Sunday’s Coverage: Russia Kills 3, Injures 54 in Kharkiv City
Map: Institute for the Study of War
UPDATE 1559 GMT:
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has told the new head of the State guard service, Col. Oleksiy Morozov, to remove staff discrediting it.
Last month the State security service SBU arres
Shareted two guard service colonels, accusing them of cooperating with Russia to plot the assassination of Zelenskiy and other officials, including military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov.
Zelenskiy dismissed Col. Morozov’s predecessor Serhiy Rud two days later.
Introducing Morozov to the staff on Monday, Zelenskiy said, “The agency must be cleared of anyone who does not choose Ukraine for themselves or discredits the State guard service.”
UPDATE 1547 GMT:
At least five civilians have been killed and 41 wounded, including four children ages 9 to 12, in a Russian strike on Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.
A private house was destroyed and 16 others damaged by two Iskander-M missiles.
Earlier on Tuesday, a 63-year-old woman was killed and a 64-year-old man injured in a Russian attack on the town of Toretsk.
Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin post, “Not a single safe place has been left in Donetsk.”
UPDATE 1231 GMT:
The European Council has approved a ban on access within the European Union to four Russian State media and propaganda outlets: Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Voice of Europe, RIA Novosti, and Izvestiya.
European governments, agencies, and journalists reported this that Voice of Europe was the outlet a Moscow-financed propaganda network linked to Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, Vladimir Putni’s choice as a puppet leader after the overthrow of the Zelenskiy Government.
The EU previously banned other Russian propaganda outlets, such as RT and Sputnik.
UPDATE 1004 GMT:
The European Union has agreed on its latest package of sanctions against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.
The measures include blacklisting of Moscow’s “ghost tankers” moving liquefied natural gas through Europe. The EU estimates around 4 to 6 billion cubic meters of Russian LNG was shipped to third countries via EU ports in 2023.
The EU Council said:
For the first time, the EU has adopted a measure targeting specific vessels contributing to Russia’s warfare against Ukraine, which are subject to a port access ban and ban on provision of services.
These vessels can be designated for various reasons such as the transport of military equipment for Russia, the transport of stolen Ukrainian grain, and support in the development of Russia’s energy sector, for instance through the transport of LNG components or transshipments of LNG.
This measure also targets tankers part of Putin’s dark fleet which circumvent the EU and Price Cap Coalition’s caps, while adopting deceptive shipping practices in complete disregard of international standards. 27 vessels were targeted today on these grounds.
The US and UK adopted sanctions against Moscow’s shadow fleet this spring.
The EU’s latest restrictions cite companies in China, Turkey, and the UAE over circumvention of sanctions or provision of sensitive equipment to Russia.
The EU has adopted new economic and individual sanctions against Putin’s regime and those who perpetuate his war of aggression against Ukraine.
These measures target the energy, finance, transport and trade sectors and make sanctions circumvention more difficult.
More ⬇️
— EU Council (@EUCouncil) June 24, 2024
UPDATE 0955 GMT:
At least three people have been injured in a Russian attack on civilian infrastructure in Odesa city in southern Ukraine.
A 19-year-old boy and two middle-aged men were taken to hospital.
UPDATE 0702 GMT:
The European Union will use a legal workaround to overcome Hungary’s veto on buying weapons for Ukraine with profits from frozen Russian assets.
Last month the EU approved the funding of up to €4.4 billion ($4.73 billion) in profits from an estimated €211 billion ($227 billion) in Russian assets. Around 90% of the profits will be used for funding of weapons and equipment, and the other 10% transferred to the EU budget for investment in the Ukrainian military industry.
See also Ukraine War, Day 806: EU — Profits From Russian Assets Will Be Military Aid For Kyiv
But Hungary, led by Vladimir Putin’s ally Viktor Orbán, said it would not approve any disbursements.
EU foreign policy head Josep Borrell told the Financial Times that, as Hungary abstained from an earlier agreement to set aside the proceeds from Russia’s frozen assets, it “should not be part of the decision to use this money”. He said the workaround is “sophisticated as every legal decision [is], but it flies”.
Borrell added:
We have a process in order to make this work quickly. The first tranche of money will come next week, in July. The second will come some months later. Ukraine needs more help and needs more help now before the summer.
The workaround will be discussed by EU foreign ministers on Monday.
The provision can also be used to ensure that the G7 can proceed with a $50 billion loan to Ukraine by the end of the year. Under the G7 plan, the profits on Russia’s frozen assets will pay off the loan.
UPDATE 0640 GMT:
Gunmen have killed at least 19 people, including 15 police officers, a priest, and a security guard, in Russia’s Dagestan Republic.
The attackers struck on Sunday in the city of Derbent, located on the Caspian Sea, and the regional capital Makhachkala, about 120 km (75 miles) apart. A synagogue, a church, and a traffic police post were among the targets.
Russian media say six gunmen were slain.
On March 22, Islamic State Khorasan fighters killed 145 people in an assault on the Crocus City concert hall outside Moscow.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine carried out a series of missile strikes on Russian military targets in occupied Crimea throughout Sunday.
The attacks sparked criticism by Russian military bloggers of occupation authorities for not doing enough to protect the peninsula, seized by Russia in 2014.
Russian proxy officials claimed four people, including two children, and injured 151 more.
The Russian Defense Ministry — perhaps unwittingly — pointed to air defense as the cause, saying an interceptor caused one missile to deviate from its flight path and detonate over a civilian area in Sevastopol.
The Ministry later tried to blame the US, declaring that it had supplied Ukraine with ATACMS mssiles used in the attack.
Ukrainian military officials did not confirm or deny responsibility for the strikes against Sevastopol. Advisor Petro Andryushchenko said Ukraine needs to obtain special permission from partners to use ATACMS with cluster munitions, and claimed that the Russian occupation was at fault because it had failed to warn civilians before Russian air defense systems brought down a missile on them.
Russian miliary bloggers chastised Russian authorities for failing to detect and destroy missiles before they approached Sevastopol and for failing to build reinforced shelters within walking distance, including near a beach where debris reportedly fell.
In the evening, more explosions were reported in the area of Yevpatoria. Air raids sounded around 10 p.m. in the resort city, north of Sevastopol, in western Crimea.
“I heard two very powerful explosions in the city. The windows were shaking in my home, and the sirens of ambulances and police cars could be heard in the city,” a resident said.