[Korrespondent] 22:29 Zelensky commented on the situation at the front in an evening video message: "Tough battles. South - we are destroying the enemy. Donetsk region - we are destroying the enemy. Kupyansk direction - no matter what the Russian terrorists are planning, we will destroy the enemy. In the South - there is our movement forward. In the East "We're holding the line. And I'm especially grateful for every downed Russian helicopter... Every such downing is important."
21:34 Russia really tried to attack the premises of Ukrainian intelligence in Kiev, but did not achieve any set goals, Andrey Yusov, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate, said: “Yes, there were attacks. as a result of these enemy actions, not for an hour. We can say this even in the room."
9:12 pm The US House Foreign Affairs Committee backed a bipartisan resolution calling for the Biden administration to immediately provide Ukraine with ATACMS missiles. The head of the committee, Republican Michael McCall, said that ATAСMS missiles are critical to the success of Ukraine's counteroffensive, as they have a range of more than 300 km, which allows the Armed Forces to strike at the occupied territories. Bipartisan approval in committee allows the resolution to be put to a vote in the House of Representatives. The document must also be approved by the Senate.
21:03 The states that are part of the so-called fighter coalition are considering Romania as a possible place for training Ukrainian pilots on the F-16, Politico writes, citing sources. Probably, the training will be conducted by Lockheed Martin, which manufactures the F-16.
20:38 The World Bank Group announced the provision of additional financial support to Ukraine in the amount of $1.75 billion. Funding consists of a UK-guaranteed $500 million WB loan, a $1.25 billion grant from the US and a $15 million grant from the Finnish government.
20:06 An investigation by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs found that the Swiss Eagle I armored vehicles seen at the front in Ukraine in March entered the country through a German company that handed them over without the consent of the Swiss authorities.
19:45 Bulgarian Defense Minister Todor Tagarev announced the preparation of a new package of military assistance for Ukraine. According to him, it will meet the needs of Kyiv and the possibilities of Sofia in accordance with last year's decision of the Parliament.
19:22 British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley said that London would be "very supportive" if Ukraine can go through a simplified process of joining NATO. According to him, the UK will support the proposal that Ukraine will not need to go through the MAP stage to join the Alliance.
19:19 Defense forces shot down a Russian Mi-24 helicopter, the General Staff said.
19:14 Adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, Petr Andryushchenko, showed a photo of Russian fortifications in the city, 70 km from the front line. "Directly on the border of urban development. Not the first, not the second line. And from one not directly expected direction. This is just an answer to everyone, why not in Kharkov. That's why," he wrote.
18:59 The agreed 11th package of EU sanctions contains an important mechanism to counter Russia's circumvention of restrictions. According to Yermak, with the help of this mechanism, it is planned to limit the sale and transfer of sensitive technologies and dual-use products to other countries that help Russians circumvent sanctions. Accordingly, this should negatively affect the Russian military-industrial complex and their ability to produce missiles. "Assistance in circumventing sanctions should become unprofitable for others," the head of the President's Office stressed.
18:47 A two-day conference on the restoration of Ukraine has started in London. Particular emphasis will be placed on attracting private investment. About what to expect from this forum - in the material Money and advice .
18:29 The Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the EU Member States has increased the European Peace Fund (EPF), which finances arms supplies to Ukraine, by 3.5 billion euros, the Swedish Presidency of the EU Council has announced.
18:11 Reznikov said that he had a "very productive" telephone conversation with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Galant: "We discussed the current situation on the ground and the prospects for the project to protect Ukrainians from air threats. Iranian drones pose a threat to the security of both our countries. We expect to Israel's help in counteracting this."
17:46 In the Tauride direction, the Ukrainian army continues to advance, the successes of the Defense Forces are “already noticeable,” said Alexander Tarnavsky, commander of the Tavria operational-strategic grouping. According to him, over the past 24 hours, the enemy’s losses in killed and wounded amounted to almost three companies, 68 pieces of enemy military equipment were destroyed and damaged.
17:20 The SBU has begun investigating almost 92,000 criminal cases related to the Russian invasion, head of the department Vasily Malyuk said. According to him, the Service is investigating almost 43,000 cases of Russian war crimes alone. "We do not just fix crimes, but we carry out all the necessary procedural actions. So that sooner or later all Russian criminals will be brought to justice," Malyuk stressed.
