Russia-Ukraine war: Kyiv says Russian troop kidnapped civilians in occupied Energodar

Russian troops have kidnapped and allegedly torture people for ransom in occupied Energodar, the city council's Dmytro Orlov said on Telegram.  "Hundreds of civilians from Energodar and nearby villages are currently being held captive by the Russian military. They are being held for ransom," it stated. "The standard price for the release of a person held on any pretext is 50,000 hryvnyas. This money is extorted from the prisoners themselves or their relatives," Dmytro Orlov said. 

Credit: telegram/Anton Gerashchenko

Russian military fired the Kh-101 missiles at Kyiv with Tu-95 and Tu-160 bombers, spokesperson of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yurii Ihnat said.  “The strategic bombers, Tu-195 and Tu-160, which have been used to fire missiles at Kyiv Region today, are those stationed in the Caspian Sea, Astrakhan. They take off from there. They are equipped with basic missiles and launch them from there," said Yurii. 

The Kh-101 missile has a range of 5.5 thousand kilometers. And so, the Russian bombers do not necessarily need to enter the Ukrainian airspace. "It is enough for them to take off, take a firing track and launch missiles. Four to six missiles have been fired today. In fact, our anti-aircraft defense units reacted, and some missiles were shot down. One missile was confirmed to have been destroyed. The fragments of the other are being searched,” Ihnat said. 

Credit: AP

An advisor to Ukraine's ministry of internal affairs has claimed that Russian troops are shooting Russians citing an example of a Russian woman who was among those injured in the missile strikes on Kyiv.  Anton Gerashchenko described the scenes where the Russian rocket hit as "horrible".

"The woman that rescuers go out of the debris is a Russian citizen. She is in hospital now. Russians shoot Russians," he said on Telegram. 

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said that he will convince the Russian and Ukrainian counterparts to start the diplomatic dialogue to find a resolution to the ongoing crisis.  "War has to be stopped and global food supply chains need to
be reactivated," Mr Widodo said before leaving for Germany to attend the G7 summit. 

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s in an interview with the National State Television of Belarus on Sunday said that the Western countries fear honest competition. And hence, "a desire to cancel the culture of any country that stands on its own, nationally-oriented positions" has emerged in form of sanctions. 

"Ukraine tried to build its sovereignty by cancelling its own history. The West encouraged that approach and that conceptual vision of the Ukrainian state just to harm Russia," said Lavrov. 

 

World leaders that gathered at the G7 summit on Sunday mocked Russia's leader Vladimir Putin and joked about his "tough man image," reporters from news agencies have learned.  At the G7 lunch, the Western leaders made bullying remarks agsinst Russia's president, joking about whether they "should strip down to shirtsleeves - or even less." 

“Jackets on? Jackets off? Do we take our coats off?” Boris Johnson reportedly asked the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and also the European Union as he took swipe on Russian leader. The jokes of the Group of Seven (G7) leaders were directed shortly after United States announced Sunday that the G7 group of nations will ban imports of Russian gold in an attempt to isolate Moscow. 

At the lunch organized at Bavaria’s picturesque Elmau Castle hosted by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, leaders mocked Putin as Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau said “let’s wait” for the official picture without taking the coats off. UK PM mocked, “we have to show that we’re tougher than Putin." He then launched insults at the president of the Russian federation's shirtless photo from August 2009, riding a horse while on vacation outside the town of Kyzyl in Southern Siberia.

“We’re going to get the bare-chested horseback riding display,” Trudeau reportedly said.  “Horseback riding is the best,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said taking a dig at Russian Presdient Putin.

UK's ambassador to Ukraine, Melinda Simmons on Sunday derided Russian missile attack on Kyiv calling the act "murderous cowardice."  "Kyiv was shelled overnight by Russia. A residential district was targeted. Nothing military there. What murderous cowardice," she wrote on Twitter. Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko wrote on the Telegram messaging app that "according to preliminary data, 14 missiles were launched against Kyiv region and Kyiv" since overnight. 

Russia's Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoygu on Sunday visited the occupied territories of Ukraine where he interacted with the Russian soldiers. 

Credit: Russia Defese Ministry (MoD)

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow rejects the concept of the rules-based order that is pushed forward by the United States and its allies, and is a concept based to promote washington's global hegemony.  During the media questions following at a joint news conference after talks with Iran's Foreing Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Russia's Lavrov asseretd that this idea was designed for use as a "substitute for international law" and the UN Charter’s basic principles. US subordinates the security of all countries to the interests of the Western world, to ensure the total, “eternal” domination of Washington using the concept of "rules based order." 

