Thursday, June 15

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ukrainian servicemen of the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade “Edelweiss” fire a rocket from a BM-21 ‘Grad’ multiple rocket launcher towards Russian positions near Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast on June 13, 2023. (Photo: Anatolii Stepanov / AFP via Getty Images)

Defense Ministry: Despite heavy battles, Ukraine advances **confidently.**Russian troops have increased their attacks and densely mined the fields to stop Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive, but Ukrainian forces are “advancing confidently,” Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar told Ukrainian TV on June 14.

Air Force: Ukraine downs **3 missiles, 9 drones overnight.**Ukraine’s air defenses shot down three out of 10 Russian cruise missiles and nine out of 10 kamikaze drones launched overnight, the Air Force reported on June 14

Kadyrov’s right-hand man Adam Delimkhanov reportedly wounded **in Ukraine.**Adam Delimkhanov, a deputy in the State’s Duma for Chechnya and a close associate of the Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov, has been wounded, the press service of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) reported on June 14.

Sky News: Western officials say **Ukraine ‘will continue to make progress’ in counteroffensive.**Ukrainian forces have already liberated at least four villages and seven kilometers of land as the long-awaited counteroffensive is ongoing and will “continue to make progress,” anonymous Western officials told Sky News.

ISW: Ukraine continues counteroffensive operations in at least 3 directions. The Institute for the Study of War cited Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar who said on June 14 that Ukrainian troops have made gains, advancing between 200 to 500 meters in unspecified sectors of the Bakhmut front and 300 to 350 meters in unspecified parts of the Zaporizhzhia direction.

General Staff: Russia launches **37 airstrikes in past 24 hours.**Russian forces launched 37 airstrikes and 32 rocket attacks over the past 24 hours, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on June 14.

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Mayor: Explosion reportedly damages **railway in Russian-occupied Melitopol.**An explosion has blocked a key Russian logistics route near occupied Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, exiled Mayor Ivan Fedorov said on June 14. According to Fedorov, Russian forces have lost five freight wagons and 50 meters of railway track as a result.

Ukrainian corruption court sentences **former judge Chaus to 10 years in prison.**Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court announced on June 14 that it has found Mykola Chaus, the ex-judge who once worked at Kyiv’s Dniprovskyi District Court, guilty of accepting a $150,000 bribe back in 2016. He has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Official: Over 1 million Ukrainians could face **water shortages after Kakhovka dam destruction.**Over a million people living in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast’s Nikopolskyi and Kryvorizkyi districts could face water shortages after Russia destroyed the Kakhovka dam on June 6, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk’s regional council, Mykola Lukashuk, said on June 14.

Russia media: Russian power plant near **Rostov on fire.**Novocherkassk Thermal Power Plant in Russia’s Rostov Oblast is on fire, Russian state news agency TASS reported on June 14. Local residents heard an explosion before the fire started at around 1:40 p.m. local time, according to the Novocherkassk Segodnya Telegram channel.

SBU charges **Russian ideologue Dugin with genocide, anti-Ukrainian activities.**The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has pressed charges against Alexandr Dugin, a Russian ultranationalist ideologue and the leader of the Eurasian Movement, SBU announced on June 14. Dugin is considered suspect under the articles of genocide and encroachment on the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

General Staff: Russian forces loot **grain, property in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.**Russian forces continue to steal grain and private property from the occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on June 14.

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Investigative Stories from Ukraine: Journalists track wealthy Russians living, vacationing on French Riviera

Ukrainska Pravda tracked down Russian officials, businesspeople, and oligarchs, some facing international sanctions, vacationing at lavish properties in southern France and Monaco.

Photo: Stock photo

Ukraine war latest: Zelensky says recently-used Russian missiles had foreign-made components

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 13 that Russian missiles used in the attack on Kryvyi Rih had foreign-made components. According to Zelensky, one missile had over 50 such components.

Photo: Carl Court/Getty Images

Human cost of war

At least 13 civilians dead and 24 wounded by Russian attacks over past day. At least eight civilians died and 24 were injured over the past day as a result of Russian attacks, officials informed on June 14. Russian attacks were reported in Odesa, Donetsk, Chernihiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, and Kherson oblasts.

Russian attack on Chernihiv Oblast kills woman. Russian troops attacked the village of Yanzhulivka in the Novhorod-Siverskyi district of Chernihiv Oblast with mortars, killing a 55-year-old woman, the Chernihiv Oblast Police reported on June 14.

Interior Ministry: 2,799 people evacuated from Kherson Oblast after dam destruction. As of June 14, 2,779 people have been evacuated from flooded areas of Kherson Oblast as 28 settlements on the government-controlled right bank remain underwater, the Interior Ministry announced.

6 killed **in Russian attack on forestry vehicle in Sumy Oblast.**Russian strikes have killed two civilians and four forestry workers in Sumy Oblast, Sumy Region Prosecutor’s Office announced on June 14.

Update: 2 people injured **in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast.**The number of injured in the June 14 strike against Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast has risen to 2, according to Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.

General Staff: Russia has lost **217,330 troops in Ukraine.**The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on June 14 that Russia has lost 217,330 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion, with an estimated 680 casualties on June 13. Russia has also lost 3,943 tanks, 7,653 armored fighting vehicles, 6,482 vehicles and fuel tanks, and 3,783 artillery systems.

International response

Netherlands to purchase **4 radars to bolster Ukraine’s air defense.**The Dutch Defense Ministry will purchase four VERA-EG radar systems for Ukraine worth a total of 150 million euros ($162.9 million) for Ukraine’s air defense, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren wrote in a letter to the Dutch parliament on June 14.

Explaining Ukraine

Holodomor: Soviet Union’s man-made famine in Ukraine

The Holodomor, which means “murder by starvation” in Ukrainian, is widely considered to be one of Ukraine’s most devastating national tragedies.

Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Martin Fornusek, Francis Farrell, Teah Pelechaty, Daria Shulzhenko, Alexander Query, Brad LaFoy, Olena Goncharova, Rachel Amran, and Lili Bivings.

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