[Korrespondent] 21:48 Denmark will allocate 615 million crowns (about $90 million) for the reconstruction of Ukraine. The funds will be used to restore schools, hospitals and clinics, bomb shelters, water, heat and energy supply, as well as support the population in war-affected areas, the country's Foreign Ministry said. The department noted that special attention will be paid to Nikolaev and the Nikolaev region.
21:15 Zelensky said in an evening video message that today he heard a report by Air Force Commander Mykola Onishchuk on strengthening air defense, "so that the Ukrainian air shield can protect our entire territory from Russian terror, and in the future - become the basis for a European air shield. This is absolutely necessary and quite possible."
According to the head of state, Ukraine does not yet have enough high-quality air defense systems to protect the entire territory and shoot down all enemy targets: "The enemy uses this, as they do today - by inflicting another terrorist attack on the city of Sumy with an Iranian drone, including on residential buildings, as well as on the building of the Security Service of Ukraine".
The president also said that he had instructed Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba to call the Georgian ambassador and protest to him about the fact that "the Kremlin - unfortunately, by the hands of the current government of Georgia - is killing Ukrainian citizen Mikheil Saakashvili." Zelensky called on the Georgian authorities to transfer Saakashvili to Ukraine.
20:54 Russian propaganda is deliberately spreading information about the "Ukrainian landing" near the Antonovsky Bridge, Pivden Yug speaker Natalya Gumenyuk said. According to her, because of this, the Russian army inflicts more blows on the right bank, and on Oleshki, Gola Pristan and other occupied settlements. At the same time, the Ukrainian forces in the Kherson region are primarily engaged in counter-battery combat. Gumenyuk urged to refrain from "unnecessary discussions."
20:13 Erdogan said that Turkey, while implementing diplomatic efforts for the Ukrainian settlement, faced the actions of the "lobby of supporters of the continuation of the conflict."
20:06 Zelensky said that he had a "long and fruitful" telephone conversation with Chancellor Scholz: "We coordinated positions before the NATO Vilnius summit and discussed the formats of future security guarantees for Ukraine. He informed about the situation on the battlefield. We shared our assessments of recent events in Russia and Belarus and discussed the current state of the grain agreement and the importance of its extension.
The President also thanked for the important signals of support for Ukraine at the London Reconstruction Conference and the European Council, the active implementation of the previous EUR 2.7 billion defense package and for the EUR 8.8 billion multi-year defense support plan for Ukraine.
19:55 In the Bakhmut direction, the situation has escalated again, Anna Malyar said. According to her, the fight continues to seize the initiative. Today, the enemy also tried to attack in this direction, but to no avail, the Ukrainian forces had some success. "However, the situation is changing very rapidly. Control over the same positions can be lost and restored twice a day. The enemy actively reacts to all our actions and creates three lines of defense in threatening directions," Malyar added.
She noted that on the southern flank in the Kleshcheevka area, Ukrainian troops are fighting, but advancing. Meanwhile, fighting continues on the northern flank. Bakhmut itself is also restless: the enemy in the city is constantly firing, trying to disrupt logistics and inflict maximum losses on the Defense Forces. At the same time, the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not allow the enemy to move around the city and hit his positions with fire.
19:39 The Russians fired at the village of Kindiyka, Kherson region. One of the enemy shells hit near a local church, injuring two people, the IVA said.
19:34 On the eastern front, the number of Russian troops is more than 180 thousand people, said Sergey Cherevaty, spokesman for the Eastern Group of Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He clarified that in the Limano-Kupyansky direction the group has more than 120 thousand people, in the Bakhmut direction - about 50 thousand.
18:52 The Russian telegram channel Sirena showed a photo of the alleged field camp of PMC Wagner in the Belarusian village of Tsel near Osipovichi. The pictures were provided by local residents, who reported that M-30 modular tents with wooden bunks and decking were being built in the camp. Earlier, the media wrote, citing satellite images, that the camp was designed for more than 8,000 fighters.
18:48 In Ukraine, the commander of the detachment of Kadyrov's special forces, Akhmat Yevhen Pisarenko, with the call sign Bolshoy, has been eliminated. The commander of the special unit Akhmat Apti Alaudinov announced his death. He did not elaborate on the details of the death.
18:41 Until the end of the war, Ukraine will not even receive a plan for future entry into NATO, said German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. According to him, the terms of entry will be determined after the war, since the Alliance should never become a party to the conflict. "Therefore, we will not be able to respond to the request for Ukraine's entry into NATO while there is a war in Ukraine. Only then we all - and I think there will be 32 allies then, together with Sweden - together with Ukraine will decide the conditions for joining the Alliance," Pistorius said.
18:20 As a result of the Russian attack on the center of Sumy, two people were killed and 19 were injured. One five-year-old child was among those injured, the OVA said.
17:58 The decision on Zelensky's visit to the NATO summit in Vilnius has not yet been made, everything will depend on the situation on the battlefield, Presidential Speaker Sergei Nikiforov told Suspilny.