Credit: RussianMFA

European Council President Charles Michel berated Russia's Putin for his “hunger games,” referring to grain silos blockade by his soldiers at various key ports in the Black Sea. Kremlin is “solely responsible for the global food crisis causing suffering in the poorest countries and low-income households," Michel lashed out. 

In remarks made ahead of G7 summit in the Bavarian Alps, Michel said the Kremlin “is using food as a silent weapon of war, and we must vigorously counter Russia’s propaganda about food and fertilizer prices.” And that Russia was “blockading ports, attacking agricultural infrastructure, turning fields of wheat into fields of war." 

Russian President Vladimir Putin in a shocking claim on Sunday said that Americans have close to 200 tactical nuclear weapons deployed in Europe, mostly atomic bombs. During the meeting held with President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, Putin warned that US has installed nearly two hundred nuclear bombs in six European countries, some in the member states of NATO, and the North Atlantic bloc. 

"To use these weapons, 257 planes have been prepared – and they are not only US planes," said the president of the Russian Federation. 

Putin then told his belarusian counterpart that there was now an urgent need for two nations to defend their own security. A decision was made in our country, said Putin, and within the next several months, we will transfer to Belarus the Iskander-M tactical nuclear capable missile systems, which are known to use both ballistic and cruise missiles, both conventional and nuclear. 

Credit: Kremlin

Russian troops are building up the combat forces in the Sloviansk direction, repeating the scenario and defense strategy that they used in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. "They do not change tactics and will attempt to repeat the Mariupol and Sievierodonetsk scenarios. But, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are ready to meet them," Donetsk Regional Military Administration Head Pavlo Kyrylenko warned in a televised remark. 

“We can see them [Russian forces] building up personnel, heavy armored vehicles and artillery in the Sloviansk direction. The enemy is following its tactics and attempting to get closer to our defense lines in order to use cannon artillery against the city in addition to missiles and aircrafts that they are systemically using in Donetsk Region," Pavlo Kyrylenko said.

"Russians do not change tactics. We saw what happened in our native Mariupol and Sievierodonetsk. Thus, we are preparing for any scenario in Sloviansk. […] We are prepared and will stand against for as long as necessary,” Kyrylenko added. 

Damaged radar arrays and other equipment at a Ukrainian military facility outside Mariupol. Credit: Sergei Grits/AP

Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation and General of the Army, Sergei Shoigu, on Sunday inspected the Russian grouping of troops involved in a special military operation in Ukraine. At the command posts of the Russian groupings, General of the Army Sergei Shoigu heard reports from the commanders on the current situation and actions of the Russian Armed Forces in the main operational areas.

According to Russia's Defense Ministry, the head of the military department "paid special attention" to the organization of comprehensive support for hostilities, as well as the creation of all the necessary living conditions for Russian military personnel at temporary deployment points.

Sergei Shoigu also presented state awards to the Russian soldiers, the Gold Star medal of the Hero of the Russian Federation and the Order of Courage to Russian servicemen who showed "heroism and dedication" in performing combat missions during a special military operation in Ukraine. 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and his French counterpart president Emmanuel Macron have agreed to provide more more arms and support to the war ravaged Ukraine, as they met on the sidelines of the G7 summit. According to notification published Boris Johnson's office,  the two leaders “agreed this is a critical moment for the course of the conflict, and there is an opportunity to turn the tide in the war." 

Both Johnson and Macron “stressed the need to support Ukraine to strengthen their hand in both the war and any future negotiations. President Macron praised the Prime Minister’s ongoing military support to Ukraine and the leaders agreed to step up this work,” the statement attributed to a No 10 spokesperson read. 

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's advisor Arestovych warned that Russian troops could attack Kyiv "throughout the day." This morning Russian soldiers launched missiles that hit the civilian residential building, and injured a child, also killing her father. Two more explosions were heard in the capital Kyiv just recently, he claimed. 

UK PM Boris Johsnon on Sunday warned against the 'war fatigue' among the populations and politicians and appealed for continued support ahead of  G7 summit in Germany.  Boris Johnson said: "Realistically there is going to be fatigue in populations and politicians. I think the pressure is there and the anxiety is there, we’ve got to be honest about that. But the most incredible thing about the way the West has responded to the invasion of Ukraine by Putin has been the unity - Nato has been solid, the G7 has been solid and we continue to be solid."

Russia stole almost 2,000 tons of grain in Zaporizhzhia region, Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine said on Telegram.  Russian military continues to rob Ukrainian farmers at gunpoint, it said, adding that in the Vasilevskiy district, the military stole 1.2 thousand tons of grain from a farmer and forced them to load it onto trucks with a "Z" symbol associated with Russia's special operation. 