16:55 Helicopters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be equipped with the most modern system for detecting missile launches and self-defense AMPS, the technology manufacturer, the German company Hensoldt, said. The company announced an order from Ukraine for 16 AMPS sensor complexes.
16:33 The Russians know where air defense systems are located in Ukraine, Yury Ignat, spokesman for the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, told Focus in an interview: "The enemy is well aware of the approximate location of our air defense systems - they have both intelligence and their own agents. The Russians launch 5- 10 drones, or even more, along different routes to disperse the Ukrainian forces and force us to fire as many missiles as possible."
Ignat noted that soon Ukraine will completely replace outdated Soviet air defense systems with the latest systems. "In the meantime, we have to spend a large number of missiles to destroy enemy drones," he added.
16:28 EU ambassadors agreed on the 11th package of anti-Russian sanctions. It contains measures aimed at countering the circumvention of sanctions and individual restrictions. The head of the Office of the President of Ukraine said that part of the sanctions steps were proposed by the McFaul-Yermak group.
Among other things, the package of sanctions will include a ban on Russian trailers crossing the border, as well as a ban on the transportation of oil through the southern branch of the Druzhba oil pipeline. Now this is the only branch of Friendship, through which Russian oil goes to Europe, Kazakhstani oil is transported along the northern one.
16:17 Germany handed over another batch of military aid to Ukraine, which included missiles for Patriot air defense systems. The new package includes 1,000 155mm artillery shells, 155mm precision-guided projectiles (exact number not specified), six border guard vehicles, two HX81 8x8 tractors, and two semi-trailers.
15:46 Latvia is preparing to complete the transfer of all its helicopters to Ukraine, Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said at a conference in London. He noted that during the full-scale war in Ukraine, the Latvian government spent more than 1.3% of GDP on all types of assistance to Ukraine, of which more than 1% - only for military needs.
"All our Stinger missiles are now in Ukraine. We have a fleet of helicopters, all these helicopters - the latter are now being repainted to be usable and look good - we are sending to Ukraine," Karins said. He added that Latvia also continues to train Ukrainian soldiers and provide ammunition and drones.
15:37 The Russians are gradually returning to the same positions in the Kherson region, which they left after the explosion of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station, said the speaker of OK Pivden Natalya Gumenyuk. In addition, according to her, the enemy is intensifying shelling: "Already over the past day, we have recorded 75 shelling. This is a return to the mark that was before the man-made disaster they created."
As for the general situation in the Dnieper direction, according to Gumenyuk, compared to Zaporozhye, the activity of the defense forces in advancing is somewhat reduced here, but the activity of the counter-battery fight is greatly increased: “We continue to destroy the enemy’s power while he is redeploying after a large water. They created a catastrophe that affected their positions quite significantly." Also, now the occupiers have to update maps of minefields, since the water carried the mines to other locations.
15:16 If an explosion occurs at the Crimean Titanium plant in Armyansk, which the Russians have mined, it will be an artificial man-made catastrophe of the international level, Natalya Gumenyuk, speaker of OK Pivden, said. According to her, in the event of an explosion of the enterprise, the Russian military will be the first to suffer, and the accident may also affect the citizens of Turkey, Romania and Moldova.
Gumenyuk added that cases of group departures of people who are trying to get as far away from this danger zone as possible are already being recorded in Crimea.
14:51 The European Union has come to the conclusion that it cannot legally completely confiscate the frozen reserves of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation in the amount of 200 billion euros, Bloomberg writes, citing internal EU documents. Instead, the Europeans intend to focus on the temporary use of Russian assets.
According to the publication, part of the frozen Russian funds has already earned almost 750 million euros, while since the moment of confiscation it has been in the accounts of the financial company Euroclear. European leaders next week will discuss the possibility of transferring these funds to Ukraine.
14:25 The European Union will cover 45% of all Ukraine's needs for financing the recovery until 2027, said the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. This is about 50 billion euros, announced earlier as part of the aid package.
