Rescuers treat a victim of Russia’s missile strike on a residential building in Dnipro, Ukraine, June 28, 2024 (Sky)

Ukraine War, Day 856: Zelenskiy — “Europe’s Historic Choice”

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1509 GMT:

The European Union has imposed new sanctions on Belarus over its support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The measures restrict trade and the provision of certain services. The import of gold, diamonds, helium, coal, and mineral products, including crude oil, from Belarus is banned. Export of certain goods, including luxury products, to Belarus is prohibited.

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UPDATE 1404 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has welcomed 90 prisoners of war and 10 civilians released by Russia.

All of us must not give up but fight to bring home all our people who are still in Russian captivity, all Ukrainian children who were abducted in the occupied territories and forcibly deported to Russia.

We must fight to restore normal life and security to every city and every Ukrainian community — to all those who are suffering from Russian evil, from Russian attacks, and who are under Russian occupation.

Zelenskiy met one of the freed Ukrainians, Nariman Dzhelyal, the deputy chairman of the Crimean Tatar People.

Crimean Tatars, who were persecuted by Josef Stalin during the Soviet era, have suffered repression by Russian occupation authorities since 2014.

UPDATE 1358 GMT:

The toll from Friday’s Russian missile strike on a residential building in Dnipro city (see Original Entry) has risen to 1 killed and 12 injured.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy responded, “This is why we constantly remind all of our partners: only a sufficient amount of high-quality of air defense systems, only a sufficient amount of determination from the world at large can stop Russian terror.”

Zelenskiy said Ukraine has lost 80% of its thermal power capacity and a third of its hydroelectric power because of the Russian strikes.

UPDATE 1351 GMT:

Four civilians were killed and six injured by Russian attacks on residential areas in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine in the past 24 hours.

Most of the casualties were in Niu-York, a village near the frontline under Russian or Russian-supported attack since 2014.

In the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, one civilian was killed and two were wounded on Saturday morning.

In the Kharkiv region in the northeast, one person was killed and nine injured over the past day.

UPDATE 1053 GMT:

The International Monetary Fund has approved disbursement of $2.2 billion to Ukraine for “budget support” under a loan program.

The total sent under the 48-month loan agreement is now about $7.6 billion.

UPDATE 1032 GMT:

Ten Ukrainian civilians, including a politician and two priests, have been released by Russia and its ally Belarus in a deal mediated by the Vatican.

Civilians Olena Piekh and Valeriy Matiushenko had been captives since 2017-2018. Nariman Dzhelyal, the deputy head of the assembly of the Crimean Tatar People, was seized in Russian-occupied Crimea in 2021. Bohdan Heleta and Ivan Levytskyi, priests of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, were captured in Berdyansk in southern Ukraine amid Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

Mykola Shvets, Natalia Zakharenko, Pavlo Kupriienko, Liudmyla Honcharenko, and Kateryna Briukhanova were held in Belarus.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, “We managed to return 10 more of our people from Russian captivity, despite all the difficulties.” He posted a video of the returnees.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: At least one civilian has been killed and six injured in Russia’s latest missile strike on Dnipro city in south-central Ukraine.

A 7-month-old infant is among the wounded. Three people are in severe condition.

The Russians hit a 9-story residential building, collapsing the upper four floors. The death toll is expected to rise as victims are trapped.

Images showed extensive damage and smoke rising from a gaping hole in the upper stories.

Throughout its 28-month invasion, Russia has recurrently slain civilians in missile and drone strikes on and near Dnipro. In January 23, at least 29 people were killed in a missle strike on an apartment block.

See also Ukraine War, Day 786: 9+ Killed, Including 3 Children, in Russia Strikes on Dnipropetrovsk

See also Ukraine War, Day 326: UK Sending Battle Tanks to Kyiv; Russia Kills 29+ Civilians in Strike on Dnipro