Credit: Deputy minister at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine/Anton Gerashchenko 

A seven-year-old girl and her father were severely injured in a missile strike on a residential building in Kyiv. The little girl was pulled out from under the debris by rescue workers, however, the father was reportedly killed in the attack, Ukrainian MP Leslia Vasylenko wrote on Twitter. 

G7 must respond to missile strikes with more sanctions, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said condemning Russia's missile strikes on Ukrainian capital Kyiv's central region. He also appealed to the G7 countries to supply more heavy weapons to Ukraine to counter Russia's growing aggression. 

“This 7 y.o. Ukrainian kid was sleeping peacefully in Kyiv until a Russian cruise missile blasted her home. Many more around Ukraine are under strikes. G7 summit must respond with more sanctions on Russia and more heavy arms for Ukraine,” Kuleba said on Twitter.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been hoping “that somehow NATO and the G7 would splinter,” Biden said ahead of the G7 summit in the German Alps. “But we haven’t and we’re not going to," he added. “We have to stay together,” Biden further told German chancellor Olaf Scholz. 

Biden also hailed Scholz’s leadership as current chair of the G7 during challenging times of the Russia’s war and the global economic fallout.

“I want to compliment you for stepping up as you did when you became chancellor” and “the way you had a great impact on the rest of Europe to move, particularly relating to Ukraine,” Biden told Scholz.

Russia’s defence ministry has used the high-precision weapons to strike Ukrainian army training centres in the Chernihiv, Zhytomyr and Lviv regions of Ukraine, Moscow's state affiliated agencies reported. The attack came shortly after Russian troops targetted the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with four missiles. 

Separately, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov salmmed Ukraine for trying to eliminate Russian history. 

Ukraine's law enforcement officers  who have launched an official probe into the Sunday's missile strike on Kyiv’s central district said that one of the missile hit the civilian home, basically a 9-storey apartment block and an adjacent infrastructure. The residential house was caught ablaze, and its upper floors were charred while the inmates were inside, Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office said.

One civilian was killed. Four civilians, including a child, were injured after they were pulled out from under the rubble and taken to hospital. Rescue operation is underway. Another “military” missile had landed in a kindergarten inside the kids’ playground. "There is a huge crater now at the site of impact," said Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office. On Sunday the playground was empty but in case of the weekday dozens of Ukrainian children would have been present. 

Images Credit: telegram/Anton Gerashchenko 

Russian troops on Sunday launched at least four missiles on the Ukrianian Shevchenkivskyi district for the first time in three weeks. Thick plumes of smoke was seen emanating from the region that houses civilian homes, universities, restaurants and art galleries at around 6.22 am local time, Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said  in telegram post.

At least two residential buildings had been hit. He slammed the Russians for trying to “intimidate Ukrainians” by striking city that was returning to calm just ahead of the NATO summit in Madrid about to start on Tuesday.

The President of the European Union, Ursula von der Leyen, at the G7 summit reiterated her commitment to Ukraine. EU will “stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes," she said. 

Former spokesperson for Ukrainian president, Iuliia Mendel claimed at least one person was killed in the missile strikes that hit Kyiv residential building on Sunday morning. She added that a Russian citizen living in the building was also injured.

A video of one of those injured in the Kyiv missile strike, taken at a time when he was being taken away on a stretcher by rescue workers, emerged on Sunday. The building came under attack around 6 am today. Search operations are underway as authorities believe more people are trapped under the debris of the mowed building. 

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, on Sunday, said that he will ask his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to announce an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. He also insisted that Putin and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy must sit for dialogue to bring an end to the ongoing war. "War has to be stopped and global food supply chains need to be reactivated," Widodo said before leaving for G7 Summit to be held in Germany, as quoted by The Guardian. 

In the latest efforts to cripple Russia’s economy, the G7 leaders- US, UK, Canada and Japan- will ban imports of Russian gold.

Gold exports covered approximately $15.2bn billion of Russia's revenue in 2021. According to UK PM's office analysis, the sales increased after February as non-resident Russian oligarchs rushed to purchase to relieve Moscow from the impact of the sanctions. 

UK PM Boris Johnson is expected to push for more weapons for Ukraine at the G7 and NATO summits. As quoted by The Independent, Johnson will appeal to his fellow leaders- namely French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to "empower president Zelensky and Ukraine to achieve the outcome they want." He went on to add that the message for his colleagues at the upcoming summits is ..."now is not the time to settle and encourage the Ukrainians to settle for a bad peace, for a peace for which they are invited to give up chunks of their territory in return for a ceasefire."

"Too many countries are saying this is a European war that is unnecessary ... and so the pressure will grow to encourage - coerce, maybe - the Ukrainians to a bad peace," Johnson told broadcasters in the Rwandan capital Kigali before leaving for the G7 summit. 

