24 June 2023
Russian mutiny
Commenting on Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin's rebellion against the Russian army command, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that today the world has seen that Russia's masters have no control over anything. "Nothing at all. Just complete chaos. A complete lack of any predictability. And this is on Russian territory, which is crammed with weapons. The world should not be afraid," he said.
The secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, Oleksiy Danilov, suggested that Prigozhin was not an independent actor, could not act alone and had accomplices in the Kremlin.
Military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov assessed the conflict between Prigozhin and the Russian Defence Ministry as genuine.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Secretary of State Antony Blinken exchanged assessments of the developments in Russia. "We are watching them very closely," Kuleba said, adding that Ukraine's focus remains on the counteroffensive.
The commander of the pro-Ukrainian Belarusian Kalinowski Regiment, Dzyanis Prokharaw, issued a video address in which he called on Belarusian servicemen to not get involved in the internal conflict in Russia and fight against the tyranny at home.
War
Ukrainian troops launched offensives at several directions at once, including Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Bakhmut, Bohdanivka, Yahidne, Klishchiyivka and Kurdyumivka, according to Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar. Heavy fighting is underway in the south.
The General Staff said in its evening update that over 10 combat engagements took place in the Lyman, Avdiyivka and Maryinka sectors. During the day, Russia carried out 53 missile attacks, 11 air strikes and over 30 MLRS attacks.
The Ukrainian Defence Forces liberated some of the areas near Krasnohorivka, Donetsk Region, which had been occupied since 2014, Tavriya Group of Forces Commander Oleksandr Tarnavskyy said. This was achieved as a result of a well-planned counterattack.
Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov predicted that Ukrainian pilots would start training on F-16s in July if a training programme is approved.
Russian missile attack
In the early hours of 24 June, Russia attacked Ukraine with 40 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles, nine Kh-22 missiles, two sea-launched Kalibr missiles, two S-300 guided missiles and three Shahed drones. Ukraine's air defences shot down 40 Kh-101/Kh-555 missiles, one Kalibr and three Shahed drones. The Russian Kh-22 missiles targeted Dnipro and Kryvyy Rih, causing casualties and damage.
Three people were killed in Kyiv when missile debris hit a residential high-rise in Solomyanskyy district.