Friday, June 21

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A view of the destruction of a house near the Kostyantynivka front in Donetsk Oblast on June 20, 2024. (Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Strategic battlefield defeat would be end of Russia’s statehood, Putin claims. “Then the question arises: why should we be afraid? Isn’t it better to go to the end?” Vladimir Putin said at a press conference at the end of his state visit to Vietnam.

Moscow, Hanoi sign over 10 documents during Putin’s Vietnam visit. Moscow and Hanoi adopted a statement on deepening their strategic partnership and signed over 10 documents, including a memorandum on the schedule for establishing a nuclear technology center in Vietnam, Kremlin-controlled state news agencies claimed.

Putin threatens a response if South Korea sends arms to Ukraine. Russia will take decisions that are “unlikely to please South Korea” if Seoul decides to send arms to Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters at the end of his visit to Vietnam on June 20.

Russia considering changes to nuclear doctrine, Putin claims. Russia is considering changes to its nuclear doctrine due to developments “related to lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons,” Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed while speaking on June 20 in Vietnam, a day after his visit to North Korea.

Ukraine may consider participating in China-led peace summit, ambassador says. Kyiv would consider participating in a Beijing-led peace conference with Russia’s presence if the talks are based on the principles of the “U.N. Charter and international law,” Ukraine’s Ambassador to Singapore Kateryna Zelenko said in a media interview published on June 20.

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Ukrainian hackers claim responsibility for cyberattack on Russian banks, payment system. Ukraine’s IT Army, a volunteer cyberwarfare group, said it had targeted Russian banks and Russia’s Mir payment system on June 20, rendering a range of services “non-functional.”

Single Ukrainian Magura drone hit 4 Russian patrol boats at once, Kyiv claims. HUR initially reported only two boats had been hit during the attack in Vuzka Bay, which lies at the Chornomorske town on Crimea’s western coast.

Ukraine needs $9.5 billion for rapid recovery in 2024. Ukraine needs $9.5 billion for rapid recovery this year, namely in the defense industry, energy, housing, agricultural, natural resources, and the IT sector, the Finance Ministry said on June 20.

Russian attacks on infrastructure increasing risk of infectious diseases in Ukraine, health minister warns. Rusian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are increasing the risk of the spread of infectious diseases like hepatitis, as water supply often stops when electricity is cut off, Health Minister Viktor Liashko said in an interview with BBC Ukraine published on June 20.

Source: Drone attacks on Russian oil depots in Adygea, Tambov Oblast were SBU operation. Ukrainian drones attacked the Tambovnefteprodukt fuel and lubricants warehouse in Tambov Oblast and Lukoil-Yugnefteprodukt company’s Enyemskaya oil depot in the Republic of Adygea, a source in security and defense forces told the Kyiv Independent.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Kyiv to get priority on air defense missiles from US, new Patriot from Romania

The U.S. is to prioritize deliveries of air defense missiles to Ukraine over orders from other countries, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on June 20.

Photo: Thomas Frey/picture alliance via Getty Images

Parliament committee slams anti-corruption bureau’s chief over failure to explain leak scandal

Members of the Ukrainian parliament’s anti-corruption committee on June 20 lambasted Semen Kryvonos for refusing to report at the committee on a scandal over alleged leaks from the NABU.

Photo: Viktor Kovalchuk/Global Images Ukraine

‘Rather desperate’ – 5 key takeaways from Putin’s North Korea visit

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un cemented their growing relationship on June 19, with a parade, a pact and a carefully stage-managed drive in a brand new limousine in Pyongyang.

Photo: Gavril Grigorov/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

G7 loan from Russian assets not ‘substitute for full confiscation’

The new Group of Seven (G7) plan to fund Ukraine using profits from frozen Russian assets is a “breakthrough,” but Ukraine’s goal is still to seize the full worth of the assets, said experts speaking at a panel event in Kyiv.

Photo: Antonio Masiello/Getty Images

Human cost of war

Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 4, injure 14. Russia targeted a total of 13 Ukrainian oblasts — Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, Luhansk, Lviv, Vinnytsia, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, and Donetsk. Casualties were reported in the latter four regions.

Russian attack on civilian car kills 1 in Kherson Oblast. A 43-year-old man has died after a Russian attack on a civilian car in the village of Tekstylne, Kherson Oblast, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on June 20.

Russian attacks on Donetsk Oblast kill 4, injure 4, including child. Russian troops attacked the town of Kostiantynivka and the village of Rozkishne in Donetsk Oblast on June 20, killing four people and injuring four other, regional governor Vadym Filashkin said.

General Staff: Russia has lost 530,920 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. This number includes 1,170 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

Opinions and insights

Fengler and Rashkovan: Tracking Ukraine’s reconstruction funds

“Managing an undertaking as costly and complex as Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction will require a comprehensive, systems-oriented approach,” economists Wolfgang Fengler and Vladyslav Rashkovan write.

Photo: Alina Smutko/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Ash: Arguments against using Russian assets for Ukraine don’t hold water

“Frozen Russian reserves could tip the scales of the war in Ukraine’s favor and greatly reduce the financial burden on Western taxpayers,” Timothy Ash, associate fellow at Chatham House, writes in his latest op-ed.

Photo: Oleg Pereverzev/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

International response

EU passes 14th sanctions package in first major move against Russian gas. “This package provides new targeted measures and maximizes the impact of existing sanctions by closing loopholes,” the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council said on social media.

South Korea to reconsider Ukraine weapons supplies in response to Russia-North Korea pact. Up until now, Seoul has only provided humanitarian aid to Kyiv, though it has been reported the country has indirectly supplied artillery shells via the U.S.

China should also be concerned about Russia-North Korea pact, White House says. A recently signed partnership agreement between Moscow and Pyongyang should worry not only the U.S. but also China as it threatens to undermine the stability of the Korean peninsula, the White House said on June 20.

Kyiv can strike inside Russia beyond Kharkiv area if necessary, US says. Ukrainian troops may use U.S. weapons to strike targets within Russia wherever Russian forces launch cross-border assaults on Ukrainian territory, not just near the Kharkiv Oblast border, U.S. officials confirmed to Politico on June 20.

US to ban sales of Kaspersky antivirus software, Reuters reports. The Biden administration will soon announce a ban on Kaspersky antivirus software due to its alleged ties to the Russian government, Reuters reported on June 20.

Romania to send Patriot defense system to Ukraine. Romania’s Supreme Council of National Defense members decided to donate the Patriot system to Kyiv in view of the “deteriorating security situation” in Ukraine amid Russia’s intensified attacks, the statement read.

The birth of Ukraine’s live-saving robots

In other news

Rutte to be next NATO chief after Iohannis withdraws from race. Romania was the last of the 32 NATO allies to support Rutte’s candidacy, after Hungary and Slovakia endorsed Rutte on June 18.

Treason trial for US citizen accused of donating to Ukraine begins in Russia. The trial of Ksenia Karelina, a U.S.-Russian dual national accused of treason for allegedly raising money for the Ukrainian military, began on June 20 in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.

Balloon crossed into Polish airspace from Russia, Warsaw said. A Russian balloon entered Poland’s airspace in the afternoon on June 20, the Polish military said, adding it poses no threat.

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