Two people have been taken to hospital after Sunday morning’s missile strikes in Kyiv. Taking to Telegram, Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko informed many are said to be stuck under the rubble after "enemy shelling" struck a residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district. 

A fire broke out in a nine-story residential building, partially destroying the first, second and third floors. The fire broke out on a total area of 300 square meters, Ukrainian State Emergency Service said in a statement.

A massive fire broke out in a residential building in Kyiv after Russian continued overnight shelling in Ukraine. Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko said search and rescue operations are underway as people are believed to be trapped under the rubble in the Shevchenkivskyi district.

Ukrainian armed forces in its latest update claimed that the defenders have killed as many as 34,850 Russian soldiers since February 24. The defenders also destroyed 1,532 tanks and 3,659 armored vehicles and over 7--artillery systems belonging to Russian invaders. 

Ukrainian Armed Forces in its latest operational briefing stated that the Russian fleet in the southern part is concentrating efforts on blocking civilian ships in the northwestern part of the Black Sea. Meanwhile, on the ground, the invaders have shelled settlements in Keramik, Krasnohorivka, Sievierne, Vodaine, Opytne, Umansky, Tonenke, Karlivka, Pavlivka, Zelene Pole, Malynivk and more. 

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in its latest war update claimed that Russian troops are concentrating on the Lysychansk direction in an attempt to besiege defending units. 

"The enemy fired near Vovchoyarivka, Loskutivka, Bila Hora, Verkhnyokamyanka, Vyimka, Verkhnyokamyansky and Zolotarivka. It struck an air strike with a Su-25 steamer near the settlement of Bila Hora," the statement said.

The US Defence Department will try to keep the "right balance" in arms supply to Ukraine by supplying Soviet-era weapons along with the Western models, said Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby during a press briefing on Saturday. 

"We want to make sure that the right balance is maintained here, and they (the Armed Forces, - ed.) Get the systems to which they are accustomed, as well as the systems they need, the use of which does not reduce their combat readiness on the ground," - Kirby stated. 

Kirby explained that with the war becoming "more and more" artillery centric with modernised weapons sent to Ukraine, a lot of time is being invested in training the defenders to use the said weapons which will result in the withdrawal of soldiers from the battlefield. He recalled the initial days of the war when Western partners delivered Soviet weapons to Ukraine that the Ukrainian military is acquainted with. "There is still a need for that...I mean, they still use these systems," he said. 

Three explosions were heard early on June 26 in Kyiv, Kyiv Independent reported. The air raid alert began sounding in the capital 5:47 a.m. local time and remained active at publication time.

For the first time since 1988, Russia is on the edge of debt default. As per a BBC report, Moscow is approaching a threatening debt payment failure in case it fails to meet its June 26 deadline to pay the $100 million interest. 

The report highlights that Moscow has the required funds but is being unable to pay due to the financial sanctions, preventing it to make payments to international creditors. 

Ukraine's Southern Command on Sunday reported that it has received complaints regarding the kidnapping and abduction of family members of Ukrainian defenders from the occupied areas of Mykolaiv and Kherson oblasts. 

Ukraine can win and it will win. But they need our backing to do so. Now is not the time to give up on Ukraine, UK PM Boris Johnson said during an in-person meeting with the leaders of G7 countries in the Bavarian Alps. 

Key points from UK PM Boris Johnson's speech: 

• "Any sign of fatigue or wavering in Western support for Ukraine will play directly into President Putin’s hands," he stressed. 
• "It is essential that this is sustained for the long term. Russia’s behaviour and the atrocities Putin is committing must not become normalised in the eyes of the world."
• "To help with this pressing need the UK stands ready to provide another $525 million (or £429 million) in guarantees for World Bank lending later this year."

The Russian military says separatist fighters are in full control of the Severodonetsk chemical plant, the last Ukrainian holdout. 

Ukrainian troops were asked to withdraw from the remaining foothold of Severodonetsk after they staged a decisive defence against Russian forces for nearly two months. The victory of Russia in the region is small but symbolic given the political significance of the city. As the grinding war intensified in the past week, most of the Severodonetsk city was already held by Russia with Ukrainian soldiers holed up in the Azot steel plant. Earlier this week, Russian soldiers captured the largely depopulated town at a huge cost of lives and military equipment.

Berdiansk City Council on Saturday recorded the docking of a new dry cargo vessel. According to Ukrainian authorities, as cited by Ukrinform, the ship checked in the port is believed to be used for "illegal transportation" of grain stocks outside of Ukraine. Local witnesses claimed that the ship was accompanied by 4 Russian warships. 

