Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 20:19 Ukraine has transferred two more priests of the UOC MP to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange: Nikolai Zakroets and Alexander Lunegov, Russian Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova reported. Lunegov was a cleric of the Dnipropetrovsk diocese and was sentenced to five years on charges of justifying Russian aggression against Ukraine. Zakroets was the rector of the St. George Church of the UOC MP in Yampil, Sumy Oblast. In October 2023, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison on suspicion of treason.
20:14 Zelensky said in an evening video address that today he heard a report from the military on key front lines - Pokrovsk and others in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions. They also discussed some fundamental decisions to increase Russia's losses. "For Russia, all this must end in defeat, and only in this way does the very idea of ​​war against Ukraine lose. We are doing everything for this, both with weapons and diplomacy. The relevant processes are going side by side," the president added.
In addition, the head of state said that today he held several meetings with international experts, discussed plans for July. "And this month can bring Ukraine even more strength, including in protecting the sky and bringing real security closer to our country," Zelensky announced. He also met with a bipartisan delegation of the US House of Representatives, discussed the main areas of further American assistance, including additional air defense systems.
18:46 Since the launch of the Grain from Ukraine humanitarian program, Ukraine has sent 221.4 thousand tons of agricultural products to ten countries in Africa and Asia, the Presidential Office reported. At the same time, some of the food is purchased by the states participating in the project - in this way, international partners support the Ukrainian economy and simultaneously improve the food situation in the world. Now Ukraine plans to expand the program to other regions of the world: possible deliveries to Haiti, Chad, Cameroon, Tanzania, Djibouti and other countries are already being discussed.
18:24 On Tuesday, July 2, regional power companies will be using three stages of shutdowns simultaneously throughout the day, Ukrenergo reported. The reason is a significant increase in energy consumption due to the heat.
Chairman of the Board of NEC Ukrenergo Volodymyr Kudritsky explained that the increase in the duration of outages over the past few days was influenced by four factors at once: ongoing shelling, increased consumption due to high temperatures in Ukraine, reduced imports due to heat in Europe, and the summer repair campaign at a large number of power plants.
18:14 The first burials at the National War Memorial Cemetery may begin as early as early or mid-autumn 2024, said the head of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, Alexander Porkhun. "The first burials will 100% take place this year. But we will speed up these deadlines, and I think that by early autumn, by mid-autumn, we will begin burying our soldiers," he noted.
At the same time, Porkhun added that discussions with residents of the village of Markhalovka, Gatnenskaya territorial community, who oppose the construction of a memorial cemetery, are still ongoing.
17:37 NATO countries are passing on information to Ukraine that is collected by aircraft with AWACS early warning systems, writes UK Defence Journal. Airborne early warning aircraft monitor the situation in Ukrainian airspace during regular flights over Poland. This allows Ukraine to quickly respond to missile threats.
16:41 In June, Russian troops shelled Kharkiv 22 times, the city council reported. In particular, the Russians launched 19 UMBP D-30 guided bombs, one missile and seven aerial bombs, including the super-powerful KAB-250 and FAB-500, at the city. Six people were killed and 92 were injured in Kharkiv last month.
15:55 Ukraine is indeed strengthening the section of the border with Belarus, as Minsk has stated, said State Border Service spokesman Andrei Demchenko: "The border with Belarus remains a threatening direction for us, and we continue to strengthen it both in engineering terms and to keep the necessary number of forces and resources there to prevent any actions that may come from the territory of Belarus." At the same time, he called Minsk's statements an "information operation" and recalled that they are not the first time they have been heard.
According to Demchenko, Minsk has been testing the combat readiness of its military units since June 21, so this could be "one of the components to shift responsibility to Ukraine."
14:48 In the Budget Declaration for 2025-2027, the Cabinet of Ministers allocated UAH 2.2 trillion for security and defense in 2025, UAH 1.6 trillion for 2026, and UAH 1.5 trillion for 2027, MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak reported. The government also expects GDP growth in 2025 by 2.7% (compared to 4.6% this year), in 2026 by 7.5%, and in 2027 by 6.2%. The government cites the destruction of Ukraine's energy capacity as the main constraint on economic development.
14:13 Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania have launched a mine-clearing operation in the Black Sea to defuse drifting mines, Bloomberg writes. Despite the fact that the mines will be cleared by military ships, the operation will be exclusively peaceful. The threat will be eliminated in the territorial waters and economic zones of the participating countries, which should make shipping safer. This will also help ships carrying grain from Ukraine.