17:39 For the first time in four months, the Zaporozhye NPP was connected to the only available backup power line, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said and called it an important step. At the same time, he added that the power supply situation at the site remains "extremely fragile in times of war and unsustainable."
17:02 The Russians continue to prepare for a terrorist attack at the Crimean Titan plant in Armyansk, according to the Evocation.info investigative team. According to them, the invaders placed camouflaged air defense systems around the plant, and headquarters and ammunition depots may be located at the plant itself. A large number of freight cars are also recorded on the railway line leading to the idle enterprise.
16:44 In the coming weeks, Ukraine will receive dozens of Leopard 1A5 tanks from Germany and Denmark, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in an interview with Rzeczpospolita.
16:37 In the Bakhmut direction, active hostilities are underway and the threat of an offensive towards the city of Chasov Yar remains, Commander of the Ground Forces Alexander Syrsky told the UE after he visited the combat area to study the situation on the spot. "Events unfold and change very dynamically, some positions change hands twice a day," he said. According to Syrsky, in Bakhmut, the enemy is actively using mortars, machine guns, anti-tank systems, snipers and firing at Ukrainian positions, "trying to hit everything that moves."
16:13 The court sentenced a novice of the Pochaev Assumption Lavra to five years in prison with confiscation of property, who justified Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine, the SBU reported.
15:55 Poland and Germany plan to agree on the opening of a center for the repair of Leopard 2 tanks delivered to Ukraine within ten days, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said following negotiations with his Polish counterpart Mariusz Blaszczak.
The center was supposed to open in Poland at the end of May, the cost of its construction in Berlin was estimated at 150 million euros. However, the contract has not yet been concluded. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that the main problem is the lack of spare parts.
15:29 In Sumy, four strikes of a Shahed-136 type UAV were recorded in the city center. As a result of hits, an administrative building and two apartment buildings were damaged. As of 13:00, it is preliminary known about 16 wounded, one person died. Work continues to evacuate the population and eliminate the consequences of the fire, the OVA said.
14:58 The National Corruption Prevention Agency has included the British corporation Unilever in the list of international sponsors of the war. The company is one of the world leaders in the food and household chemicals market. She owns over 400 brands, including Domestos, Ax, Rexona, Dove, Brooke Bond, Lipton, CIF, Knorr, Chistaya Liniya and others. The NAPC explained this decision by the fact that, working in the Russian Federation, the company pays significant taxes to the Russian state budget, thereby supporting the economy of the aggressor and contributing to the continuation of the war against Ukraine.
The NAPC recalled that after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the company promised to suspend all imports and exports of its products to and from the Russian Federation, as well as to stop all media and advertising expenses. However, during the year of the war, Unilever Russia's profit doubled from 4.8 to 9.2 billion rubles, and Unilever Rus LLC paid about $50 million in taxes to the Russian budget for 2022.
14:35 The head of the NATO military committee, Rob Bauer, praised the start of the Ukrainian counter-offensive: "No one should think that this is a simple matter ... We saw in Normandy during World War II that it took the allies seven, eight, nine weeks to actually break through the lines defense of the Germans, so it is not surprising that this does not happen quickly."
Bauer thinks it's right that Ukrainian forces act cautiously to avoid heavy casualties when looking for a breakthrough: "This type of operation is extremely difficult, and I think the way they conduct it is commendable."
14:03 European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the launch of the International Center for the Investigation of Russia's Crimes of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA) in The Hague. She called it the first step towards a tribunal for the crime of aggression. The Center will gather evidence and document Russia's crimes so that those responsible can be brought to justice.
13:57 The head of the CEC of the Russian Federation, Ella Pamfilova, at a meeting with Putin, said that if the situation in the "new regions", that is, in the annexed Ukrainian territories, worsens, then the Central Election Commission has the right to postpone the "elections" in them, scheduled for September. She also noted that electronic voting is not yet planned there, since it is technically difficult.
13:52 The war will not end until the liberation of Crimea, Zelensky said in an interview with CNN: "We cannot imagine Ukraine without Crimea. And as long as Crimea is under Russian occupation, this means only one thing - the war is not over yet." The President added that no scenario without the return of Crimea would be a victory for Ukraine.
13:44 Zaluzhny, together with the Chief of the General Staff, Sergei Shaptala, visited the Rivne NPP on July 1, where they agreed to maintain close contacts with power engineers to analyze and predict possible scenarios at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in order to quickly respond to all situations.
13:21 The Russians hit a five-story residential building in Sumy with a drone, one person died, the President's Office reported.
12:53 The SBU and the SBI submitted to court an indictment against the former head of the Main Directorate of the SBU in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Oleg Kulinich, who acted in favor of Russia. He is charged under five articles of the Criminal Code at once: high treason; creation or participation in a criminal organization; unauthorized departure from the place of service; theft of weapons or other military property; illegal handling of weapons or explosives.
Kulinich was arrested in July 2022 and has been in custody ever since. He faces up to 15 years in prison.