14:03 Zelensky said in an interview with the BBC that the offensive is not easy for the army, since 200 thousand square meters. km of Ukrainian territory mined by Russian troops: “Some people think that this is a Hollywood movie and are waiting for the results now. It’s not like that... Whatever some people want, including attempts to pressure us, with all due respect, we will advance on the battlefield as we see fit."
13:50 Germany will provide Ukraine with an additional 381 million euros in humanitarian aid in 2023, said Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock. The funds will go towards "everything from generators to food and tents for those who have recently fled or lost their homes," she said.
13:44 France will provide Ukraine with an additional 40 million euros of non-repayable financial assistance for immediate recovery this year, and is also preparing a multi-year plan for assistance for civilian needs, Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said during a speech at a conference in London.
13:19 The European Investment Bank will allocate 840 million euros for the restoration of Ukraine. The funds will be used to restore schools, hospitals, infrastructure, transport networks, etc. The bank will also finance the development of digitalization and strengthening cybersecurity.
13:07 On June 20, Russian troops went on a large-scale offensive in eastern Ukraine. Particularly heavy fighting is going on in the Kupyansky direction and Limansky - in the areas of Yampolevka and Serebryansky forestry. The main goal of the invaders is to reach the borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Read more about what is happening tamm - in the material of the Russian Federation went on the offensive .
12:54 The European Commission today may announce an oral interim assessment of Ukraine's implementation of candidate recommendations for joining the EU. We are talking about judicial, anti-corruption reforms, laws on the media and national minorities, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. At the same time, she positively assessed the efforts of Kyiv and noted the rapid pace of reforms, despite the war. According to her, this is a clear signal to the EU and investors.
12:29 Budanov said in a commentary to The Economist that Russia would not launch a nuclear strike on Ukraine. He noted that the nine years of Russia's war against Ukraine give him the opportunity to realistically assess such a threat: "As the head of intelligence, I say directly that this will not happen. For all my hostility towards the Russian Federation, there are not so many idiots in the leadership there."
Budanov also believes that peace in Ukraine is impossible without the strategic defeat of Russia and the reformatting of power: "Either everyone will leave the war at the same time, or one side will lose and the other will win. There are no other options."
12:24 The United States will provide Ukraine with an additional $1.3 billion in financial assistance , Blinken said at a conference in London. At the same time, he stressed that "in the end" the costs of restoring Ukraine will be borne by Russia. And now the West must "create a Ukrainian army strong enough to defend it in the long term," the US Secretary of State added.
12:18 Zelensky, during a video conference speech at the opening of the Conference on the Restoration of Ukraine, said that Ukraine is already defending the expanse of freedom in NATO and is waiting for the courage of the leaders of the Alliance to admit this: "Ukraine has already managed to make the EU as united as never before... Also Just as Ukraine already belongs to the EU value space, we already belong to the NATO space in terms of security De facto Just as Ukraine is already part of the EU common market and is on the way to full membership, we are already defending the common space of freedom in Alliance, and we are only waiting for the courage of the leaders of the Alliance to politically recognize this reality."
12:11 An international conference on the restoration of Ukraine has begun in London. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced at the opening of the event that the country would provide Ukraine with $3 billion in loan guarantees within three years. More than 1,000 foreign officials from 61 countries, representatives of non-governmental organizations and hundreds of business leaders and entrepreneurs are expected to attend the conference.
According to the World Bank, as of March 2023, Ukraine's recovery needs amounted to $411 billion.
11:59 The leader of the "DPR" Denis Pushilin signed a "decree" on the creation of temporary accommodation centers for deported "foreigners" - that is, persons, including those with a Ukrainian passport, who refused to receive a Russian passport. An adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, Petr Andryushchenko, called this the legalization of filtration camps, in which people can be kept for life.
11:32 Finland may stop helping African and Asian countries that support Russia. Instead, the new government intends to focus on financing Ukraine, writes The Times. "It is morally wrong to continue to provide development assistance to countries that support Russia's aggression against Ukraine," said the new Minister of Trade and International Development of Finland, Ville Tavio.
11:04 The east remains the main direction of the enemy's offensive, the goal is to reach the borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, said Anna Malyar, Deputy Defense Minister. At the same time, she added that, in general, in the east, Ukrainian troops "strongly hold their positions, repelling constant enemy attacks and inflicting maximum losses on the occupier."