Russian missile strikes display "very cynical, calculated pressure" waged by Moscow on the people of Ukraine, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "All of them were launched with one goal - to show that Russia allegedly can achieve something, that the Russian army will allegedly succeed," he added. Zelenskyy stated that the ongoing stage of war is "morally and emotionally difficult" for Ukrainians. "It is not just the destruction of our infrastructure, it is also a very cynical, calculated pressure on the emotions of our people," he added. 

Ukraine came under as many as 45 missile strikes over the night and morning of Saturday. The worst-hit regions were the Zhytomyr region, Lviv region, Chernihiv region, and Mykolaiv. Noting the alleviation of aggression, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his night address stressed that  "This is such a phase of the war - morally difficult, emotionally difficult."

"When we know that the enemy will not succeed when we understand that we will still be able to defend our state, but we do not feel the time limits of this, we do not feel how many more strikes, losses, and efforts will be before we see that victory is already on our horizon," he added. 

"But it's not us who will be overpowered, we will overpower them. No Russian missiles, no strikes can break the morale of Ukrainians. And each of their missiles is an argument in our negotiations with partners," Zelenskyy said. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his usual night address called for more sanctions against Russia as the war intensified in the eastern region. After the report of 45 rocket strikes in a day, he stressed, "clearly, current sanctions are evidently not enough to stop the aggression." 

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda on Saturday asserted that Vilnius will not make any concessions regarding the ban on the transit of specific goods from Lithuania to Russia's Kaliningrad region. This comes despite the Kremlin's repeated warnings of "serious consequences." Lithuania, however, defended that the ban was in line with the sanctions outlined by the European Union. 

In its latest operational update, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry claimed that Russia has lost nearly 34,700 soldiers, 3,645 Armored Personnel Vehicles (APV), 1,511 tanks, 764 artillery systems and 241 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), and at least 99 anti-aircraft warfare. In addition, the invaders also lost as many as 2,560 vehicles and fuel tanks, 626 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), 217 aircraft, 184 helicopters, 137 cruise missiles, 60 special equipment and 14 boats, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry stated in a Facebook post. 

Ukraine has alleged that Russian helicopters launched missiles at Sumy Oblast. According to Ukraine’s Border Guard Service, 2 helicopters “carried out 6 launches of unguided missiles” at the Krasnopillia village in Sumy Oblast, not far from the border with Russia. No casualties have been reported yet, the Kyiv Independent reported. 

A Ukrainian soldier was killed and another injured as Russian troops fired over 40 missiles at Chernihiv as well as Zhytomyr regions on Saturday morning. This was claimed by Vitalii Bunechko, the head of Zhytomyr Regional Military Administration. "The enemy began to attack the Zhytomyr region with missiles around 04:15 in the morning. They fired more than 40 missiles at the region's territory," Bunechko wrote on Telegram. According to reports, military infrastructure facilities were also damaged during the attack.  

Amid the ongoing war, Germany has vowed to provide 1 billion euros in aid to Ukraine. The Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko and the Federal Minister of Finance of Germany Christian Lindner signed an Agreement between the Governments of Ukraine and Germany on providing EUR 1 billion in grant funding to Ukraine. The funds will be directed to the state budget of Ukraine to finance priority social and humanitarian expenditures during martial law rule. These funds will be directed to Ukraine through the mechanism of the Administrated Account of the International Monetary Fund, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. 

Russian forces are trying to block a city in eastern Ukraine, the region’s governor said after their relentless assault on a nearby city forced Ukrainian troops to begin withdrawal after weeks of intense fighting. Russia also launched missile attacks on areas far from the heart of the eastern battles.

Serhiy Haidai, governor of the Luhansk region, said on Facebook that Russian forces are attempting to blockade the city of Lysychansk from the south. That city lies next to Sievierodonetsk, which has endured relentless assault and house-to-house fighting for weeks.

After Haidai said Friday that Ukrainian forces had begun retreating from Sievierodonetsk, military analyst Oleg Zhdanov said some of the troops were heading for Lysychansk. But Russian moves to cut off Lysychansk will give those retreating troops little respite. Russian bombardment has reduced most of Sievierodonetsk to rubble and cut its population from 100,0000 to 10,000. Some Ukrainian troops are holed up in the huge Azot chemical factory on the city’s edge, along with about 500 civilians.

(AP)

The representative of the European Union, at the OSCE Permanent Council Meeting, asserted that Russian President Vladimir Putin must cease the war quickly to prevent additional loss of life and damage to life and property in Ukraine, Ukrinform reported. The EU has also issued a firm warning to Putin, urging him to pull back his forces to stop any breaches of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. 

