Tuesday, June 13

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Soldiers of Ukraine’s 35th Separate Marine Infantry Brigade pose for a photo in the newly-liberated village of Storozheve, Donetsk Oblast. (Press center for the Tavriisk defense forces/Facebook)

Sky News: UK official anticipates ‘major’ Ukrainian attack in Donbas in ‘next few days.’ Tobias Ellwood, the head of the U.K. Parliament’s defense committee, believes Ukraine would launch a “major attack” against Russian forces in the eastern Donbas region “in the next few days.”

Ukrainian military confirms liberation of Storozheve, Donetsk Oblast. Ukraine’s Armed Forces have liberated the village of Storozheve three kilometers south of Velyka Novosilka in Donetsk Oblast, the Tavriisk defense forces’ press center reported on June 12.

Ukraine’s military confirms liberation of Novodarivka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Ukrainian forces liberated the village of Novodarivka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on June 4, the Separate Zaporizhzhia Territorial Defense Brigade confirmed on June 12. According to the announcement, numerous attempts by Russian forces to regain the settlement were unsuccessful.

General Staff: Russian forces fail to make advances in Donetsk Oblast. Russian forces have unsuccessfully attempted to advance near the Donetsk Oblast village of Blahodatne, which was recently liberated by Ukrainian forces, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on June 12.

Military intelligence: Russia preparing evacuations, sabotage in Crimea amid Kakhovka dam breach. Russia is preparing evacuations in the occupied city of Armiansk in northern Crimea amid the Kakhovka dam breach, as well as “sabotage operations” at a factory in the region, Ukraine’s military intelligence reported on June 12.

Mayor: Russia strikes civilian buildings in Kryvyi Rih. A few civilian buildings in central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih were targeted by Russian air strikes overnight on June 13, Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul reported.

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Border guards: Mines dislodged by Kakhovka dam flooding end up in Odesa Oblast. The flooding caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Kherson Oblast has led to an increased threat of dislodged mines being carried to the shores of Odesa Oblast, the State Border Guard Service reported on June 12.

WSJ: Patriot manufacturer promises more systems for Ukraine. Raytheon Technologies, the manufacturer of the Patriot air defense systems, is increasing production and has promised five more systems for Ukraine by the end of 2024, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on June 11.

General Staff: Ukrainian forces down Russian Ka-52 helicopter. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on June 12 that Ukrainian forces had downed another Russian Ka-52 (Alligator) helicopter.

Reznikov: June 15 Ramstein summit to focus on ’fighter jet coalition.’ At the next Ramstein summit set to take place on June 15, Kyiv and Ukraine’s allies will discuss the details of the “fighter jet coalition,” in particular, the training of Ukrainian pilots and technicians to fly and maintain Western combat aircraft, said Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.

IAEA head to meet Zelensky, discuss impact of Kakhovka dam disaster. Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said on June 12 that he was on his way to visit President Volodymyr Zelensky to present an assistance program for the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

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Kakhovka dam destruction disrupts water, power supply but offers sustainable reset

In the early morning of June 6, Russia blew up a major dam in the occupied part of southern Ukraine, causing a humanitarian and ecological crisis.

Photo: Getty Images

Ukraine war latest: Ukraine liberates 2 more villages; Zelensky says ‘rain makes task harder’

Ukraine’s military confirmed another two villages were liberated as the ongoing counteroffensive pushes forward in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

Photo: Getty Images

Human cost of war

3 killed, over 30 injured in Russia’s attack on Kryvyi Rih. Russia’s missile attack on a five-story building in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast’s Kryvyi Rih left at least three killed and 25 wounded, regional governor Serhii Lysak reported on June 13. According to Lysak, 19 out of 25 injured civilians have to be taken to the hospital.

Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 4, injure 18 over past day. Russian troops carried out strikes on nine Ukrainian oblasts over the past 24 hours, killing four civilians and wounding 18, according to regional authorities.

Interior Minister: 10 dead, 42 missing due to Kakhovka dam disaster. As a result of the flooding caused by Russia’s destruction of the Kakhovka dam, ten people died, and 42 are considered missing, including seven children, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported on June 12.

Prosecutors: Russian forces shell Kostiantynivka, killing 1, injuring 2. Russian forces shelled the city of Kostiantynivka on June 12, killing one person and injuring two others, the Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor’s Office reported.

General Staff: Russia has lost 216,650 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022. Ukraine’s General Staff reported on June 13 that Russia had also lost 3,935 tanks, 7,642 armored fighting vehicles, 6,473 vehicles and fuel tanks, 3,766 artillery systems, 601 multiple launch rocket systems, 363 air defense systems, 314 airplanes, 300 helicopters, 3,309 drones, and 18 boats.

International response

Dutch minister: F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots may start this summer. Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren told Reuters in a June 12 interview published on June 12 that the Netherlands and other allies were hoping to start F-16 fighter jet training for Ukrainian pilots this summer.

Reuters: G7 to combat Russia’s theft of Ukrainian grain. The members of the Group of Seven (G7) are preparing a plan to combat the theft of Ukrainian grain by Russia, Reuters reported on June 12, citing U.K. Minister of State for Food, Farming, and Fisheries Mark Spencer.

Media: NATO ministers to meet defense firms to discuss Ukraine’s need for ammo. NATO defense ministers will convene with the heads of 25 major defense manufacturers on June 15 to discuss Ukraine’s need for more ammunition as well as the need to replenish allies’ stockpiles, Euractiv reported on June 12.

Borrell rejects cutting military aid for Ukraine. The European Union’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell rejected the idea of cutting weapons supplies for Ukraine in an interview with the Spanish radio station Onda Cero on June 12.

Denmark to supply Ukraine with $36 million worth of ammunition. Denmark will send Ukraine 250 million Danish kroner ($36 million) worth of ammunition, Denmark’s acting Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen and Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told the Politiken newspaper on June 12.

Opinions and insights

Tropin: Why Washington’s approach to punishing Russia won’t work

“Ukraine and the international community face the challenge that… there are no institutions that have jurisdiction over prosecuting Russia for its aggression against Ukraine,” Zakhar Tropin, a nonresident fellow at the Center for Defence Strategies, writes in his op-ed.

Photo: Getty Images

George E. Bogden: Russian bombs in Belarus bear political significance

“For over a year, Minsk and Moscow played a shadow game of threatening and cajoling NATO’s leaders, harassing candidates for accession,” George E. Bogden, an Olin-Searle-Smith-Darling Fellow in Law at Columbia Law School, argues in his recent op-ed.

Photo: Getty Images

In other news

Zelensky signs law making May 8 Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism. Previously, Ukraine celebrated victory against Nazi Germany on May 9, like Russia. In 2015, then-president Petro Poroshenko changed the holiday’s name to the Day of Victory over Nazism in World War II as opposed to Victory Day used by Moscow.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Dinara Khalilova, Kate Tsurkan, Martin Fornusek, Teah Pelechaty, Oleg Sukhov, Lili Bivings, Olena Goncharova, Brad LaFoy, and Haley Zehrung.

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