War

Acting Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen has announced the start of training Ukrainian pilots on Western F-16 fighters. That's according to AP, Ukrinform reports. Lund Poulsen said that Denmark "has taken the step of starting a training and further education effort for the Ukrainian pilots." “We will also consider whether we should make a concrete donation to Ukraine of the Danish F-16 fighters, and how many there should be,” he said. The acting minister added that Ukrainian pilots would have to undergo six to eight months of training before a possible donation of Danish F-16s would become a reality. “This…

A meeting of the heads of government of the Visegrad Group (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, V4) is taking place in Bratislava, Slovakia on Monday. The meeting will summarize the one-year Slovak presidency of the V4, as well as the symbolic handover of the Czech presidency, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "The meeting in Bratislava will be an opportunity to discuss positions on the eve of the June European Council. We are planning to discuss migration challenges and certain topics in the field of international relations," Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller said before the meeting in Bratislava. Read also: NATO Secretary…

On June 25, 2023, Russian troops attacked the Kherson region 95 times, having fired 644 projectiles. The relevant statement was made by Kherson Regional Military Administration Head Oleksandr Prokudin on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Russian invaders used mortars, artillery, the Grad multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), tanks, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and aircraft. The enemy fired 17 projectiles at the city of Kherson. According to Prokudin, Russian projectiles targeted residential areas across the Kherson region’s settlements. One civilian was reported killed and seven injured. A reminder that Russian troops are focusing efforts on the Lyman, Bakhmut and Marinka directions.…

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin have had a phone conversation to discuss the recent events in Russia, as well as Ukraine’s counteroffensive. The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov on Twitter, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “Had a phone conversation with my friend and colleague, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III. We talked about recent events in russia. We agree that the russian authorities are weak and that withdrawing russian troops from Ukraine is the best choice for the kremlin. russia would be better served to address its own…

Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov of Ukraine believes that the year 2023 will be a game changer and that Ukraine must win the war with Russia. The defense chief said this in an interview with Fox News, Ukrinform reports. "This year will be a game changer," he said, indicating there would be at least some kind of pathway to the finish of the war.  "My gut feeling is we will win this war because we are fighting for our country," minister said, adding: "We have to (win - ed.), it’s our idea." According to Reznikov, the expectations of the counteroffensive results…

Russian troops placed military hardware carrying explosives outside four out of six available power units at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant they had captured in the spring of 2022. That’s according to Major General Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate, who spoke with UK’s The New Statesman, Ukrinform reports referring to the intelligence agency press service. "The terror attack plot for the ZNPP has been fully developed and approved. They can use certain technical tools to accelerate the disaster," Budanov said. According to the top defense intelligence official, nuclear reactors without cooling could melt within a…

The Chonhar bridge is closed to passenger vehicles, so people have to drive along a very bad road to get to the checkpoint Armiansk, while on the border between Russia and Latvia, people are required to undergo filtration that takes about four days. Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov said this during the nationwide United News telethon, Ukrinform reports. "After the explosion on the Chonhar bridge, it is completely closed to passenger traffic. Some military trucks can drive across it. Others are being sent to [the checkpoint] Armiansk. But the road from Simferopol to Armiansk is extremely bad, and it's difficult for…

A prisoner of war from the 269th separate rifle battalion, 42-year-old Oleksandr Golovko from Horlivka spoke about the poor provision of the Russian occupation army. The corresponding video was uploaded on Telegram by Ground Forces Commander Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukrinform reports. "We used to starve while bleeding out," this is how a prisoner of war from the 269th separate rifle battalion, Oleksandr Golovko, 42, of Horlivka, spoke about poor supplies to their unit, as well as how soldiers are forced to buy things from their senior officers," Sirskyi said. The POW said mass bribery is flourishing among the Russian forces,…

The Russian invasion forces used a chemical weapon against the Ukrainian Army position in the Marinka direction, Valeriy Shershen, the spokesman for the Joint Press Center of the Tavria Defense Force, broke the news at the national telethon. "We recorded the fact of the enemy dropping a proscribed chemical aerosol munition with suffocating effect on one of the positions. The wind blew in the enemy's direction," said Shershen. In general, according to the spokesperson, over the last day, like the previous one, the Russians focused their main efforts on assaults on the Avdiivka and Marinka axes. "It was here that…

In a phone call, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark A. Milley discussed Ukraine’s offensive operation that continues as planned. The relevant statement was made by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “We discussed situation across all frontline sectors. I spoke of the offensive and defensive actions taken by our units, and noted that the [offensive] operation continues as planned,” Zaluzhnyi wrote. Additionally, Zaluzhnyi pointed out the needs of Ukraine’s Defense Forces regarding certain weapons and mine clearing…