Monday, June 24

Russia’s war against Ukraine

The aftermath of the Russian attack on Donetsk Oblast on June 23, 2024. (Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor’s Office/Telegram)

Ukraine working on securing more air defense, Zelensky says. President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his regular evening address on June 23, said that Ukraine is continuing to work on securing more air defense systems, and that the next weeks in June and July should be “no less productive” than May and the first half of June.

No point in peace talks, General Budanov says. Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Chief Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer published June 23, that peace talks are pointless because the only option is to reclaim occupied territory.

Mass shooting in Russia’s Dagestan region, 15 police officers killed, 25 injured.

A counterterrorism regime was instituted after militants allegedly fired on an Orthodox church and a police post in Russia’s Dagestan region, according to local authorities.

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Military: Russian forces dropped 35 glide bombs on Kharkiv Oblast over past day. Russian troops attacked Kharkiv Oblast with 35 glide bombs in the past 24 hours, Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson for the Khortytsia group of forces, said on national television on June 23.

Washington Post: New trade data reveals increased North Korean munitions transfers to Russia. New internal Russian trade data obtained by the Washington Post shows that Russia may have received 1.6 million artillery shells from North Korea over the course of six months.

General Staff: Ukrainian forces hit command post in Russia’s Belgorod region. Ukraine’s military struck a command post of a Russian motorized rifle regiment in Nekhoteyevka in the Belgorod region, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported early on June 23.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Russian weekend attacks on Kharkiv kill 4, injure around 70

On June 23, Russia launched yet another glide bomb attack against Kharkiv, hitting civilian infrastructure. Part of Kharkiv is currently without power, and the metro has stopped, President Volodymyr Zelensky said following the attack.

Utility workers sweep the street while people look at a damaged building as a result of a Russian attack on June 22, 2024, in Kharkiv. (Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Human cost of war

Russian attacks on Donetsk Oblast injure 5 civilians. Russian forces launched a series of attacks on multiple settlements in Donetsk Oblast on the morning of June 23, injuring five civilians, the regional prosecutor’s office reported.

Russia attacks Kharkiv with glide bombs, killing 1, injuring 12. Russian forces launched another glide bomb attack on Kharkiv, hitting civilian infrastructure on June 23.

Russia claims Ukraine attacked Sevastopol with 5 ATACMS missiles, killing 3. Russian Defense Ministry claimed on June 23 that Ukraine had launched an attack against Sevastopol, a city in Russian-occupied Crimea, with five U.S.-made long-range ATACMS missiles.

Authorities: Russia’s missile attack on Kyiv Oblast injures 2, damages civilian infrastructure. Russian forces launched a missile attack against Kyiv Oblast in the early morning of June 23, wounding two people as well as damaging dozens of houses and several civilian infrastructure facilities, the regional authorities reported.

General Staff: Russia has lost 534,360 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022. This number includes 1,270 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

Opinions and insights

The Counteroffensive: Crossing the ‘gray zone’ from Russia into Ukraine

“They call it the gray zone: a two-kilometer stretch of road contested by both Russian and Ukrainian forces but controlled by neither. Thirty-thousand civilians have braved this treacherous path from Russia into Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy Oblast, around 100 miles (161 kilometers) north of Kharkiv.”

This article was published by the twice-weekly newsletter “The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak” on June 23, 2024, and has been re-published by the Kyiv Independent with permission.

An man stands on a street in Kherson, Ukraine, after Russian shelling on Dec. 24, 2022.(Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images)

International response

Duda arrives in China to discuss trade, security in Europe. “The political component will be very important. We have a war in Ukraine, as well as a hybrid attack by Belarus on the Polish border,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said before the trip on June 22.

Zelensky: 6 more participants joined peace summit communique this week.

Six more participants have joined Ukraine’s peace summit communique this week, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 23. He did not specify the new countries or organizations that signed on.

In other news

Ukrainian national team wins 5 medals at European Aquatics Championship.

The Ukrainian national team performed strongly at the European Aquatics Championship in Belgrade, securing five medals, including two gold.

Norwegian police detain suspect charged with the murder of a Ukrainian refugee. Last weekend, Norwegian authorities arrested a man accused of murdering a 20-year-old Ukrainian refugee in Karmoy, southwestern Norway.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Dinara Khalilova, Daria Shulzhenko, and Sonya Bandouil.

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