According to a statement from the EU, “At four o’clock on 24 February, the largest war of aggression in Europe since the Second World War started, bringing untold suffering to the people of Ukraine...The world knows who the aggressor is. With its premeditated, unprovoked and unjustified attack, Russia chose to be the aggressor, which we strongly condemn. The world continues to stand in full solidarity with Ukraine and its people.” 

The Russian Railways has partly suspended certain cargo shipments moved by transit through Belarus to Poland. "Shipments of certain goods routed to Poland by transit via Belarus have been suspended," the Russian Railways said in a statement, reported TASS news agency. However, it also pointed out that there hasn't been a total shutdown of traffic to Poland. Meanwhile, a Russian official claimed that approximately 30% of the entire amount of exports by rail are commodities that are subject to sanctions and are not allowed to transit to the country's exclave of Kaliningrad in the Baltic Sea.

The European Union (EU) members are embroiled in heated discussions after granting candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova, Germany’s Die Welt reported. This comes as Western Balkan states express their displeasure with the procedure to grant the candidate status to the two countries.

An updated list of alleged war crimes that Russia is accused of committing has been released by the Ukrainian prosecutor general's office. It claimed to have registered as many as 19,530 alleged cases of aggression and war crimes and 9,678 alleged crimes against national security. Additionally, 339 children have been killed since the onset of war, it added. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is looking to dismiss the country's top spy over "security failures." According to officials close to Zelenskyy, the President is mulling replacing Ivan Bakanov, who currently oversees Ukraine's spy service, with someone more suited to lead the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) at a time of war, POLITICO reported. Notably, Bakanov is Zelenskyy's old friend who once oversaw the latter's entertainment company as well as his presidential campaign. 

According to reports, 47-year-old Bakanov has been by Zelenskyy's side ever since the latter evolved from being a scraggy comedian in the south-central city of Kryvyi Rih to a powerful, battle-hardened leader well-known even outside of Ukraine. However, back in 2019, opposition parties had questioned Bakanov's appointment, claiming that someone with his qualification was not suited to run the country's top intelligence agency. Now, many in Kyiv allege that he failed to command his vast department of over 30,000 agents appropriately in the wake of Russia's invasion on February 24.   

Read more. 

NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg on Saturday affirmed that the members of the international military alliance will unanimously agree on an assistance package for Ukraine at the Madrid Summit. He was quoted as speaking by the Spanish publication El Pais.  

The NATO's Madrid Summit is set to be held on June 29 and 30. 

Ukrainian troops were moved from Severdonetsk for a couple of days to "save their lives", said Kyiv National Guard spokesperson Kharyton Starskyi. As reported by Kyiv Independent, the temporary pullback was necessary to place them into "more-fortified" positions, he added. 

The chief of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg on Saturday claimed that the "war in Ukraine will end at the negotiating table." As quoted by the Spanish news publication El Pais, Stoltenberg's comments come ahead of the NATO Summit due to take place on June 29 & 30 in Madrid. 

According to the official NATO page, the agenda of the summit will remain: 

• How has Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the new security reality in Europe affected NATO’s approach to deterrence and defence?
• What is the Alliance doing to address other challenges, like China’s growing influence and assertiveness or the security consequences of climate change? 
• What will be included in NATO’s next Strategic Concept, the blueprint for the Alliance’s future adaptation to a more competitive world where authoritarian powers try to push back against the rules-based international order?

Ukraine’s Centre for Strategic Communications and Information Security on Saturday informed that the Ukrainian armed forces liquidated at least 34,700 Russian troops since it began its invasion on February 24.

It also claimed that 1,511 tanks have also been lost and 217 aircraft.

Ukrainian LGBTQ community KyivPride is set to join Poland's yearly Equality Parade, not as a celebration but to draw international attention to the struggles in Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian war. 

“We are marching for political support for Ukraine, and we’re marching for basic human rights for Ukrainian people,” KyivPride director Lenny Emson said. “It is not a celebration. We will wait for victory to celebrate.”

While Russia is making creeping gains on the southern edge, Ukraine is re-configuring its defence in Severodontesk and Lysychansk sector, the UK MoD said in its latest operational update on the war in eastern Europe. 

Since the beginning of June the Russian command has highly likely removed several of its generals from key operational command roles in the war in Ukraine, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in its war briefing.

The UK MoD claimed that the Kremlin removed Gen-Col Andrei Serdyukov of Airborne Forces and General Alexandr Dvornikov of Russia's Southern Army (SGF). The statement said this was probably because the latter at some point was acting as "overall operational commander of the invading forces." 

Amid the ongoing rail transit row between Russia and Lithuania, Moscow on Friday suspended rail transit to Poland via Belarus.

