Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 06-22-2024

Australia's former Prime Minister Tony Abbott shares his thoughts on the current situation with Kyiv Post's chief editor Bohdan Nahaylo while participating in the Black Sea Security Forum.

A residential area in Ukraine's second largest was hit by four Russian glide bombs launched from Belgorod.

Four explosions rocked Kharkiv on Saturday afternoon, June 22. Four Russian UMPB D-30 glide bombs launched from Belgorod, less than 80 kilometers away, hit a residential area, according to Kharkiv region governor Oleh Syniehubov. 

The bombs struck an area of tightly packed residential buildings. There are at least 3 dead.

The renewed Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure have destroyed half of the country’s generation capacity as intermittent darkness falls on Kyiv again.

For weeks, Ukraine has had to live under intermittent darkness.

Due to renewed Russian strikes on Ukrainian power plants – seven times this year at the time of writing – Ukraine’s energy generation capacity has reached a historical low, where more than half of the country’s power generation capacity is now in ruins, according to recent reports.

A study by the Kyiv School of Economics and the World Bank found that damages and losses to the Ukrainian agriculture sector from the start of the war amounted to around €75 billion.

The question of how to support the Ukrainian agrifood sector amid Russia’s war remains unanswered after last week’s Ukraine Recovery Conference, the president of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB) told Euractiv in an interview.  

While the situation with the Ukrainian agrifood sector is becoming “more promising,” UCAB’s president, Alex Lissitsa, said the country needs to create a more effective business ecosystem and increase human capital to ensure food production.  

If armed properly, Ukraine can definitely win the war. Until now, however, there have been only enough arms to prevent the Russians from overwhelming Ukrainian defenses.

Battle Line Update – Hardly Any Change

The front line between Ukraine and Russia was almost entirely stable this week. Indeed, the alterations seem if anything to be slowing down. The two most discussed areas in the Donbas over the last few months have been in front of the Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar and in the “bulge” around Ocheretyne. Both of these areas have been the focus of a great number of Russian attacks for months now. Even here, the lines barely moved this week.

The world in focus, as seen by a Canadian leading global affairs analyst, writer and speaker, in his review of international media.

South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador to protest the country’s new defense pact with North Korea on Friday, as border tensions continued to rise with vague threats and brief, seemingly accidental incursions by North Korean troops. Earlier Friday, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un issued a vague threat of retaliation after South Korean activists flew balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets across the border, and South Korea’s military said it had fired warning shots the previous day to repel North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the rivals’ land border for the third time this month. That came two days after Moscow and Pyongyang reached a pact vowing mutual defense assistance if either is attacked, and a day after Seoul responded by saying it would consider providing arms to Ukraine to fight Russia’s invasion. South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong Kyun summoned Russian Ambassador Georgy Zinoviev to protest the deal between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un and called for Moscow to immediately halt its alleged military cooperation with Pyongyang. - AP

An overnight Russian drone & rocket attack has caused major damage in western and central Ukraine. Energy facilities hit in Lviv and Zaporizhzhia. In Ivano Frankivsk an education facility hit, and several residential buildings were damaged. In all, air defense forces shot down 12 of 16 cruise missiles and all 13 drones. As a result, Polish and allied fighter aircraft were once again scrambled, the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces said. “Intense activity by Russian long-range aircraft has been observed this night, related to the launch of cruise missiles, Shahed drones and ballistic weapons on targets located in the western part of Ukrainian territory. This night was very tense for the entire Polish air defence system, as a Russian large-scale missile attack covered the entire territory of Ukraine, including regions bordering Poland," the statement said.

Many erroneously assume that Serbia will support anything Moscow does. But the ongoing war in Ukraine is proving that Serbia is an independent actor.

Russia did everything it could to make the peace conference on Ukraine in Switzerland pointless and sabotage it. It invested everything it had of the little remaining international credit to make the conference in Bürgenstock resort a failure. The desperate attempt by Vladimir Putin himself to present a so-called “peace plan” just a few days before the meeting in Switzerland shows how much Russia cared about this, although in reality it was a list of Moscow’s conquest goals.

