Sunday, June 11

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A damaged building is seen in a flooded area on June 10 in Kherson, Ukraine. Early Tuesday, the Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power plant, which sits on the Dnipro river in the southern Kherson region, was blown up, forcing downstream communities to evacuate due to the risk of flooding. (Photo by Roman Pilipey/Getty Images)

Zelensky says counteroffensive ongoing in Ukraine. “From my point of view, counteroffensive defensive actions are taking place in Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a press conference following a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Kyiv on June 10.

Ukraine advances up to 1.4 km near Bakhmut in a day, military says. Ukrainian forces have advanced up to 1.4 kilometers in “different sections” of the Bakhmut front over the past day, Serhii Cherevaty, spokesperson for the eastern grouping of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, said on June 10.

Military intelligence: Ukraine unaware of whereabouts of POWs Russia transferred to Hungary. Ukraine currently lacks information on the whereabouts of prisoners of war who were reportedly transferred to Hungary, as previously announced by the Russian Orthodox Church, Andriy Yusov, military intelligence spokesperson, said on air.

Nearly 80 settlements flooded, thousands of people evacuated after Kakhovka Dam destruction. Seventy-seven settlements were flooded in Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts after Russia destroyed the Kakhovka Dam. Three thousand six hundred eighty-one people were evacuated from the flooded areas, while 29 are currently missing.

Interior Ministry: 27 people missing due to floods after Kakhovka dam destruction. As of 1 p.m. on June 10, 27 people are considered missing due to the floods following Russia’s destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Kherson Oblast, the Interior Ministry reported.

General Staff: Russia only evacuating Russian passport-holders from flooded settlements in occupied Kherson Oblast.

Russia is only evacuating Russian passport-holders from the flooded areas in the occupied parts of the southern Kherson Oblast, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on June 10.

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Ukrainian border guards: Black Sea in Odesa Oblast turning into ‘garbage dump and animal cemetery.’ The Black Sea in the southern Odesa Oblast is turning into a “garbage dump and an animal cemetery” as house fragments, furniture, as well as mines and ammunition are floating in the water after Russia’s blow-up of the major dam, the State Border Guard said on June 10.

Deputy defense minister: NATO to agree on ‘certain procedure’ for Ukraine accession at July summit. NATO members will agree on a “certain procedure” for Ukraine’s potential accession into the 31-nation alliance at the July summit in Vilnius, Deputy Defense Minister Volodymyr Havrylov said on June 10.

Minister: Only 15% of bomb shelters in Kyiv suitable for use without ‘significant issues’. Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin reported on June 10 that only 15% of all 4,655 bomb shelters audited in Kyiv are suitable for use “without significant issues.”

Investigation: Belarus sent over 130,000 tons of munitions to Russia in first year of full-scale war. Belarus’ government, led by dictator Alexander Lukashenko, gave Russia 131,582 tons of ammunition, according to an investigative project of Belarusian journalist Anton Motolko.

Drones crash in Russia’s Kaluga Oblast. A drone crashed early on June 11 near the village of Strelkovka in Russia’s Kaluga Oblast, the regional governor Vladislav Shapsha reported on his official Telegram page.

Human cost of war

Russian shelling kills firefighter, wounds one more. Russian forces killed a firefighter and wounded another one in Kharkiv Oblast as the two men tried to put out a blaze caused by Russia’s previous shelling.

Governor: Russian attack wounds 2 volunteers in flood-hit Kherson. Two volunteers, aged 25 and 50, were wounded during a Russian artillery strike on flood-hit Kherson, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on June 10.

General Staff: Russia has lost 214,660 troops in Ukraine. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on June 10 that Russia has lost 214,660 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion in February 2022, with an estimated 890 casualties on June 9.

This Week in Ukraine Ep. 11 – Russia’s destruction of Ukrainian dam, and catastrophic flood it caused

International response

Canada’s Trudeau visits Kyiv, pays respect to Ukrainian soldiers. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a surprise visit to Kyiv on June 10, where he paid respect to fallen Ukrainian soldiers and laid a wreath at a memorial site at St. Michael’s Cathedral.

Сanada supports Ukraine becoming NATO member ‘as soon as conditions allow’. The joint statement of President Volodymyr Zelensky and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, published on June 10, says that Canada supports Ukraine in becoming a NATO member “as soon as the conditions allow for it.”

UK to provide $20 million worth of humanitarian aid for victims of Kakhovka dam disaster, Russia’s war. The U.K. announced on June 10 that it will provide Ukraine with $20 million worth of humanitarian aid to help Ukraine cope with the aftermath of Russia’s June 6 destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Kherson Oblast, as well as to support those at the “frontlines and displaced communities.”

Moldova sends humanitarian aid to help Ukraine cope with Kakhovka dam disaster.  Moldova’s Commission for Emergency Situations decided on June 9 to provide Ukraine with humanitarian aid worth around $230,000 for the “management of the ecological and humanitarian consequences” following Russia’s destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Kherson Oblast, the country’s state news agency Moldpres reported.

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