War

The coastal defense of Ukrainian forces has neutralized Russia's ability to establish control over the northwestern part of the Black Sea. According to Ukrinform, the UK Ministry of Defense said this in its latest defense intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine. "Ukrainian coastal defense capability has largely neutralized Russia's ability to establish sea control and project maritime force in the north-western Black Sea.," the ministry said. It added that this has undermined the viability of Russia's original operational design for the invasion, which involved holding the Odesa region at risk from the sea. On June 17, the Ukrainian Navy…

Vladimir Putin personally gave permission to his invasion forces to engage in looting in Ukraine. That’s according to the latest phone call intercept, released by the SBU security service, Ukrinform reports. "That is, in short, it is not punishable by criminal law that we loot here. This is allowed. Putin allowed it. He issued a decree stating that looting was allowed…" a Russian soldier was heard telling his wife over the phone. Apparently, the soldier also envies his superior, who "looted TVs, washing machines, grills… everything!" Read also: Russians invaders, collaborators selling humanitarian aid in Mariupol "So he drew up…

The enemy last night fired artillery at the Kryvyi Rih district in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Valentyn Reznichenko, head of the regional military administration, said this on Telegram, Ukrinform reports. "Night with shelling. The enemy hit the Kryvyi Rih district with artillery. A house burned down in Velyka Kostromka. People were not injured," he wrote. In addition, in the Novomoskovsk district of the region, rescuers continue to put out a fire caused by a missile attack for the second day. On June 19, the Russian military launched a missile attack on a fuel storage depot in the Novomoskovsk district of the…

Russian occupation forces are continuing to accumulate equipment and manpower in the Zaporizhia region, including along the Dniprorudne-Vasylivka-Orikhiv line, likely in response to Ukrainian counterattacks. The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said this in a Russian offensive campaign assessment on June 19, Ukrinform reports. According to the report, Russian forces continued to prepare for offensive operations toward Sloviansk from southeast of Izium and west of Lyman but did not make any confirmed advances in either direction on June 19. Researchers say that concentrated Russian artillery power paired with likely understrength infantry units remains insufficient to enable Russian advances…

The first four M113AS4 armored personnel carriers handed over to Ukraine by the Australian government have left the RAAF Base Amberley. That's according to the Ministry of Defense of Australia, Ukrinform reports. Loaded into a Ukrainian Antonov AN-124 aircraft, the four vehicles are the first of 14 M113AS4s to be provided by Australia, the report says. The Australian government’s military assistance package consists of over AUD 285 million worth of support including Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles, M777 Howitzers; anti-armour weapons, ammunition, unmanned aerial systems and a range of personal equipment. Prime Minister, The Hon. Anthony Albanese said the latest shipment…

EU Special Representative for Human Rights Eamon Gilmore and Kyiv Police Chief Andriy Niebytov have visited the Kyiv suburbs of Irpin and Bucha. That's according to the Ukrainian National Police, Ukrinform reports. Gilmore and Niebytov visited the destroyed Irpin police station, the Romanivka bridge and other civilian infrastructure damaged by the aggressors' shelling, as well as a mass grave in Bucha. The interlocutors discussed the investigation into war crimes committed by Russia in the Kyiv region, violations of international humanitarian law, as well as assistance to victims of Russian aggression. "It is extremely important for us that the leadership of…

At a meeting on Sunday, the Verkhovna Rada supported a bill that ensured Ukraine's withdrawal from the agreement on the joint development of mobile communications with the CIS countries. According to Ukrinform, the State Special Communications Service said this on Telegram, Ukrinform reports. "Deputies supported the termination of the agreement on cooperation of the CIS member states in the development of mobile communications for Ukraine," the State Special Communications Service said. On the one hand, this agreement has not been filled with real content since its signing. On the other hand, it provides for the approximation of CIS legislation in…

The Armed Forces of Ukraine have advanced more than 10 kilometers towards the temporarily occupied city of Melitopol. The relevant statement was made by Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “Our heroic Armed Forces have significantly advanced and are now at the border of Kherson. I am confident, in the near future, our military will liberate Kherson. A similar situation is in the direction of Melitopol. Our Armed Forces have advanced more than 10 kilometers from Zaporizhzhia towards Melitopol,” Fedorov told. He called on local residents to trust in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Ukraine’s…

Over the past day, Russian troops have been shelling civil infrastructure in the Huliaipole community, Zaporizhzhia Region. Casualties among civilians were reported. The relevant statement was made by Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “Yesterday, the Huliaipole community residents were reporting to the police that Russian troops again fired at their houses. […] Russian projectiles hit several dozens of detached houses. As a result, some of them were destroyed completely and some damaged to a different extent,” the report states. Enemy shells also caused damage to various household buildings, garages, cellars, outdoor kitchens and yards. In…

A total of 50 rescuers have been extinguishing a massive fire at an oil depot in Novomoskovsk District for more than 14 hours so far, which was caused by Russia’s missile attack on Dnipropetrovsk Region. The relevant statement was made at a briefing by Daryna Tsurkan, Chief Public Relations Specialist at the Main Department of the Ukrainian State Emergency Service in Dnipropetrovsk Region, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “A total of 50 rescuers and 13 equipment units are working at the scene,” Tsurkan said. In her words, eleven civilians were injured in the missile strike. One person is now in critical…