 "Shipments of certain goods routed to Poland by transit via Belarus have been suspended," the Russian Railway company said, as quoted by TASS. 

The suspension is partial currently and no further decision has been made, the press release noted. 

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Friday expressed Moscow's disinterest in joining the Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). She said that the aggressive advancement of the treaty only leads to disunity among states and undermines the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

"In connection with the desire to put on a permanent basis the efforts to universalize the TPNW, as recorded in the final documents of the conference, we emphasize: that Russia does not intend to join this agreement and believes that the treaty does not establish any universal standards: neither now nor in the future," she said, as quoted by TASS. 

Ukraine Armed Forces Southern Command in its latest update claimed to launch targetted attack on Russian clusters. According to Ukrinform reports, Ukrainian Air Force struck 46 Russian troops, one 152 mm Giatsint howitzer, and two T-72 tanks in the Olesandrivka region near the Mykolaiv border. The military also shot down a Russian Orlan-10 reconnaissance drone.

Meanwhile, Russian troops have withdrawn from the Black Sea region due to a storm forecast, Ukrinform reported. "Nevertheless, the threat of missile strikes remains from the sea, from the sky, and from the land. The storm has not yet subsided, so drifting mines may emerge in any part of the sea and be pushed to the coast," the Command said.

On the 122nd day of the war, Russian troops hurled rocket strikes on the villages in Desna in the Chernihiv region. People of Lviv, Ternopil, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, and Kharkiv regions also heard similar explosions Head of the Chernihiv Regional Military Administration Vyacheslav Chaus informed via Telegram message.

Head of Kryvyi Rih region, Oleksandr Vilkul, on Friday informed that Russian troops shelled civilian communities in Dnipropetrovsk. The invading troops also launched Multiple Rocket launchers (MRLs). The arbitrary strikes hit residential structures. No report of casualties so far. 

Ukrainian politician Serhiy Prytula raised $20 million in crowdfunding to purchase Turkish Bayraktar drones. 

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Friday claimed that Moscow has never threatened anyone with nuclear weapons. 

After weeks of ferocious fighting, Ukrainian forces have begun retreating from a besieged city in the country's east to move to stronger positions, a regional official said Friday, the four-month mark in Russia's invasion.

The planned withdrawal from Sievierodonetsk, the administrative centre of the Luhansk region, comes after relentless Russian bombardment that has reduced most of the industrial city to rubble and cut its population from 100,0000 to 10,000. Ukrainian troops fought the Russians in house-to-house battles before retreating to the huge Azot chemical factory on the city's edge, where they remain holed up in its sprawling underground structures in which about 500 civilians also found refuge.

In recent days, Russian forces have made gains around Sievierodonetsk and the neighbouring city of Lysychansk, on a steep bank across a river, in a bid to encircle Ukrainian forces.

Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk have been the focal point of the Russian offensive aimed at capturing all of the Donbas and destroying the Ukrainian military defending it — the most capable and battle-hardened segment of the country's armed forces. The two cities and surrounding areas are the last major pockets of Ukrainian resistance in the Luhansk region — 95 per cent of which is under Russian and local separatist forces' control. The Russians and separatists also control about half of the Donetsk region, the second province in the Donbas.

Associated Press

The Institute for Study of War (ISW) claimed in its latest war update that Russian forces will carry out "false-flag" attacks in Belarus to draw Belarusian forces into the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This comes after the Ukrainian Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) reported that Russian sabotage groups and mercenaries arrived in Mozyr, Belarus, to detonate apartment buildings and civilian infrastructure around the city. As per the report, the GUR noted that Russian saboteurs will follow a pattern similar to apartment bombings in Chechnya in the early 2000s. Ukrainian officials have previously reported on possible false-flag attacks in Belarus throughout the past four months. 

The Institute for Study of War (ISW) in its latest war briefing on Saturday said Ukrainian officials ordered a controlled withdrawal of troops from Severodonetsk on June 24. Luhansk Oblast Administration Head Serhiy Haidai announced that Ukrainian forces are withdrawing from “broken positions” in Severodonetsk to prevent further personnel losses and maintain a stronger defense elsewhere. Severodonetsk Regional Military Administration Head Roman Vlasenko stated that several Ukrainian units remain in Severodonetsk as of June 24, but Ukrainian forces will complete the full withdrawal in “a few days.”

Ukrainian Armed Forces Southern Command on Friday claimed to have killed at least 46 Russian soldiers in the past 24 hours. 

