30 June 2023
International agenda
Ukraine wants to receive an invitation to begin the process of joining NATO at the military alliance's summit next month, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not attend if leaders do not show "courage", presidential aide Ihor Zhovkva told Reuters.
Speaking on Friday on the eve of a visit by Pedro Sánchez, Spain's prime minister, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said several unspecified Latin American countries had blocked an invitation extended to him by Sánchez to take part in an EU-Latin American summit in Brussels in mid-July, The Guardian reported.
The Danish government has announced that it is ready to allocate 1.3 billion kroner for military assistance to Ukraine, according to the website of the Danish Ministry of Defence. Ukraine can receive, among other things, missiles for air defence systems, demining vehicles, and funds for joint EU purchases of ammunition for our country.
The government of Brazil has refused to supply the medical version of the Guarani 6x6 armoured personnel carriers for Ukraine's needs, according to the Militarnyy portal. The allies had planned to procure these armoured vehicles for Ukraine, intended for purposes such as evacuating the wounded from the battlefield and evacuating civilians from the conflict zone.
Grain deal
The UN has expressed concern after no new Black Sea ships were registered as part of the grain deal since 26 June and are calling on those involved to ensure that shipments continue to leave, Sky News reported.
The head of Ukraine's Defence Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, said that the Russian FSB had been tasked with killing the owner of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, after his failed coup.
War
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has held a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff and ordered measures to strengthen the border with Belarus upon hearing reports by the top brass.
Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyy told The Washington Post that the possible Russian detonation of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant would not stop the counter-offensive of the Ukrainian Defence Forces. it "pisses me off", Zaluzhny said, when he hears that Ukraine's long-awaited counteroffensive in the east and south has started slower than expected, "it is not a show".
Last night, Russian troops launched another missile and air strike on Ukraine, using four anti-aircraft guided missiles from the S-300 air defence system and 13 Iranian Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs against military and infrastructure facilities in Zaporizhzhya Region. The Ukrainian Defence Forces destroyed 10 of the 13 Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs, according to the evening report of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"In total, the enemy launched eight missile and 34 air strikes during the day, firing 40 times from multiple launch rocket systems at the positions of our troops and populated areas. Unfortunately, civilians were killed and wounded, and more than 20 civilian residential buildings and a school complex were damaged. The likelihood of missile and air strikes across Ukraine remains high.
Russia continues to focus its main efforts on the Lyman, Bakhmut and Maryinka sectors, where heavy fighting continues. There were 18 combat engagements over the last day.
Two people were killed and six more wounded in the Russian MLRS attack on the village of Serhiyivka, Pokrovsk District, Donetsk Region, hitting a local school, the regional prosecutor's office said.
Following reports about 11 explosions in Russian-occupied Berdyansk, the Ukrainian Armed Forces confirmed a successful strike on the Russian headquarters and a fuel and lubricants depot.
Nuclear concerns
The Russian occupiers are gradually leaving the territory of the Zaporizhzhya NPP. Rosatom employees, who managed the Russians, were among the first to leave the plant, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate said. Ukrainian employees who signed a contract with Rosatom also received recommendations to evacuate. They have to leave the territory of the plant by 5 July and preferably move to Crimea.
Appointment
The Cabinet of Ministers has appointed Olena Duma as the head of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency, according to the Center for Preventing Corruption. The NGO described the appointment as illegal because during the competition, Duma did not receive the necessary number of votes, with one member of the selection committee withdrawing their decisive vote. Duma is believed to be associated with Andriy Derkach, an ex-MP suspected of treason. According to NGO head Vitaliy Shabunin, Duma is involved in a "FSB special operation" regarding the alleged pervasive corruption in Ukraine.
Economy
Parliament has cancelled a 2% single tax. Also, on 1 August, the current moratorium on inspections of excisable goods, gambling and financial services is partially lifted.
Crime
Kyiv's Solomyanskyy district court has extended the house arrest of Metropolitan Pavlo (Petro Lebid) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Partiarchate) for another two months - until 31 August, as reported by RBC-Ukraine. He is suspected of justifying and denying Russian military aggression against Ukraine.
The Security Service of Ukraine detained MP Serhiy Alekseyev (European Solidarity) for allegedly offering a foreigner to help avoid extradition in exchange for 50,000 dollars. The party described the case as political persecution.