12:26 In Russia, a well-known Ukrainian businessman, owner of the Khortytsya brand Yevgeny Chernyak, has been put on the wanted list. Employees of the Global Spirits alcohol holding, which owns Khortytsya, are involved in the case of "sponsoring the Armed Forces of Ukraine." According to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, two employees of the holding have already been detained. According to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, they allegedly transferred more than 500 million rubles for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and a case "on the financing of terrorism" was opened. In the near future, the issue of arresting the shares of organizations that are part of the Global Spirits holding will be considered.
12:08 Marines of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade reported that a Russian attack helicopter Ka-52, known as the Alligator, was shot down from the Javelin ATGM in the Berdyansk direction.
11:45 Austria, despite its neutral status, will join the European Sky Shield Initiative - an airspace protection program initiated by Germany, said Chancellor Karl Nehammer. Austria will be the first non-NATO country to join this initiative.
11:37 Russia is accelerating the recruitment of vacant positions in the structural divisions of the occupying internal affairs bodies in the occupied territories of Ukraine, Anna Malyar said. According to her, this is due to the need to provide police escort for the so-called "elections" in September.
10:54 The EU is considering allowing the Russian sanctioned Rosselkhozbank to create a subsidiary that can connect to SWIFT in order to extend the operation of the grain agreement, writes the Financial Times, citing anonymous sources.
10:26 In the Kherson region, the Russians are organizing so-called carpet shelling of the local population, said the speaker of OK Pivden Natalya Gumenyuk. According to her, this is already a common practice - when the Defense Forces begin active operations in any sector of the front, the enemy increases pressure on the civilian population.
According to Gumenyuk, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are now trying to clear the lane as much as possible in order to advance, but this work is greatly complicated by the consequences of the terrorist attack at the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station. On the left bank, water still covers many settlements very abundantly, she added.
09:57 The FSB announced that it allegedly stopped an assassination attempt on the "head" of the occupied Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, organized by "Ukrainian special services." A citizen of Russia was detained, who was allegedly "recruited by the SBU and who was trained in Ukraine in mine-explosive business." According to the FSB, the man planned to blow up Aksyonov's car, but he was caught taking the bomb from a hiding place.
09:45 The Office of the President showed a photo of the Dnieper River in the area of ​​the Dnieper hydroelectric power station after the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station was blown up by the Russians.
09:16 The defense forces captured 44 Russian soldiers last week, Anna Malyar reported. 94 concentration areas of the Russian military were hit, seven command posts, 22 anti-aircraft missile systems, and five electronic warfare stations were destroyed.
09:13 In the Donetsk region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, two people were killed (in Pokrovsk and Novy Komar), three more were injured. In the Kherson region, six people were injured (one of them is a child), in Zaporozhye - three, according to the IVA.
09:02 The number of victims of a missile attack on a pizzeria in Kramatorsk on June 27 has grown to 13 - Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina died in the hospital, PEN Ukraine reports. Amelina was in Kramatorsk with Colombian journalists and was collecting material on Russian war crimes.
08:51 In the South, over the past week, the Defense Forces have liberated another 28.4 square meters. km of territory, and the total liberated area in the South is 158.4 sq. km, said Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar. The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue the offensive operation in the Melitopol and Berdyansk directions, namely in the directions of Novodarovka, Priyutnoye; Novodanilovka, Robotino; Novoselka, Staromayorskoye. They had success.
In the East, both offensive and defensive operations continue. Ukrainian forces are moving in the Bakhmut direction, and the enemy is attacking in Limansky, Avdeevsky and Maryinsky. There are heavy battles going on right now. Over the past week, as a result of the improvement of the operational situation and the alignment of the front line, another 9 sq. km. At the same time, the number of enemy shelling in the East doubled over the week.
08:28 At night, Russia attacked Ukraine with Iranian Shahed-136/131 strike drones from the southeast. In total, 17 drone launches were recorded, 13 of them were destroyed, the rest did not reach their targets. Preliminary - no losses, the command of the Air Force reported.
08:16 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of July 3.
- personnel - about 230,260 (+600) people liquidated,
- tanks - 4057 (+5),
- armored fighting vehicles - 7899 (+11),
- artillery systems - 4220 (+32),
- MLRS - 641 (+4),
- air defense systems - 391 (+1),
- aircraft - 315 (+0),
- helicopters - 309 (+1),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 3573 (+16),
- cruise missiles - 1264 (+3),
- ships/boats - 18 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 6834 (+18),
- special equipment - 590 (+7).
07:39 Late in the evening, the Russians fired artillery at Marganets and Nikopol in the Dnepropetrovsk region, one person was wounded, the head of the OVA, Serhiy Lysak, said. In Nikopol, nine private houses, outbuildings, a gas pipeline and a power line, and a solar panel were damaged. At night, air defense forces destroyed an enemy Shahed-136 drone over the region.
07:27 The Russian army is concentrating its main efforts on the Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Maryinsky directions, there are heavy battles. During the day, there were 39 combat clashes, the General Staff said in the morning report .
01:15 Austria does not supply weapons to Ukraine, but does not prevent its transit through its territory, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said in an interview with the ORF television channel. He explained that this did not violate the neutrality of the country.