Russia succeeded in persuading China not to send a representative to Switzerland. This was a success, given that Beijing had already participated in a similar format in Saudi Arabia last August. However, Moscow will pay a high price to Beijing for this concession for a long time to come.

Unnamed Ukrainian officials say that Washington has restricted Ukraine’s use of its donated weapons against Russia, effectively confirming a new “safe space” from which Russia can pummel Ukraine.

The US is still applying a range limitation to the use of its weapons by Ukrainian Armed Forces, according to a Washington Post report citing two anonymous Ukrainian officials. Given the restrictions, Russia would continue to benefit from a safe space created for the aircraft bombing Ukraine.

According to the Washington Post’s sources, the US has imposed a 100-kilometer (62-mile) cross border limit on the use of its weapons. Asked to comment on the claims, US officials suggested that was inaccurate, without indicating whether they have imposed distance-based limitations on Kyiv’s freedom to attack targets in Russia.

Serhiy Kolyada on Kim and Pu on the road leading to the abyss.

After a shocking loss against Romania on Monday, Ukraine turned things around on Matchday 2, defeating Slovakia 2-1 on Friday in Düsseldorf to keep their chances alive.

It was not easy. At the start of the match, Ukraine were determined to get a result. They understood that if they did not win, they could be eliminated.

The opening minutes of the match saw back and forth action between the Ukrainians and the Slovaks. The Ukrainians had their first chance on goal in the 13th minute when Volodymyr Brazhko shot the ball at the top of the box. It was saved by Slovak goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka, but the start showed Ukraine had more determination compared to their match on Monday.

It is high time for Romania, Moldova and Ukraine to cooperate in a mutually beneficial alliance to mitigate the damaged caused by Russia's relentless attacks.

Russia's war against Ukraine continues to accentuate the increasing nexus of economic and security issues, with Russia’s blockade forcing Ukraine to divert its grain exports through Poland via land routes or Romania’s Danube and Black Sea ports. Recently, Romania and Moldova have shown full solidarity with Ukraine, becoming the main route for exporting commodities. Despite other routes, Moldova and Romania remain strong and stable partners for Ukraine.

The EU, with backing from the United States, should endorse the modernization of this transport corridor, ensuring a free and open navigational channel from the Danube to the Black Sea to advance peace and prosperity in this corner of southeastern Europe. Romania has one of the largest infrastructures on the Danube and is quickly reaffirming its primacy as the commercial artery transporting all types of products, including grains, across southeastern Europe. For the foreseeable future, Russia’s occupation of eastern Ukraine and Crimea and the persistent threat to all Ukrainian ports render Romania the major commercial hub to export grain, through Moldova.

As Ukrainians learn to cope with rolling power blackouts, they are coming to embrace solar energy as a way to mitigate the damage Russia keeps trying to inflict on them.

Nazariy Hychka surveyed the roof of the Kyiv maternity hospital he runs as workers installed a scarce and suddenly vital new commodity in Ukraine: solar panels.

Waves of devastating drone and missile attacks by Russian forces have again crippled Ukrainian power plants, causing blackouts and forcing Ukrainians to plan for the worst.

With Ukraine desperate to shore up its air defense and counter Russia’s advantage in the sky’s, US government has been disappointingly reluctant to offer Kyiv air capabilities.

Significant movements occurred over the past few weeks regarding Ukraine’s future western fighter capability. From the first F-16 pilots graduating to President Zelensky announcing a French Mirage 2000 deal, then the US refused training for 30 Ukraine pilots. And now, there are indications the US is quashing other options for pilots.

From a well-placed, unnamed US government source, Ukraine does in fact have 30 pilots qualified to enter the US F-16 training pipeline as reported earlier this week from Ukraine. With the recent graduation of F-16 pilots from the US and those from training sites in Europe, Ukraine is likely to have between 15 and 20 pilots, for 60 airframes. That is a horrible aircrew to aircraft ratio. 