13:36 Russian troops attacked a house in Antonovka, Kherson region, with artillery, one person was injured, the OVA reported. In addition, three people who were hit by enemy strikes the day before - near the village of Veletenske and in the village of Razliv - sought medical assistance today. Also in the morning, the Russians attacked Mykhailivka, Berislav district - a first aid station and a private house were damaged, no one was injured.
12:57 The Washington Post has obtained internal documents from the Belgorod region authorities that show that glider bombs launched by Russian troops into Ukraine have fallen on Russian territory. According to the document, at least 38 bombs fell in the Belgorod region between April 2023 and April 2024, most of which failed to explode. Meanwhile, the Russian opposition publication Astra calculated that in March, April, May, and June 2024 alone, the Russian Aerospace Forces dropped at least 119 bombs on their own and occupied Ukrainian territories.
12:19 The Clooney Foundation for Justice and the Austrian human rights organization International Center for the Strengthening of Human Rights have filed a case with the Vienna prosecutor's office regarding the rape of two Ukrainian women by Russians during the occupation of the Kiev region in 2022. Experts have collected evidence and identified the direct perpetrators of the crimes, as well as seven mid- and high-level commanders, and are asking for an investigation to be launched into them.
11:26 On Sunday, June 30, at about 19:30, Russia attacked Kiev with two Iskander-K cruise missiles, Air Force spokesman Ilya Yevlash reported. According to him, the missiles were shot down, but the falling debris damaged infrastructure.
11:10 In the morning, Russians shelled Ukrainsk in Donetsk Oblast - at least two people were killed and eight were wounded. According to preliminary information, ten multi-story buildings and an administrative building were damaged, said OVA head Vadim Filashkin. On June 30, two people were killed as a result of Russian shelling in Donetsk Oblast - in Toretsk and Seversky. Another 12 people were wounded in the region in the past 24 hours, including six in Tsukurino in Pokrovsky District.
10:58 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports that the Russians have made significant progress in one of the hottest areas - Toretsk. According to analysts, Russian troops have advanced up to 2.6 km deep and up to 5.6 km wide, without encountering strong resistance during the offensive on Pivdenne. Russian publics write that Russian troops have dug a tunnel, which allowed them to transfer a significant number of troops to Toretsk with virtually no losses. Russian troops dug a similar tunnel in February near Avdiivka, using ready-made engineering communications. This played a key role in capturing the city.
10:33 The SBU reported that it had detained a group of provocateurs who were preparing riots in Kiev and the seizure of the Verkhovna Rada building after Constitution Day. Under the guise of holding a so-called "veche," the perpetrators planned to announce the "removal from power" of the current military-political leadership of Ukraine. Those detained face up to ten years in prison.
09:50 Traffic lights are not working in Belgorod, there are problems with electricity and the Internet, Russian media write. Belgorodenergo stated that the problems are related to "external technological influence", power engineers are switching electricity supply to consumers to backup circuits.
09:34 The number of victims as a result of yesterday's Russian FAB-500 strike on the Nova Poshta branch in the Slobodsky district of Kharkiv has risen to ten, including an eight-month-old child. Another person died, reported the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov. As a result of the shelling, eight Nova Poshta trucks were on fire, three production and warehouse buildings and a medical facility were damaged.
09:08 In the Kherson region, over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, one person was killed and another was wounded, reported the head of the OVA, Oleksandr Prokudin. 15 private houses, critical infrastructure facilities, an educational institution, a humanitarian headquarters, a store, a cell tower and gas pipelines were damaged.
08:49 The Russian Defense Ministry stated that air defense forces allegedly destroyed and suppressed 36 drones over the Kursk, Bryansk, and Belgorod regions overnight.
08:35 As a result of yesterday's missile attack in the Kiev region, three people were injured, including a child, said the head of the OVA Ruslan Kravchenko. There were no hits on residential or critical infrastructure facilities, but as a result of falling debris in one of the districts of the region, three private houses, a warehouse, and administrative buildings were damaged.
08:27 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of July 1:
- personnel - about 543,810 (+1,110) people,
- tanks - 8099 (+19),
- combat armored vehicles - 15,550 (+26),
- artillery systems - 14,599 (+66),
- MLRS - 1111 (+1),
- air defense systems - 874 (+1),
- aircraft - 360 (+0),
- helicopters - 326 (+0),
- Operational-tactical level UAVs - 11,620 (+36),
- cruise missiles - 2333 (+2),
- ships/boats - 28 (+0),
- submarines - 1 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tank trucks - 19,713 (+70),
- special equipment - 2448 (+0).
07:42 At night, Russians launched a ballistic attack on the Dnieper, seven people were injured, including a 15-year-old teenager, said the head of the OVA, Serhiy Lysak. A store, private and multi-story buildings were damaged in a residential area.