In the latest development regarding Putin’s unprovoked military assault on its eastern neighbour, France has said that it will cooperate with Ukraine in probing Russian war crimes. On Friday, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova signed an agreement with French officials wherein the latter agreed on providing mutual legal assistance on Russian crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide. It is pertinent to note that Moscow’s brutalities first came into the limelight in April after maimed and tortured bodies were discovered in the Kyiv suburbs of Bucha and Irpin. Thereafter, mass graves were unearthed in several other towns and villages across Ukraine.

Earlier this week, Venediktova inked a similar pact with the Austrian Ministry of Justice. "We signed a Memorandum of Coop. with the Austrian Ministry of Justice in the investigation of the most serious Russian War Crimes. We`ll exchange information on the collection and recording of evidence. Thanks for strengthening the legal coalition, Österreich!," she wrote on Twitter. Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court prosecutor announced his plans to open an office in Ukraine in a bid to bolster his investigation on the same. 

The Emmanuel Macron Administration had, in April, sent a scientific team to the war-hit country to o assist Ukrainian forces in investigating the war crimes committed around Kyiv. “France is resolutely committed alongside the Ukrainians, its international partners and the courts to prevent impunity for unsustainable acts constituting war crimes,” the govt said adding "France will not look away from such atrocities.”

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed crowds attending the Glastonbury music festival in England on Friday.

Speaking by video to those gathered at the British music extravaganza, Zelenskyy urged people to "spread the truth" about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

“We in Ukraine would also like to live the life as we used to and enjoy the freedom and this wonderful summer, but we cannot do that because the most terrible (thing) has happened – Russia has stolen our peace," he said in a message before a set by the band The Libertines.

"The more people join us in defending freedom and truth, the sooner Russia's war against Ukraine will end," he added.

"Prove that freedom always wins."

Associated Press

Russian President Vladimir Putin must end the war immediately to stop further devastation of life and destruction of life and property in Ukraine, the European Union representative at the OSCE Permanent Council Meeting on June 24, Ukrinform quoted. In a stern warning, the EU also called on Putin to withdraw his troops to prevent violations of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“At four o’clock on February 24, the largest war of aggression in Europe since the Second World War started, bringing untold suffering to the people of Ukraine. The world knows who the aggressor is. With its premeditated, unprovoked and unjustified attack, Russia chose to be the aggressor, which we strongly condemn. The world continues to stand in full solidarity with Ukraine and its people,” the statement read, as quoted by Ukrinform.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday called on participants of the Glastonbury Festival in the UK to urge politicians to help Ukraine with assistance. Through a virtual address, Zelenskyy noted that the festival was postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, however, he added in an impassioned tone that it had not shattered people unlike the war in Ukraine. "Russia has stolen our peace," Zelenskyy said, stressing the necessity to stop the battle before it further ruins Europe.

"We, in Ukraine, would also like to live the life as we used to and enjoy the freedom and this wonderful summer. But we cannot do that because the most terrible has happened - Russia has stolen our peace. But! We will not let Russia’s war break us. And we want to stop the war before it ruins people's lives in other countries of Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America – they are all under threat now. That is why I turn to you for support!" he said.

Ukraine State Emergency Services on Friday assessed that the war-torn country will take at least 10 years to demine its territories. 

Following the exit of Russian and Ukrainian troops after two months of gruelling battle, the residential district of Popasana in the Luhansk region has remained a heap of rubble. Numerous buildings were destroyed by arbitrary Russian shelling during a fierce fight in early May. 

The European Council on Friday approved 9 billion euros in financial aid for Ukraine. The EU approved "further financial assistance to Ukraine in the amount of EUR 9 billion," Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki said in a press conference after the EU leaders' meeting on June 24, as quoted by Ukrinform. "There is a war in Ukraine, and there is nothing to pay nurses, teachers, police, border guards, or many other public services," Morawiecki he added. The Polish PM went on: "The advantage (of Russia - ed.) in artillery, according to the allies and our own sources is 1: 8, 1:10. How difficult it is to fight such an overwhelming enemy force. That is why Poland, as well as the United States, Great Britain, and the Baltic States, are doing everything possible to help Ukraine get the weapons."

The European Union with its decision to accept Ukraine and Moldova has confirmed that it continues to actively exploit the CIS ( Commonwealth of Independent States) on a geopolitical level, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. “They are not thinking of the negative consequences of such a step,” she added, as quoted by the Guardian. She accused the 27-bloc union of the EU of sacrificing its democratic ideals at the expense of “unrestrained expansion and the political and economic enslavement of its neighbours.”

The Russian war in Ukraine has led to the death of over 3,000 dolphins in the Black Sea, said Ukrainian marine experts working in the “Tuzlovsky Lymans” reserve, a national nature park, NEXTA reported. The researchers explained that the SONAR systems and explosions hindered their search for food, leading to mass deaths of the dolphins.