French-Made Control Master 200 Radar System organically complements the latest architecture of Ukraine’s air defense system being built in response to Russian missile and drone attacks.

Ukraine has ordered a second modern Control Master 200 radar system from France. The first one, handed over to Ukraine in 2023, significantly improved its Armed Forces’ air defense capabilities.

The Ukrainian and French Ministries of Defense have signed a contract for the supply of the Control Master 200 system. This is not just a radar but a system consisting of the Ground Master 200 (GM200) radar and the ControlView GBAD C2 electronic system, which analyzes all radar information and provides air defense systems with accurate data for missile guidance and targeting.

While Ukrainians have limited financial instruments to invest in, Russia's full-scale invasion has energized patriotic investing, and Kyiv's made bonds a lot easier for the average Joe to buy.

Since February 2022, purchases of Ukrainian government bonds have reached a trillion hryvnias – or about $24.7 billion. 

Taras Kozak, president of the UNIVER investment group, said that investments in Ukrainian bonds have increased by five or six times since Russia’s February 2022 invasion. 

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to invoke nuclear threats as part of his ongoing information campaign to discourage further Western support for Ukraine and undermine the international community's efforts to cohere its strategic vision for defeating Russia’s war of conquest against Ukraine.

• Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov continued to emphasize Russia's initiative to create an alternative "Eurasian security architecture," likely as part of ongoing efforts to establish a coalition of friendly states to act as an alternative to the West and undermine NATO.

• The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) criticized South Korean and Japanese objections to the Russian-North Korean strategic partnership agreement and directly tied the agreement to Russian President Vladimir Putin's "Eurasian security architecture" initiative.

• Ukrainian forces struck oil refineries and military targets in Bryansk and Astrakhan oblasts, Krasnodar Krai, and occupied Crimea on the night of June 20 to 21.

• Moscow State University (MGU) announced on June 21 that it has opened enrollment for a master's program on "strategic communications, information, and hybrid wars" under the guidance of Russian ultranationalist and former State Duma Deputy Zakhar Prilepin and other select Duma deputies.

• Russian forces recently advanced southeast of Kupyansk, southwest of Svatove, and west and southwest of Donetsk City.

• The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) appears to be taking steps to address known bureaucratic issues as part of its efforts to formalize irregular Russian formations.

• An investigation by Russian opposition outlet Verstka highlights how Russia is importing Russian judges to serve in courts in occupied Ukraine, supporting Russian efforts to control the judiciary while also providing a convenient cover for the resettlement of Russian citizens into occupied Ukraine.

Russia is spearheading a disinformation campaign to portray the US and Israel as a neocolonial villain – all while waging its own revanchist colonial war against Ukraine.

Putin, with his background in intelligence rather than the military, excels at exploiting adversaries’ vulnerabilities. Putin’s specialty is creating chaos and he sees the war in Gaza as an opportunity to undermine the West. For his vision of a multipolar world, support for the West must fail and his propaganda machine is weaponizing false colonial narratives in Gaza, positioning Russia as a defender against American hegemony and a liberator of the colonial system.

Russia supports Hamas in order to weaken the US by undermining Israel and escalating conflict, as it believes that US support for Israel will diminish Washington’s influence in the Middle East. By acting as a mediator and supporting Hamas, Putin is attempting to gain ground in the Middle East and the Global South as a diplomatic partner against what Putin refers to as “the ugly neocolonial system of international relations.” He frames the war as an imperial conflict driven by the West, claiming the “ugly neocolonial system” is coming to an end and instead a multipolar world will replace it. By supporting Hamas, Moscow is leading the fight against US hegemony and the unipolar world it created. In a speech made by Putin in 2023, he explained that the “dictatorship of American hegemony” is weakening and the war between Israel and Hamas is evidence of this.