27 June 2023
Russian shelling
At least two people were killed and 22 more injured, among them a child, when Russian missiles hit a café and several cottages in Kramatorsk, Donetsk Region, at 7.32 p.m., according to the regional authorities. Kostyantynivka in Donetsk Region came under artillery attack.
The Russian army struck Kremenchuk on the anniversary of the attack on the city, which killed 23 civilians in 2022. The missiles were launched at around 11:50 a.m. and flew over Sumy Region, Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said on the air of the telethon.
War
Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyy and General Staff chief Serhiy Shaptala visited command posts in the Operational Command North amid systemic Russian shelling, sabotage and reconnaissance in border areas in Chernihiv and Sumy regions. Ukrainian troops are tracking the enemy and are ready to ensure a decent rebuff, Zaluzhnyy said.
Ukrainian aviation carried out 12 strikes on the clusters of Russian personnel and four on anti-aircraft missile systems over the day, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.
Missile and artillery units struck a command post, two Buk anti-aircraft missile systems and four clusters of enemy manpower, weapons and military equipment.
The Russians carried out 20 air strikes and fired more than 20 times from multiple launch rocket systems at the positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements.
According to the command, they are focusing their main efforts on the Lyman, Bakhmut and Maryinka sectors, where over 10 combat engagements took place over the day.
The head of the Avdiyivka city military administration in Donetsk Region, Vitaliy Barabash, confirmed that an area near Avdiyivka - near the village of Vesele – was liberated by Ukrainian troops, as reported by Radio Liberty.
Wagner rebellion
The intensity of Russian assaults near Maryinka has somewhat decreased, which, among other things, is due to the recent march of the Wagner PMC on Moscow, the spokesperson for the Joint Press Centre of the Defence Forces, Valeriy Shershen, has said, Radio Liberty reports. One of the possible reasons is the departure of the Chechen unit Akhmat-East from the area.
It was "just a matter of time" before someone challenged Putin, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told CNN.
The mutiny of the head of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was the result of Russia's brutal policy, which began in 2014 and reached its peak in February 2022, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, told journalists. "Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has lost touch with reality and does not control the situation in the Russian Federation," he noted.
When planning offensive actions in the east, the Ukrainian military took into account the contradictions between the Wagner PMC and the current Russian government, Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Defence Hanna Malyar said. She noted that the offensive in the Bakhmut sector has been going on for four days now, with advances on the flanks every day.
The State Border Service of Ukraine said it did not confirm reports about camps allegedly being built to accommodate militants of the Wagner PMC in Belarus.
Assistance
The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced additional security assistance to meet Ukraine's critical security and defence needs. This package, valued at up to $500 million, includes key capabilities to support Ukraine's counteroffensive operations, strengthen its air defenses to help Ukraine protect its people, as well as additional armored vehicles, anti-armor systems, critical munitions, and other equipment to help Ukraine push back on Russia's war of aggression.
Rheinmetall has confirmed an agreement to supply 14 Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine on behalf of the Dutch government.
Zelenskyy's international agenda
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that there are all grounds for a political invitation to Ukraine to join NATO at the Vilnius summit.
Zelenskyy briefed Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre over the phone on the situation at the frontline and invited him to visit Ukraine. They two also coordinated positions ahead of the NATO Vilnius summit.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will soon visit India, according to his presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak. The visit to Ukraine by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also being discussed.
Commenting on a planned visit by Pope Francis's special representative to Moscow on Wednesday, 28 June, Yermak said: "We do not need mediators with Russia because we do not believe in negotiations with Russia."
Defence industry
Zelenskyy has accepted the resignation of Yuriy Husev, director-general of the stade defence concern Ukroboronprom. He headed the concern since December 2020.
Human rights
Ukrainian teenagers Tihran Ohannisyan and his classmate Mykyta Khanhanov, who were being persecuted by Russians in occupied Berdyansk, were killed by snipers, according to the Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR).
Ukrainian children are being held in 57 regions of the Russian Federation, Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said. In 16 regions, children have been forcibly transferred to Russian families.
The Russian Federation is holding 126 Ukrainian women in captivity, including 46 military and 80 civilians, the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories said.
Coronavirus
On 1 July, Ukraine will end the quarantine and state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said