South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (C) and Ukraine Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin (R) at the site of a mass grave in the town of Bucha near Kyiv, Ukraine, June 16, 2023 (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

Thursday’s Coverage: Counter-Offensive Could Last for Months — Officials

Map: Institute for Study of War

UPDATE 1944 GMT:

Ukraine Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar says the center of fighting has shifted from the east to the south, with Ukrainian forces slowly advancing towards the road to the port cities of Mariupol and Berdyansk.

Maliar said, “In the east, the enemy has turned on all the forces to stop our offensive. And they are massing forces there to stop us. In the south they are not very successful.”

She continued, “There is progress on all southern directions, and there are several of them. If we talk about losses, in the Bakhmut sector, nine times more Russians were killed than Ukrainians. And in the southern direction, Russians died 5.3 times more than Ukrainians.”

Dismissing Vladimir Putin’s claims of catastrophic Ukrainian losses in troops and armor, Maliar noted that Kyiv has not deployed much of its advanced forces, including 14 UK-made Challenger heavy battle tanks.

UPDATE 1935 GMT:

After meeting African leaders in Kyiv on Friday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy questioned why they are seeing Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday.

”This is their decision, how logical it is, I don’t understand,” he said at a joint news conference.

To allow any negotiations with Russia now while the occupier is on our land is to freeze the war, to freeze everything: pain and suffering.

We need real peace, and therefore, a real withdrawal of Russian troops from our entire independent land.

He said that he wanted to hold an Ukraine-Africa summit, as Kyiv improved its relations with the continent.

UPDATE 1927 GMT:

The International Atomic Energy Agency says it remains unclear whether water from the reservoir of the Nova Kakhovka Dam in southern Ukraine, demolished on June 6, can still be pumped to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant for its cooling.

The IAEA repeated that there are reserve sources for the cooling pond of Europe’s largest nuclear plant.

IAEA head Rafael Grossi visited the Russian-occupied plant on Thursday. He said there are no immediate issues with safety, but added that there is no still no agreement over its security.

Having seen Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday, Grossi is expected to visit Moscow next week.

UPDATE 1428 GMT:

Six civilians, including a child and a 82-year-old woman, have been injured in the Kyiv region in this morning’s Russian missile attacks.

Three private houses were destroyed and 13 need major repairs.

UPDATE 1201 GMT:

The Biden Administration is indicating that it will support a simplified process for Ukraine to join NATO as soon as the Russian invasion is defeated.

A “senior US official” said the Administration is “comfortable” with a proposal by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that Ukraine can forego the Membership Action Plan, accelerating Kyiv’s candidacy. The requirement was waived earlier this year for Finland, which formally became NATO’s 31st member in April.

“This is a potential landing zone in this debate,” said the official.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is pressing for a commitment to Ukraine’s accession at NATO’s summit in Vilnius, Lithuania next month.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Friday that NATO countries may be ready to remove some obstacles, “There are increasing signs that everyone will be able to agree on this. I would be open for this.”

UPDATE 1115 GMT:

The Kyiv region prosecutor’s offices says an 82-year-old woman and another civilian were injured in this morning’s Russian missile attacks.

UPDATE 1051 GMT:

Ukraine will send “several dozen” combat pilots for training on US-made F-16 fighter jets.

Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said on national TV, “Everything is being done to get it started as early as possible.”

Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said this week that the training could begin this summer and be fully operational within six months.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg indicated on Thursday that the program has already begun.

But at the summit of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Ukraine’s Oleksii Reznikov indicated the program, led by the Netherlands and Denmark, is still being developed for approval in July.

UPDATE 1040 GMT:

Russia has seized another 150 Ukrainian children, according to the National Resistance Center of Ukraine.

The children were reportedly taken from the occupied Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine on June 8. They were moved to two centers in the Prikuban district of Russia’s Karachay-Cherkess Republic.

The NRCU said 19,393 children have been illegally transferred during Russia’s invasion.

In March, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Russia’s “Children’s Rights Commissioner” Maria Lvova-Belova over the “unlawful deportations”.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Russia has fired missiles on Kyiv as African leaders visit Ukraine’s capital.

The Ukraine Air Force said six Kinzhal ballistic missiles, six Kalibr cruise missiles, and two reconnaissance drones were intercepted on Friday morning. Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said there was no damage or injuries.

Explosions were heard as the four African leaders — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa; Senegal’s Macky Sall; Zambia’s Hakainde Hichilema; and the President of the Union of Comoros, Azali Assoumani, the current chair of the African Union — arrived for a meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The African leaders, pursuing their initiative to end Russia’s 16 1/2-month invasion, are scheduled to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday.

They are presenting a document which proposes initial steps including a pullback of Russian troops; removal of Russian tactical nuclear weapons from Belarus; relief of sanctions on Moscow; and suspension of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Putin over Russia’s forcible transfers of Ukrainian children.

Before their meeting with President Zelenskiy in Kyiv, the delegation visited the site of mass graves in nearby Bucha, where occupying Russian troops killed more than 400 civilians in March 2022.

“Only Strong Diplomacy Can End Russian Terrorism”

Andriy Yermak, the Ukraine Presidential Chief of Staff, noted:

The Russian missile attack took place just when the leaders of African countries arrived in the capital. Putin wants to demonstrate that he is willing to disregard the safety of foreign leaders. He actually doesn’t care because he feels complete impunity.

Yermak noted that Russia also launched missiles and drones when US President Joe Biden visited Kyiv in February and when UN Secretary General António Guterres was in the capital in late April 2022.

He explained:

The world must understand that consolidation and the toughest possible position towards Russia are now necessary. It is necessary to show strength to the state that undermines global security and acts with terrorist methods.

We must unite around the Peace Formula of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. There is no alternative to it. And we must discuss further steps at the Global Peace Summit.

Only strong diplomacy and a strong position can put an end to Russian terrorism. Because it concerns everyone, every state that wants to exist and preserve the world order.