Saturday, June 24

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A Ukrainian artilleryman fires a 2A36 Giatsint-B field gun toward Russian positions near Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast on June 23, 2023. (Photo: Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images)

Moscow mayor says ‘anti-terrorist measures’ being taken in city.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a post on Telegram that “anti-terrorist measures” were being taken in the city “in connection with the incoming information.”

Rostov Oblast governor asks residents to stay calm as media reports administrative buildings seized in city of Rostov.

Rostov Oblast Governor Vasily Golubev asked residents to stay calm and remain at home as reports emerged of soldiers and military vehicles on the streets of the southern Russian city of Rostov and the takeover of administrative buildings in Rostov by unidentified men.

Wagner boss says his troops have entered Russia’s Rostov Oblast, claims shooting down helicopter.

Private mercenary Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed that his fighters have entered Russia’s southern Rostov Oblast, located near Ukraine’s border, and that they had shot down a helicopter that had fired on what he referred to as a “civilian column.”

Russian military leaders urge Wagner boss to stop his ‘march for justice’ as Moscow beefs up security.

Russian military leaders appealed to the Wagner Group in the early hours of June 24 to stand down following a video statement in which Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin called the Russian military leadership “evil” and vowed a “march for justice.”

Prigozhin accuses Russian army of attacking Wagner, threatens to respond.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the Wagner Group mercenaries, said Russian Defense Ministry attacked the group’s bases in the rear. “We have 25,000 (soldiers), and we’re going to respond,” he said.

Kremlin spokesperson says Putin aware of ‘situation with Prigozhin,’ Russian media report ‘panic in presidential office’.

According to the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, cited by Russian state-owned news agency TASS, Russia’s Vladimir Putin is aware of “the situation unfolding around” Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and “all necessary measures are being taken.”

New Statesman: Budanov says Russia’s plan to sabotage Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has been ‘drafted and approved’.

In an interview for the New Statesman, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said that Russia had completed preparations for an attack on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant

Satellite imagery shows new pontoon crossing under Chonhar Bridge after alleged Ukrainian strike.

Russia has built a pontoon crossing under the Chonhar Bridge linking occupied Crimea with Ukraine’s mainland following an alleged Ukrainian strike, according to satellite footage from Planet Labs published by the RFE/RL news project Schemes.

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Russian sources claim strikes in occupied parts of Kherson Oblast.

Russian state news agency TASS claimed that Henichesk and Skadovsk in the occupied parts of Kherson Oblast were attacked on June 23.

Official: Kyiv able to fulfill rest of EU’s candidate criteria by October.

Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna predicts that Kyiv should be able to implement the remaining requirements to launch EU accession talks by October. According to the European Commission’s interim assessment, Ukraine has fully completed two out of seven steps.

General Staff reports further positions gained on southern front.

Ukrainian forces have achieved partial success in at least two directions on the southern front and made new gains, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on June 23.

UK Defense Ministry: Russia uses dolphins to secure Sevastopol navy base.

Since the summer of 2022, Russia has been enhancing the security of its naval base at Sevastopol, according to a June 23 report by the U.K. Defense Ministry.

ISW: Russia may threaten nuclear plant sabotage to prevent Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Russia may be signaling a willingness to sabotage the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to dissuade Ukrainian forces from conducting a counteroffensive in the area, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote in its latest assessment on June 22.

Air Force: Ukraine downs 13 cruise missiles, 1 drone overnight.

Ukraine’s forces shot down all 13 cruise missiles and one reconnaissance drone launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported on June 23.

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Kyiv’s frustration boils as flow of Western chips for Russian missiles continues uninterrupted

Ukrainian estimates have shifted, foreseeing a steady increase in Russian long-range missile production over the rest of 2023, primarily a result of  possible supply of microchips manufactured by the U.S., Europe, and Japan.

Photo: Diego Fedele/Getty Images

Ukraine war latest: Kyiv reports new gains in the south, Prigozhin accuses Russian army of attacking Wagner

The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on June 23 that Ukrainian forces had achieved some territorial gains along the southern front line.

Photo: Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images

Human cost of war

Update: 2 dead, 8 injured in Russian missile attack in Kyiv.

Two civilians were killed in a Russian attack on the capital on June 24 that caused a fire in a residential building, with eight more injured, Head of the Kyiv City Military Administration Serhiy Popko said.

Russian forces attack 10 oblasts, kill 2 over past day.

Over the past day, Russian strikes targeted 10 oblasts, killing two civilians and injuring at least nine, local officials reported on June 23. The oblasts of Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Kherson, Sumy, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, and Luhansk came under attack.

Russian attacks in Zaporizhzhia Oblast kill 1, injure 4.

At least one person was killed, and four injured in the June 23 attacks on Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Governor Yurii Malashko reported.

Ukraine retrieves bodies of 51 fallen soldiers.

Ukraine has managed to return the bodies of 51 fallen soldiers, Oleh Kotenko, an official at the Ministry for the Reintegration of Occupied Territories, announced on June 23.

Update: 3 killed in Russian attack on transport company in Kherson.

The death toll of Russia’s June 23 attack on Kherson has risen to three after another victim died in the hospital, according to the regional governor. The 53-year-old man was an employee of a local transport company hit by Russian troops in the morning, said Oleksandr Prokudin.

General Staff: Russia has lost 223,330 troops in Ukraine.

The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on June 23 that Russia has lost 223,330 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion, with an estimated 680 casualties on June 22.

International response

EU ambassador: Restoration of asset declarations must be next step in Ukraine’s EU path.

‌‌Head of the European Union Delegation to Ukraine Matti Maasikas said Ukraine must restore the online asset declarations for government officials. The statement comes after the European Commission ruled that Ukraine completed only two of the seven requirements needed for Ukraine to start accession talks.

EU Ambassadors support regulation to ramp up ammunition production.

EU Ambassadors approved a draft of the ASAP regulation aiming to increase the bloc’s ammunition production capacity to one million rounds per year for Ukraine, the Swedish Presidency of the EU Council reported on June 23.

Rheinmetall to send 20 Marder armored vehicles to Ukraine.

The German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall announced on June 23 that it would deliver an additional 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) to Ukraine this summer.

US senators seek resolution to consider spread of radioactive waste by Russia as attack on NATO.

U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal on June 22 proposed a resolution to consider any nuclear or radioactive attack by Russia as an attack against NATO, given that radioactive waste spreads to NATO countries.

Turkey issues licenses for producing combat drones in Ukraine.

The Turkish company Baykar has received licenses to produce Bayraktar and Akıncı combat drones in Ukraine, the newspaper Yeni Akit reported on June 22, citing the company’s CEO Haluk Bayraktar.

EU Council approves 11th package of sanctions against Russia.

The Council of the European Union announced on June 23 the adoption of the 11th package of sanctions against Russia, aimed at countering sanctions circumvention.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Francis Farrell, Oleg Sukhov, Toma Istomina, Martin Fornusek, Olesya Boyko, Oleksiy Sorokin, Olesya Boyko, Dinara Khalilova, Olena Goncharova, Rachel Amran, and Lili Bivings.

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