagon official explained.