10:27 The Economist writes that the building of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on Rybalsky Island in Kiev was twice subjected to rocket attacks: in March 2022 and at the end of May this year. Moreover, the last attack, after which Russia announced that Budanov was allegedly wounded, was unsuccessful: neither the building nor the head of intelligence was damaged.
10:18 The UN estimated the damage to the energy system of Ukraine from the war at more than $10 billion.
09:49 British intelligence showed defensive fortifications built by the Russians in the north of Crimea. They are located 3.5 km north of Armyansk, on a narrow isthmus connecting the peninsula with the Kherson region. The length of the fortifications is 9 km. Thus, according to analysts, the Russian Federation is preparing for a scenario that Ukrainian troops will try to enter the Crimea.
09:36 The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that today an "attempt by the Kiev regime" was suppressed to carry out a "terrorist attack" on objects in the Moscow region with three aircraft-type drones. All UAVs were suppressed by means of electronic warfare, as a result of which they lost control and crashed, there were no casualties or damage.
09:10 In the Kherson region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, two people were killed, eight were injured. In the Donetsk region, there are also two dead (in Druzhba and the village of Konstantinovka) and one wounded. Four people were injured in the Zaporozhye region, one in the Kharkiv region, according to the OVA.
09:01 The Ukrainian military are fixed on the reached lines in the southern direction, said the speaker of the General Staff Andriy Kovalev. According to him, the Defense Forces continue to conduct offensive operations in the Melitopol and Berdyansk directions. "In the directions of Novodanilovka - Robotino, Malaya Tokmachka - Verbovoye, Svobodnaya Pole - Makarovka, they had partial success, they are gaining a foothold on the achieved lines," he specified.
In the east, the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to hold back the advance of Russian troops, Kovalev added: "Especially heavy fighting is going on in the Limansky direction in the areas of Yampolevka and Serebryansky forestry of the Donetsk region. In the direction of Belogorovka - Shipilovka, offensive operations were carried out, they were partially successful, and are consolidated on the achieved lines."
08:43 In Crimea, the railway track was damaged and the movement of trains was stopped in the area of Feodosia, the "head" of the occupied peninsula Sergey Aksenov said. He does not name the reasons, but local publics write that it was a sabotage.
08:39 In the Naro-Fominsk district of the Moscow region, two drones fell on approach to warehouses, not far from the military unit, there were no damages or injuries, Governor Andrei Vorobyov said.
08:26 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of June 21.
- personnel - about 222,000 (+540) people liquidated,
- tanks - 4006 (+9),
- armored combat vehicles - 7771 (+21),
- artillery systems - 3920 (+32),
- MLRS - 615 (+1),
- air defense systems - 375 (+3),
- aircraft - 314 (+0),
- helicopters - 306 (+0),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 3428 (+35),
- cruise missiles - 1214 (+0),
- ships/boats - 18 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 6667 (+22),
- special equipment - 539 (+8).
07:47 At night, the Russians attacked from the northern direction with Shahed drones - all six UAVs were destroyed in the Khmelnytsky region, the Air Force command reported. In addition, over the past day, the Defense Forces destroyed four enemy reconnaissance drones of various types.
07:20 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 40 combat clashes, the General Staff said in the morning summary .
Meanwhile, the invaders are actively spreading information about the evacuation in case of a breakthrough of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. So, in Genichesk, Kherson region, collaborators' mobile phones receive SMS messages with detailed instructions and coordinates of evacuation points, which, in turn, causes panic.
06:08 Britain will announce a "historic financial support package for Ukraine", which includes a World Bank loan guarantee in the amount of $ 3 billion and assistance in the amount of 240 million pounds ($ 305 million), the government said. The funds will be used to strengthen the economic stability of Ukraine, support vital public services, including the cost of maintaining schools and hospitals.
Thus, non-military British assistance to Ukraine will amount to more than $6 billion, including $5.23 billion in fiscal support and $817 million in bilateral assistance. Part of the money should be spent on demining Ukrainian territory, fighting against the elements, energy projects, as well as financing the activities of the UN and the Red Cross.